Surah Al-Masad: Verse 1 - تبت يدا أبي لهب وتب... - English

Name and Nickname of Abu Lahab

Abu Lahab [ Father of Flame ] was the Nickname of ` Abd-ul-` Uzza, one of the sons of ` Abdul-Muttalib. As he was ruddy in complexion, he was nicknamed Abu Lahab [ Father of Flame ]. The Qur'an did not mention his real name, because it smacked of paganism, and the last element 'lahab' [ Flame ] in the nickname has also nexus with the flame of Hell. This person was the inveterate enemy and persecutor of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and violently opposed Islam. Whenever the Holy Prophet ﷺ invited the people to Islamic Faith, he would stand up and cry lie to his message. [ Ibn Kathir ]

Cause of Revelation

It is recorded in the two Sahihs that when the verse وَأَنذِرْ‌ عَشِيرَ‌تَكَ الْأَقْرَ‌بِينَ (Warn your closest relatives - 26:214) was revealed, the Holy Prophet ﷺ ascended the mount Safa and cried out to the tribe of Quraish in a manner that was known among them for warning of an attack by the enemy. Some narratives maintain that he called the different Makkah clans by name, the clan of Banu ` Abd Munaf, Banu ` Abdul-Muttalib and others. All the clans of Quraish gathered around him, and he said to them: 'If I were to tell you that the enemy is about to attack you in the morning or in the evening, would you believe me?' They all unanimously replied in the affirmative. Then he said: 'Verily, I am a warner sent to you before the coming of a severe torment (as a result of disbelief or paganism). Abu Lahab then responded: تَبَاً لَکَ اَلِھٰذَا جَمَعتَنَا 'Ruin may seize you! Is it for this purpose that you have called us together?' and picked up a stone to hit him. Thus this Surah was revealed.

Verse [ 111:1] تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ (Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he! ) The word yad literally means a 'hand'. Because hands play a very important role in all of human works and actions, often yad (hand) refers to the human person, as in the phrase ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاكَ (...All this is due to what your hands have sent forth...22:10). Baihaqi has recorded on the authority of Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas ؓ that one day Abu Lahab said to the people that Muhammad says that such-and-such a thing will happen after death. Then, pointing to his hands, said that none of those things have come into these hands; then he addressed his hands and said: تَبّاً لکما ما اریٰ فیکما شیٔاً ممّا قال محمد (Perish you! I do not see any of the things Muhammad said in you.) Therefore, the Qur'an attributes his destruction to his hands.

The verb tabba is derived from tabab which means 'to perish'. In verse [ 11, the first sentence تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ (Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab) is in the form of a prayer invoking or imprecating destruction upon Abu Lahab, and the second sentence wa tabba is the declarative sentence prophesying the consequence of the invocation. The first sentence was invoked against him to satisfy the indignation of the Muslims, because when Abu Lahab imprecated destruction upon the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، it was the desire of the Muslims that imprecation be invoked against him. Allah thus fulfilled their desire, and also informed them that the invocation has taken effect and he perished. Seven days after the battle of Badr, he developed a terrible case of plague because of which people avoided him. They regarded the disease as infectious and were afraid that it might be transmitted by contact, so they forced him to live in an isolated house, and they did not come into contact with him at all. He at last died in this state. His dead body lay untouched in his house for three days. When his body began to rot giving out unbearable stench, people taunted his sons, and they hired laborers to take it away and bury it. They dug a pit in the ground, pushed his body into it with a stick and covered it with stones. [ Bayan-ul-Qur’ an from Ruh ].

Verse [ 111:2] مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ (Neither his wealth availed him, nor what he earned.) The phrase ma kasab [ what he earned ] could refer to the profits that accrued to him from investment of his wealth in business, and it could also imply 'children', for the children of a person are also referred to (in Arabic) as his earning. Sayyidah ` A'ishah ؓ reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

ان اطیب ما اکل الرّجل من کسبہ وان ولدہ من کسبہ

"The best and the purest thing a man eats is from his earnings and his children are part of his earnings".

This means that eating from the earnings of one's children is tantamount to eating from one's own earnings. [ Qurtubi ]

Therefore, Sayyidah ` A'ishah, Mujahid, 'Ata’, Ibn Sirin and others interpret ma kasab [ what he earned ] as referring to 'children'. Allah had granted Abu Lahab abundant wealth and many children, and these two factors led him to be ungrateful, and caused him to be proud and arrogant. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ says that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ called his people to faith and warned them about the Divine punishment, Abu Lahab said: "Even if what my nephew says is true, I will save myself from the painful torment on the Day of Judgment with my wealth and my children." Thus Allah revealed verse [ 2] مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ that is, when the Divine torment seized him in this world, neither his wealth nor his children benefited him!

Which was revealed in Makkah

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Reason for the Revelation of this Surah and the Arrogance of Abu Lahab toward the Messenger of Allah

Al-Bukhari recorded from Ibn `Abbas that the Prophet went out to the valley of Al-Batha and he ascended the mountain. Then he cried out,

(O people, come at once!) So the Quraysh gathered around him. Then he said,

؟ (If I told you all that the enemy was going to attack you in the morning, or in the evening, would you all believe me) They replied, "Yes." Then he said,

(Verily, I am a warner (sent) to you all before the coming of a severe torment.) Then Abu Lahab said, "Have you gathered us for this May you perish!" Thus, Allah revealed,

(Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab and perish he!) to the end of the Surah. In another narration it states that he stood up dusting of his hands and said, "Perish you for the rest of this day! Have you gathered us for this" Then Allah revealed,

(Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab and perish he!) The first part is a supplication against him and the second is information about him. This man Abu Lahab was one of the uncles of the Messenger of Allah.His name was `Abdul-`Uzza bin Abdul-Muttalib. His surname was Abu `Utaybah and he was only called Abu Lahab because of the brightness of his face. He used to often cause harm to the Messenger of Allah . He hated and scorned him and his religion. Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Az-Zinad that a man called Rabi`ah bin `Abbad from the tribe of Bani Ad-Dil, who was a man of pre-Islamic ignorance who accepted Islam, said to him, "I saw the Prophet in the time of pre-Islamic ignorance in the market of Dhul-Majaz and he was saying,

(O people! Say there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and you will be successful.) The people were gathered around him and behind him there was a man with a bright face, squint (or cross) eyes and two braids in his hair. He was saying, "Verily, he is an apostate (from our religion) and a liar!" This man was following him (the Prophet ) around wherever he went. So, I asked who was he and they (the people) said, "This is his uncle, Abu Lahab." Ahmad also recorded this narration from Surayj, who reported it from Ibn Abu Az-Zinad, who reported it from his father (Abu Zinad) who mentioned this same narration. However in this report, Abu Zinad said, "I said to Rabi`ah, `Were you a child at that time' He replied, `No. By Allah, that day I was most intelligent, and I was the strongest blower of the flute (for music)."' Ahmad was alone in recording this Hadith. Concerning Allah's statement,

(His wealth and his children (Kasab) will not benefit him!) Ibn `Abbas and others have said,

(and his children (Kasab) will not benefit him!) "Kasab means his children." A similar statement has been reported from `A'ishah, Mujahid, `Ata', Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin. It has been mentioned from Ibn Mas`ud that when the Messenger of Allah called his people to faith, Abu Lahab said, "Even if what my nephew says is true, I will ransom myself (i.e., save myself) from the painful torment on the Day of Judgement with my wealth and my children." Thus, Allah revealed,

(His wealth and his children will not benefit him!) Then Allah says,

(He will enter a Fire full of flames!) meaning, it has flames, evil and severe burning.

The Destiny of Umm Jamil, the Wife of Abu Lahab

(And his wife too, who carries wood.) His wife was among the leading women of the Quraysh and she was known as Umm Jamil. Her name was `Arwah bint Harb bin Umayyah and she was the sister of Abu Sufyan. She was supportive of her husband in his disbelief, rejection and obstinacy. Therefore, she will be helping to administer his punishment in the fire of Hell on the Day of Judgement. Thus, Allah says,

(Who carries wood. In her neck is a twisted rope of Masad.) meaning, she will carry the firewood and throw it upon her husband to increase that which he is in (of torment), and she will be ready and prepared to do so.

(In her neck is a twisted rope of Masad.) Mujahid and `Urwah both said, "From the palm fiber of the Fire." Al-`Awfi narrated from Ibn `Abbas, `Atiyah Al-Jadali, Ad-Dahhak and Ibn Zayd that she used to place thorns in the path of the Messenger of Allah . Al-Jawhari said, "Al-Masad refers to fibers, it is also a rope made from fibers or palm leaves. It is also made from the skins of camels or their furs. It is said (in Arabic) Masadtul-Habla and Amsaduhu Masadan, when you tightly fasten its twine." Mujahid said,

(In her neck is a twisted rope of Masad.) "This means a collar of iron." Don't you see that the Arabs call a pulley cable a Masad

A Story of Abu Lahab's Wife harming the Messenger of Allah

Ibn Abi Hatim said that his father and Abu Zur`ah both said that `Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr Al-Humaydi told them that Sufyan informed them that Al-Walid bin Kathir related from Ibn Tadrus who reported that Asma' bint Abi Bakr said, "When

(Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab and perish he)!) was revealed, the one-eyed Umm Jamil bint Harb came out wailing, and she had a stone in her hand. She was saying, `He criticizes our father, and his religion is our scorn, and his command is to disobey us.' The Messenger of Allah was sitting in the Masjid (of the Ka`bah) and Abu Bakr was with him. When Abu Bakr saw her he said, `O Messenger of Allah! She is coming and I fear that she will see you.' The Messenger of Allah replied,

(Verily, she will not see me.) Then he recited some of the Qur'an as a protection for himself. This is as Allah says,

(And when you recite the Qur'an, We put between you and those who believe not in the Hereafter, an invisible veil.) (17:45) So she advanced until she was standing in front of Abu Bakr and she did not see the Messenger of Allah . She then said, `O Abu Bakr! Verily, I have been informed that your friend is making defamatory poetry about me.' Abu Bakr replied, `Nay! By the Lord of this House (the Ka`bah) he is not defaming you.' So she turned away saying, `Indeed the Quraysh know that I am the daughter of their leader."' Al-Walid or another person said in a different version of this Hadith, "So Umm Jamil stumbled over her waist gown while she was making circuits (Tawaf) around the House (the Ka`bah) and she said, `Cursed be the reviler.' Then Umm Hakim bint `Abdul-Muttalib said, `I am a chaste woman so I will not speak abusively and I am refined so I do not know. Both of us are children of the same uncle. And after all the Quraysh know best." This is the end of the Tafsir of this Surah, and all praise and blessings are due to Allah.