What is known in the Sunni traditions is that these verses were referring to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) and the description in the verse “frowned and turned away” refer to him, when Ibn Umm Maktoom approached him when he was talking to certain dignitaries of Quraish. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was hoping that they would accept the religion of Islam. Ibn Umm Maktoom was blind and came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) seeking for guidance and knowledge with insistence when the latter was busy talking to those people. The Prophet allegedly did not like this and turned away from the blind man frowning. The verses were revealed to rebuke the Prophet for his behavior.
This is the common version of the Sunni sect. However, the mentioned incident was not narrated – according to this interpretation – by a person who were present at its time. It was narrated by Aisha who was a child at the time of the revelation or was not born (based on the difference in her birth year). It was also narrated by Anas and Aslam, and both of them are from the tribes of Ansar in Medina, whereas the verses were revealed in Mecca. In addition to this, there are also issues with the authenticity of the chain of narrators of this interpretation.
Some Sunni scholar did not agree with this interpretation of the verses. Ibn Hajar stated that Dawardi said that the one who “frowned” was a non-believer. Tirmidhi described this narration as “Odd”. These are clues that this version of the story does not corresponds to what is known to all Muslims about the high level of morality of the Messenger of Allah, and his patience and tolerance.
Shia scholars – to the contrary – unanimously agree that the one who ‘frowned and turned’ was not the Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) as this does not correspond to his ethical behavior. A narration from the Imams of the Ahlulbait (peace be upon them) stated that Ibn Umm Maktoom came to the Prophet when he was sitting with his companions, one of them embraced Islam in Mecca and was wealthy and from the tribe of Bani Umayya. The Messenger of Allah welcomed Ibn Umm Maktoom and favored him over the rich man; the latter frowned in the face of the blind man. The verses were revealed to rebuke this act by stating: “As for him who is wealthy unto him thou payest regard. Yet it is not thy concern if he grow not (in grace). But as for him who cometh unto thee with earnest purpose and hath fear, from him thou art distracted.”
