Surah 'Abasa: (17) Perish the human being! How ungrateful he is!

Issues Discussed Here:

Know that when the Almighty began by mentioning the incident involving the arrogance of the Quraysh chieftains toward the poor Muslims, the believing servants wondered at this. It is as if it was said: What is the reason for this wonder and arrogance when his origin is a despicable drop of fluid, and his end is a repulsive carcass, with the carrier of filth between those two stages?

Therefore, the Almighty mentioned what serves as a remedy for their wonder and what serves as a remedy for their disbelief. The creation of man serves as evidence for the existence of the Creator, and it serves as evidence for affirming the Resurrection, the Gathering, and the Revival.

The exegetes said that this verse was revealed concerning 'Utbah ibn Abi Lahab. Others said that the intended meaning of al-insan (the human being) refers to those upon whom the Messenger turned his attention, leaving Ibn Umm Maktum because of them. Still others said that it is a condemnation of every rich person who acts arrogantly toward a poor person due to wealth or poverty.

The evidence supporting this general interpretation is threefold:

1. The Almighty condemned them for their arrogance; thus, the ruling must be general because the underlying cause (the arrogance) is general.
2. The Almighty invalidated their conduct by referring to the insignificance of the human being's state at the beginning and the end, as He said: {From what thing did He create him? Then He causes him to die and buries him} (Surah 'Abasa: 19-21). The generality of this admonition necessitates a general ruling.
3. Carrying the wording to this general meaning yields greater benefit, and the wording is capable of bearing this interpretation; therefore, it must be carried upon it.

The Almighty's saying, {Perish the human being!} (Qutila al-insan), is a curse upon him, and it is one of the most severe curses. This is because killing is the ultimate worldly affliction. {How ungrateful he is!} is an expression of wonder at his excessiveness in denying God's blessings.

Thus, {Perish the human being!} is a notification that they deserve the greatest types of punishment, and {How ungrateful he is!} is a notification of the types of ugliness and reprehensible deeds.

If it is argued that cursing a human being is only fitting for the incapable, so how does it suit the All-Powerful? And wonder is only fitting for one ignorant of the cause of a thing, so how does it suit the All-Knower of everything?

The answer is that this is conveyed in the style of the Arabs' speech, and it confirms what we mentioned: that the Almighty clarified that they deserved the greatest types of punishment because they committed the greatest types of ugly deeds. Know that every created thing has three stages: a beginning, a middle, and an end, and the Almighty mentioned these three stages for the human being.

{From what thing did He create him?}

As for the first stage, it is His saying: {From what thing did He create him?}