Tafseer of He frowned · Abasa · 80:20
Then He eased the way for him;
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.
Then He made the way easy for him. He says: then He made the way easy for him, that is to say: the path.
The exegetes differed concerning the way which He made easy for him. Some of them said: It is his coming forth from the belly of his mother.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: My uncle related to me, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: Then He made the way easy for him. By this He means: his coming forth from the belly of his mother, that He made easy for him.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to me, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ: Then He made the way easy for him. He said: The way of the womb.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī: Then He made the way easy for him. He said: He brought him forth from the belly of his mother.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: Then He made the way easy for him. He said: His coming forth from the belly of his mother.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: Then He made the way easy for him. He said: He brought him forth from the belly of his mother.
And others said: Its meaning is rather: the path of truth and falsehood, that We have made clear to him and made known to him, and We have made acting upon it easy for him.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid: Then He made the way easy for him. He said: It is like His word: Verily, We have shown him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: Then He made the way easy for him. He said: After the manner of Verily, We have shown him the way.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: The way of wretchedness and felicity, and it is like His word: Verily, We have shown him the way.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: al-Ḥasan said concerning His word: Then He made the way easy for him: He said: The way of good.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: Then He made the way easy for him: He said: He guided him to Islam, which He made easy for him and informed him of; and the way is the way of Islam.
And the most fitting of the two interpretations herein, in my judgment, is the statement of the one who said: then the path, namely the coming forth from the belly of his mother, that He made easy for him.
We have said that this is the most fitting of the two interpretations because it shows the best correspondence with the apparent meaning of the verse. That is because the report of Allah which precedes it and which follows it deals with His creating of him [man], His shaping of his body, and His disposing of him in the various states. Therefore it is most fitting that the middle of it [namely this verse] should correspond with what precedes it and what follows it.
