Tafseer of He frowned · Abasa · 80:15
[Carried] by the hands of messenger-angels,
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
His statement: ( بِأَيْدِي سَفَرَةٍ ) (In the hands of scribes/envoys) (80:15). He says: the honored pages are in the hands of "safara," the plural of "sāfir."
And the people of interpretation (the exegetes) differed concerning who they are. Some of them said: they are scribes (kuttāb).
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his statement: ( بِأَيْدِي سَفَرَةٍ ); he says: scribes.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his statement: ( بِأَيْدِي سَفَرَةٍ ); he said: the scribes.
And others said: they are the reciters.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his statement: فَمَنْ شَاءَ ذَكَرَهُ * فِي صُحُفٍ مُكَرَّمَةٍ * مَرْفُوعَةٍ مُطَهَّرَةٍ * بِأَيْدِي سَفَرَةٍ (So whoever wills may remember it; upon honored pages, exalted and purified, in the hands of scribes/envoys) (80:12-15); he said: they are the reciters.
And others said: they are the angels.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: ( بِأَيْدِي سَفَرَةٍ * كِرَامٍ بَرَرَةٍ ) (in the hands of envoys, noble and virtuous) (80:15-16); he means: the angels.
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning his statement: ( بِأَيْدِي سَفَرَةٍ * كِرَامٍ بَرَرَةٍ ) (in the hands of envoys, noble and virtuous); he said: the "safara" are those who record the deeds.
And the most correct of the statements concerning this is the statement of the one who said: they are the angels who act as envoys mediating between Allah and His messengers with the revelation (waḥy).
And the "safīr" of a people is the one who exerts himself among them for reconciliation; one says: "I mediated between the people" when you brought about reconciliation between them. And of this is the statement of the poet:
And I do not neglect the mediation among my people,
and I do not walk with deceit when I walk.
And when the interpretation is directed toward what we have said, then it also encompasses the meaning proclaimed by those who said: they are the scribes, and the meaning proclaimed by those who said: they are the reciters — for they are the angels who recite the Books and act as envoys mediating between Allah and His messengers.
