Surah Abasa; Description of A Day When People Run Away from One Another

TEHRAN (IQNA) – There are many verses in the Quran as well as Hadiths about afterlife and the Day of Judgment, including verses in Surah Abasa that say people flee from one another on that day.

Abasa is the name of the Quran’s 80^th chapter that is in the 30^th Juz and has 42 verses.

It is Makki and the 24^th Surah revealed to the Holy Prophet (PBUH).

The first verse begins with the word “Abasa” (he frowned), and hence the name of the chapter.

The Surah warns those who respect the wealthy more than they respect the needy and destitute, those who pay more attention to the worldly people than to the pious.

It reminds mankind how trivial this world is, referring to the creation of man from “a drop of seed” and to his utter dependence in various aspects of life. Despite these, the Surah stresses, man is ungrateful.

Surah Abasa talks about different stages of creation of man, the blessings of God, life on the earth, and then the Resurrection Day and the happy and grim faces of believers and disbelieves on that day.

The chapter lays special emphasis on the Day of Judgment. The content of the Surah can be divided into five categories:

1- Rebuking those who make a distinction between the rich and the poor in their interaction with people.

2- Underlining the importance of the Quran.

3- Criticizing man’s ungratefulness to God despite all of the blessings He has granted to him.

4- Referring to some of the blessings God has given man,

5- Highlighting some of the events that will take place on the Day of Judgment and the fate of believers and disbelievers on that day.

Among the amazing verses in this chapter are those talking about how people flee from one another on the Resurrection Day.

“It will be such a day when a person will run away from his brother, his mother and his father, his wife and his children. For on that day everyone will be completely engrossed in his own concerns. (Verses 34-37)

According to Quran exegeses, these verses show the severity of the situation and the terror in people’s hearts on that day. Not only will people forget about their closest loved ones on that day, they will actually run away from them.

Allamaeh Tabatabaei says the reason why people flee from their kinship on the Resurrection Day is the severity of the conditions and the hardships of that day that keep one preoccupied and prevent him from thinking about anything but saving himself.