Tafseer of He frowned · Abasa · 80:17
Cursed is man; how disbelieving is he.
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: قُتِلَ الإنْسَانُ مَا أَكْفَرَهُ ("Cursed be man, how ungrateful/disbelieving he is!") (80:17). He, exalted is His mention, says: cursed be the disbelieving man, how great is his disbelief!
In accordance with what we have said about this, Mujāhid also spoke.
Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Masrūqī related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Ḥimmānī related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: everything that occurs in the Qurʾān as "qutila al-insān" ("cursed be man") or "fuʿila bi-l-insān" ("something has been done to man"), by it only the disbeliever is intended.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, concerning قُتِلَ الإنْسَانُ مَا أَكْفَرَهُ ("Cursed be man, how disbelieving he is!"): it has reached me that it is the disbeliever.
In His statement ( أكْفَرَهُ ) there are two possible meanings. The first: amazement at his disbelief, despite the favors that Allah bestowed upon him and the benefits that He granted him. The other: "what brought him to disbelief?" — that is to say: what matter made him a disbeliever.
