He Frowned and Turned — Ibn Umm Maktum and the Qurayshi Noble

Occasion of Revelation (Sahih — Tirmidhi & Hakim):
While the Prophet ﷺ was engaged with a Qurayshi nobleman — said to be Utbah ibn Rabi'a or Al-Walid ibn Al-Mughira — hoping his conversion would lead many to Islam, the blind Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum came asking to be taught what Allah had taught the Prophet. The Prophet frowned and turned away. These verses were then revealed as a gentle yet firm divine reprimand.

Significance:

• A divine reprimand, gentle in form but decisive in content
• Islam makes no distinction between nobility and poverty in the honor of learning
• "Who tells you — perhaps he will purify himself?" — those deemed lesser may be greater before Allah

Ibn Umm Maktum afterward: The Prophet honored him greatly, appointed him twice as deputy over Medina, and he served as a muezzin alongside Bilal.