Surah Al-Masad, the 111th chapter of the Holy Quran, is a surah of Meccan revelation. It is one of the shortest surahs and one of those making up the last part of the Book of Allah, the Juz 'Amma.
Surah al-masad deals with an enemy of the Prophet Muhammad in particular and with his wife. This is Abu Lahab, his uncle. No other surah of the Holy Quran is entirely and specifically dedicated to an enemy of Islam, naming him. Just as no other animosity equalled that of Abu Lahab and his wife in Mecca, the anger of Allah is manifested by reserving for them an entire surah to describe their punishment.
A dreadfully famous couple mentioned in Surah Al-Masad
This surah 111 deals with a young couple who were enemies of the Prophet of Allah and with the punishment reserved for them with Allah. Abu Lahab and Umm Jamil, his wife, both came from 2 different powerful tribes in Mecca.
Who was Abu Lahab?
In surah Al-Masad, the uncle and the most virulent of the enemies of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is named by the Most High by his nickname and not his first name. Indeed, Abu Lahab is what is called in Arabic a kunya (a nickname). A kunya begins with Abu for a man, which means « the father of », also meaning « the one who (followed by a qualifier) », and by Umm, meaning « the mother of » for a woman.
It was a widespread tradition at that time to be called by a kunya, just as 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was nicknamed by our dear Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, « Abu Turab » because he was often covered with dust when he was younger.
This uncle, Abu Lahab, was a notable of Mecca, rich and powerful, but also very handsome, hence his nickname, which could be translated as « the father of the flames » or « the one with flamboyant beauty ».
He was the treasurer of Mecca, and his real name is Abdel 'Uzza: literally the servant of Uzza, which is an idol of that time, very important in the eyes of the idolaters. Allah does not address him by this name that his parents gave him, since it represents nothing but an invention of men. There is no god worthy of being worshipped except Allah Himself. He therefore uses his nickname, which represents this man He is addressing, to Him the Majesty and the Glory, and denies the false gods such as 'Uzza.
Abu Lahab came from the tribe of the Hashimites, from which the Prophet himself descends.
Who was Umm Jamil?
Abu Lahab's wife was called by her real name 'Urwa. She came from the tribe of the Umayya, another rich and powerful tribe. She was young and very beautiful, hence her kunya (her nickname) Umm Jamil, which means: « the mother of beauty », or « the one who holds beauty ».
This couple was a vicious duo, entirely devoted to their ambition of destroying Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Abu Lahab's wife had the habit, after the revelation, of going out adorned with her most precious necklaces and swearing by them that she would dedicate her wealth to the destruction of Muhammad and of his religion.
She was a poet. One day, after the revelation of Surah Al-Masad, she came, very angry, with the aim of taking revenge. She looked for him among the Companions and demanded explanations for these words that humiliated her in the surah, calling her a gatherer of wood. She then began to utter insulting verses of poetry against the Prophet.
Indeed, the translation of the verse where she is named, in a language other than Arabic, leads one to think that she was a carrier of wood, except that it is otherwise. The ending of the subject in Arabic writing is a Dhamma, whereas in the verse of Surah Al-Masad where Allah speaks of Abu Lahab's wife, Allah shows His contempt for this enemy of the Prophet by using for her a fatha, giving to this designation of « carrier of wood » a disparaging connotation. What must be known is that it is a term used at that time for a category of slaves whose occupation was to gather wood. Her social status and her fame are thus undermined by a single vowel. Indeed, in the Arabic language, the fatha is used for sixty reasons, one of which, here, is insult, contempt.
Two meanings, according to the scholars, to this designation. The first is that Allah demonstrates His contempt for her by giving her a term inappropriate to her social rank.
The second is that in Hell she will be the fuel for their punishment, hers and her husband's.
The circumstances of the revelation of Surah Al-Masad
The expression of their animosity had no limit. Abu Lahab was known for having the habit of gathering the excrement and entrails of dead animals to spread them on the back of the noble Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was in prostration when he prayed outside or in front of his door.
Abu Lahab, who was not only his uncle but also the father-in-law of two of his daughters (married to two of the sons of Abu Lahab before the revelation), went so far as to defile every code of respect, of honour and of the bonds of kinship. His hatred had no limit except the fear of combat, which prevented him from going to the front with the other enemies of Islam. He was moreover known for using his wealth to pay people to go and fight in his place.
When the revelation took place, Abu Lahab asked his sons to divorce the daughters of the beloved Prophet. One of his sons, when he brought back his repudiated wife to her noble father, spat on him as he returned her. By this act, their family wanted to dishonour the Prophet of Allah, to humiliate him.
To offend the person of the Prophet was not enough; they wanted to break his entire family.
At that moment, the Prophet made a supplication against him, that of being devoured by an animal.
Abu Lahab was seized with terror at the idea of losing his son. And during a journey in the desert, behold, Abu Lahab began to post guards around his son's encampment. Something in him made him fear for his son, because inwardly he knew that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was a truthful man. Deep down, he knew that the words of the Prophet were always true.
His son, of course, was devoured by a lion whose steps no one had heard in the middle of the night. It made its way in despite the many guards posted around his tent and was killed, as the Prophet had predicted by his du'a.
These are a few examples that demonstrate why this couple was entitled to an entire surah. Their high degree of animosity earns them the right to be named in a surah in which is announced their high degree of punishment in the Hereafter.
1 May the two hands of Abu Lahab perish, and may he himself perish. Verse 1 Surah The Palm Fiber
When the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, invited the leaders of Mecca to announce to them the divine message, he showed great hospitality, despite the hostilities of some. The latter, during the meal, showed rudeness and amused themselves by making as much noise as necessary so as not to let the Prophet speak.
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, invited them a second time, and, embarrassed, they let him speak this time. Abu Lahab, after the Prophet's explanation, asked what he would have to gain if he believed in the message of Allah. When the Prophet explained to them the principles of equality in Islam and the reward of Paradise for all persons who sincerely believe in Allah, in His Messenger, in the other Messengers, in the Books of Allah, in the Angels, in Paradise and in Hell, as well as in destiny, whether good or bad, Abu Lahab was seized with pride. He cursed the Prophet and his religion, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with the formula for asking for a curse « Tabban li hadha din! » « May this religion perish! ». He refused to have the same status as the other inhabitants of Mecca, over whom he considered himself superior.
On another occasion, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, wanted to call to the message of Allah in a manner known to the Meccans. They had the tradition, when a danger threatened Mecca, of standing on a mount and stripping themselves completely naked to call the people and warn them. This act by itself attracted the inhabitants, who recognised the imminence of a danger and began to listen.
One day, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, without stripping himself naked, positioned himself at the very top of the same mount and called the people to Islam. Having recognised the tradition, Abu Lahab gathered with the others, believing they were being warned of a potential danger, and began to listen to the sermon of the Prophet, whom they all knew to be honest and truthful. At the end of the Prophet's address, his sworn enemy cried out:
« Tabban laka! »: « May you perish, is it for this that you have gathered us? ».
The scholars have pointed out that this is why Allah in Surah Al-Masad cursed him twice in the same verse, to take revenge for the two times when Abu Lahab dared to curse the Prophet, and what worse punishment than to be cursed by Allah Himself?!
Why is the curse called upon the hands of Abu Lahab?
Tabbat is the feminine of the verbal form Tab, the verb to perish, to curse. The feminine is employed here because the members that are found in pairs in the human body are considered in the Arabic language as feminine. It is also a verb used in the past to express that the sentence has already been decreed; that it is something for which there is no doubt: His two hands will perish in Hell.
The verb Tab in Arabic designates a slow destruction.
It is also used in Arabic poetry to speak of old age, which is an often slow path toward death.
Abu Lahab tried by all means to destroy and silence the Prophet of Allah, but what he did with his two hands only led him slowly to his own ruin.
In classical Arabic poetry, the right hand is the one that strikes, and the left is the one that defends. Now, Abu Lahab used both to gather stones and strike the noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. His two hands will therefore be destroyed for the suffering, humiliation and pains he caused him.
The punishment of Abu Lahab on earth before the Hereafter
Allah made Abu Lahab perish on Earth before the Hereafter by taking from him the two things that constituted his renown and his pride: wealth and his beauty.
He died a dreadful slow death, for he was afflicted with a skin disease so contagious that he contaminated his relatives, and those who had to bury him protected themselves by building a wooden platform to lift his corpse without having to touch it, and threw him into a pit far from the city.
May Allah preserve us from disbelief, from associationism, small or great, and from such an end. Amin
