Al-Masad

See ayat 5 for tafseer.

See ayat 5 for tafseer.

See ayat 5 for tafseer.

See ayat 5 for tafseer.

As reported from Ibn ʿAbbās, when the verse "وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ" was revealed and the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny was commanded to warn his close relatives and invite them to Islam (and to proclaim his mission), the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny went to Mount Ṣafā and called out: "يَا صَبَاحَاه". (This expression was used by the Arabs at that time when an enemy launched a sudden attack in a moment of heedlessness, in order to alert everyone so they might prepare to confront it. The word ṣabāḥ was chosen because such surprise attacks usually occurred in the morning.) When the people of Mecca heard this call, they said: who is calling out? It was said: Muḥammad PBUH & His Pure Progeny. Some people came to him, and he called out the Arab clans by name. When they had all gathered, he said to them: “Tell me: if I were to inform you that enemy horsemen were about to attack from behind this mountain, would you believe me?” They replied: “We have never known you to speak falsely.” He then said: "إِنِّي نَذِيرٌ لَكُمْ بَيْنَ يَدَي عَذَابٍ شَدِيدٍ" “I warn you of a severe punishment from God.” (That is, I invite you to affirm divine unity and abandon idol worship.) When Abū Lahab heard this, he said: "تَبًّا لَكَ، أَلِهَٰذَا جَمَعْتَنَا؟!" “May you perish! Did you gather us only for this?” At that moment this sūrah was revealed: "تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ" “O Abū Lahab, you alone are ruined; may your hands perish, and may you be utterly destroyed.” Some have added that when Abū Lahab’s wife Umm Jamīl heard that this sūrah had been revealed concerning her and her husband, she came out in search of the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny, but she could not see him. She was holding a stone in her hand and saying: “I have heard that Muḥammad PBUH & His Pure Progeny has satirized me. By God, if I find him, I will strike his mouth with this stone; I too am a poet.” She then recited satirical verses condemning the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny. (Reported with slight abbreviation in Tafsīr al‑Qurṭubī, vol. 10, p. 7324. The same account, with minor variations, is reported by al‑Ṭabrisī in Majmaʿ al‑Bayān, Ibn al‑Athīr in al‑Kāmil vol. 2, p. 60, as well as in al‑Durr al‑Manthūr, Tafsīr Abū al‑Futūḥ al‑Rāzī, Tafsīr Fakhr al‑Rāzī, and Fī Ẓilāl al‑Qurʾān in their commentaries on this sūrah.) The danger posed by Abū Lahab and his wife to Islam was not limited to this incident alone. If we observe that the Qur’an attacks them with such exceptional severity and openly condemns them, this is due to numerous reasons, to which reference will be made later, God willing.

As explained in the discussion of the occasion of revelation of this sūrah, this sūrah is in fact a response to the reprehensible behavior of the Messenger of God’s uncle, Abū Lahab, the son of ʿAbd al‑Muṭṭalib, who was among the fiercest enemies of Islam. When he heard the Prophet’s open and public call and his warning of divine punishment, he said: “May you perish! Did you call us together only for this?” In reply to this coarse‑mannered individual, the Qur’an declares: تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ “May the two hands of Abū Lahab perish, and may he perish.” According to al‑Rāghib in al‑Mufradāt, the words tabb and tabāb (on the pattern of kharāb) signify perpetual loss, while al‑Ṭabrisī, in Majmaʿ al‑Bayān, explains them as denoting a loss that culminates in destruction. Some lexicographers have also interpreted the term as meaning “to sever” or “to cut off,” perhaps because a loss that ends in destruction naturally results in total severance. Taken together, these meanings all convey what has already been indicated in the explanation of the verse. This destruction and loss may pertain to worldly ruin, spiritual and otherworldly ruin, or both. Here the question arises as to why the Qur’an, contrary to its usual manner, explicitly names an individual and attacks him with such severity. The answer becomes clear when Abū Lahab’s position and conduct are understood. His name was ʿAbd al‑ʿUzzā (servant of the idol al‑ʿUzzā), and his epithet was Abū Lahab—perhaps because of his ruddy, inflamed appearance, since lahab in Arabic means a flame of fire. He and his wife Umm Jamīl, the sister of Abū Sufyān, were among the most foul‑mouthed and relentless enemies of the Messenger of God. In one report, a man named Ṭāriq al‑Muḥāribī says: “I was in the market of Dhū al‑Majāz (near ʿArafāt, a short distance from Mecca) when I saw a young man calling out loudly: ‘O people, say lā ilāha illā Allāh and you will succeed.’ Behind him was another man throwing stones at the back of his feet until they bled, shouting: ‘O people, this man is a liar, do not believe him!’ I asked who the young man was. I was told: ‘This is Muḥammad PBUH & His Pure Progeny, who claims to be a prophet, and that old man behind him is his uncle Abū Lahab, who calls him a liar.’” In another report, Rabīʿ b. ʿAbbād relates: “I was with my father when I saw the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny going among the Arab tribes, calling each one and saying: ‘I am God’s Messenger sent to you; worship none but the One God and do not associate anything with Him.’ When he finished speaking, a handsome squint‑eyed man following behind him would call out: ‘O so‑and‑so tribe, this man wants you to abandon al‑Lāt and al‑ʿUzzā and your allied jinn and to follow his innovation and misguidance. Do not listen to him or follow him!’ I asked who this was, and they told me: ‘His uncle Abū Lahab.’” Another report states that whenever groups from outside Mecca entered the city, they would go first to Abū Lahab—because of his kinship to the Prophet and his seniority in age—and ask about Muḥammad PBUH & His Pure Progeny. He would reply: “Muḥammad is a sorcerer.” They would then return without meeting the Prophet. Once, a group insisted that they would not return without seeing him. Abū Lahab said: “We are constantly treating his madness—may he perish!” These reports clearly show that Abū Lahab persistently followed the Prophet like a shadow and spared no effort in causing harm, particularly through his abusive and virulent speech. Perhaps for this reason he was regarded as the chief instigator among the enemies of Islam. Accordingly, these verses criticize him and his wife with unusual explicitness and severity. He was also the only individual who refused to sign the pact of Banū Hāshim in support of the Prophet and instead joined the covenant of the Prophet’s enemies. When these facts are considered, the exceptional character of this sūrah becomes evident. The sūrah then adds that neither his wealth nor what he had earned availed him in the least or could save him from divine punishment: مَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ This expression shows that he was a wealthy and arrogant man who relied upon his riches in his opposition to Islam. The following verse states that he will soon enter a blazing fire aflame with intense flames: سَيَصْلَى نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ Thus, just as his epithet was Abū Lahab, the fire of his punishment is also one of raging flames. The word lahab here appears in the indefinite form, indicating the enormity of its flames. In reality, neither Abū Lahab, nor any disbeliever or wrongdoer, can be saved by wealth or social standing from the fire of Hell and God’s punishment, as stated elsewhere: يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ The verse سَيَصْلَى نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ primarily refers to the fire of Hell, though some have suggested it may also encompass a worldly fire. Reports relate that after the Battle of Badr and the crushing defeat of the Quraysh, Abū Lahab—who had not participated in the battle—questioned Abū Sufyān upon his return. Abū Sufyān described the defeat and added that they had seen riders between heaven and earth aiding Muḥammad. At this point, Abū Rāfiʿ, a servant of al‑ʿAbbās, declared that they were angels. Enraged, Abū Lahab struck him violently and beat him, until Umm al‑Faḍl, the wife of al‑ʿAbbās, struck Abū Lahab on the head with a staff. His head split open and began to bleed. Seven days later, a foul disease afflicted him, his body emitted a putrid stench, and he died from it. Because of the stench, no one dared approach him; he was taken outside Mecca, water was poured over him from afar, stones were thrown upon him, and his body was covered with earth and rocks. The following verse then describes the state of his wife Umm Jamīl: وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ “His wife too shall enter the blazing fire, the carrier of firewood.” And it adds: فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِّن مَّسَدٍ “In her neck will be a rope of palm fiber.” There is no doubt that Abū Lahab’s wife—who was the sister of Abū Sufyān and the paternal aunt of Muʿāwiyah—was fully complicit in her husband’s hostility and acts of harm against Islam. As to why the Qur’an characterizes her as ḥammālat al‑ḥaṭab (the carrier of firewood), exegetes have offered various explanations. Some say she carried thorny branches and threw them in the Prophet’s path to injure his feet. Others interpret it metaphorically as referring to her slander and tale‑bearing, which ignite enmity between people, just as firewood fuels a blaze. Some see it as an allusion to her extreme miserliness despite her wealth, likening her to a pauper who carries firewood. Others suggest that she will bear the sins of many in the Hereafter. Among these interpretations, the first is particularly apt, though combining multiple meanings is not implausible. The word jīd means “neck,” and masad refers to a rope made from palm fibers. Some interpret this as a literal rope of Hell placed around her neck, possessing both the harshness of palm fiber and the burning heat and heaviness of iron. Others understand it as a symbolic humiliation, replacing her worldly ornaments with a coarse palm‑fiber necklace. Another view holds that because Umm Jamīl possessed an expensive necklace and had vowed to spend it in enmity toward the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny, God decreed this punishment for her in return.

We know that these verses were revealed in Mecca, and the Noble Qur’an categorically informed that Abū Lahab and his wife would be in the fire of Hell, that is, that they would never believe. Ultimately, events unfolded exactly in this manner: many of the polytheists of Mecca truly embraced faith, and some entered Islam outwardly, but these two individuals were among those who neither believed inwardly nor even adopted an outward form of belief. This constitutes one of the unseen reports of the Qur’an. The Qur’an has conveyed similar types of information in other verses as well, to such an extent that a distinct chapter on the miraculous nature of the Qur’an has been devoted to its reports of the unseen, and we have presented appropriate discussions under each of those verses.

Here a question arises, namely: in light of these Qur’anic predictions, was it not impossible for Abū Lahab and his wife to believe, since otherwise the information conveyed would have become false and untrue? This question is analogous to the well‑known issue raised in discussions of compulsion in connection with the problem of divine knowledge, namely that we know that God—who has knowledge of all things from eternity—knew the sins of sinners and the obedience of the obedient. Accordingly, if sinners were not to commit sinful acts, would God’s knowledge not turn into ignorance? Islamic theologians and philosophers have long provided an answer to this question. Their response is that God knows what actions every individual will perform by exercising their free will and choice. For example, in the verses under discussion, God knew from the beginning that Abū Lahab and his wife would never believe, by their own desire, inclination, intention, and free choice—not out of coercion or necessity. In other words, the element of freedom of will itself was also known to God. He knew which actions His servants would perform while possessing the attribute of choice and acting through their own volition. Undoubtedly, such knowledge—and conveying this kind of information about the future—constitutes an affirmation of free will and choice, and provides no evidence whatsoever for compulsion or determinism. (Reflect upon this.)

This sūrah once again emphasizes the reality that any relationship lacking a bond of faith and belief has no true worth or value, and that the people of God never showed the slightest inclination toward deviant, tyrannical, and rebellious individuals, even if they happened to be their closest relatives. Despite the fact that Abū Lahab was the uncle of the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny and was counted among his closest relatives, once he separated himself from the Prophet in belief and conduct, he too was subjected—like other deviant and misguided people—to severe condemnation and censure. By contrast, there were individuals who were not related to the Prophet by kinship at all, nor did they belong to his clan or lineage, yet through intellectual, doctrinal, and practical bonds they became so close that, according to the well‑known hadith: سلمان منا أهل البيت (Salman is one of us, the People of the House), they were regarded, in a sense, as part of the household of prophethood. (Explanatory note: this matter has been discussed in greater detail elsewhere, under Sūrat Hūd, verse 46, in connection with the account of the son of Noah.) It is true that the verses of this sūrah speak specifically about Abū Lahab and his wife, but it is clear that their condemnation is due solely to their attributes and conduct. Accordingly, any individual or group that possesses the same characteristics will meet the same fate. O God, purify our hearts from every form of stubbornness and rancor. Our Lord, we are all fearful of our final end and ultimate outcome. Grant us security, tranquility, and peace, and: واجعل عاقبة أمرنا خيرًا (make our end good). O Lord, we know that in that great court neither wealth nor kinship is of any avail—only Your grace and mercy are effective. Therefore, bestow upon us Your grace and mercy. Āmīn, O Lord of all the worlds.