Tafseer of He frowned · Abasa · 80:16
Noble and dutiful.
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.
And His statement: كِرَامٍ بَرَرَةٍ (noble, pious). Al-barara is the plural of bārr (pious one), just as al-kafara is the plural of kāfir (unbeliever) and al-saḥara the plural of sāḥir (sorcerer). However, what is customary in the language of the Arabs is that, when they speak of a single individual, they say: rajul barr (a pious man) and imraʾa barra (a pious woman), but when they form the plural, they bring it back to the plural of fāʿil, just as they say: rajul sariyy (a magnanimous man) and then in its plural say: qawm sarāt (magnanimous people), whereas by analogy in the singular it should have been sāriyy. And it has been transmitted by way of heard narration from some of the Arabs: qawm khiyara barara (choice, pious people); the singular of al-khiyara is khayr (choice), and of al-barara is barr (pious).
