Introduction
._001.jpg)
Abu Lahab was the uncle of Prophet
Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him. Lahab means
flames and hence he was nicknamed so because of the radiant look on his face. Together
with his wife, Abu Lahab was one of the most hostile opponents of God’s
Messenger and the ideas he propagated.
Rabi`ah, son of `Abbad, recalls, “When I was young, I
once watched, with my father, God’s Messenger preaching Islam to the Arab
tribes, saying ‘O sons of… (calling their respective tribal names), I am
God’s Messenger sent to order you to submit to, and worship Him alone, invoking
nothing else beside Him, and to believe in me and protect me until I carry out
what God has entrusted to me.’ A cross-eyed, bright-faced man was behind him,
who used to say, after he had finished, ‘O sons of… this man wants you to
forsake al-Laat and al-`Uzza (two idols worshipped by the pagan Arabs) and your
allies of the jinn, the children of Malik ibn Aqmas, and to substitute for them
these innovations and nonsense he has come up with. Do not listen to him, nor
follow what he preaches.’ I asked my father who that man was and he told me
that it was Abu Lahab, the Prophet’s uncle.”
His wife, Arwa bint Harb ibn Umayyah gave him unfailing
support in his virulent, relentless campaign.
One day the Prophet went out to a large square in Mecca,
climbed a hill and summoned the people of the Quraysh. When they came to him,
he addressed them, saying, ‘Were I to tell you that an enemy is drawing near
and will attack you tomorrow morning or evening, would you believe me?’ ‘Yes,’
they replied. ‘O listen to me,’ he went on, ‘I am warning you of (God’s)
gruesome torment.’ Abu Lahab was there and snapped at him, ‘Damn you! For this
have you called us?’ Then this chapter was revealed.
Another instance was when the clan of Hashim, Prophet
Muhammad’s own clan, under Abu Ţalib’s leadership, decided on grounds of
tribal loyalty to protect the Prophet despite their rejection of the religion
he preached. Abu Lahab was the only one to take a different stand. Even
though he belonged to the same clan, he joined with the opposing Quraysh
instead, and was with them in signing the document imposing a complete social
and business boycott on the clan of Hashim to starve them out unless they
delivered the Prophet to them.
Abu Lahab also ordered his two sons to renounce
Muhammad’s two daughters to whom they had been engaged before Muhammad’s
prophetic assignment. His aim was to burden the Prophet with their living and
welfare expenses.
Thus, Abu Lahab and his wife, Arwa, who was also called
Umm Jameel, continued with their persistent onslaught against the Prophet and
his message. The fact that they were close neighbors of the Prophet made the
situation worse. We are told that Umm Jameel used to carry thorns and sharp
wood and place them along the Prophet’s path.
This chapter was revealed as a counterattack against Abu
Lahab’s and his wife’s hostile campaign. God took it upon Himself to say the
final word on behalf of His Messenger.
Verses 1-3 The punishment of Abu Lahab
The Arabic term, tabba, rendered as ‘doomed’ also
signifies failure and cutting off. The term is used twice in two different
senses. It is used first as a prayer, while in the second instance it implies
that the prayer has been already answered. So, in one short verse, an action
is realized which draws the curtains upon a battle scene. What later follows
is merely a description of what took place with the remark that “his wealth and
his gains shall avail him nothing.” (Verse 2) He can have no escape. He is
defeated, vanquished and damned. This was his fate in this world, but in the Hereafter
“he shall have to endure a flaming fire.” (Verse 3) The fire is described as
having flames in order to emphasize that it is raging.
Verses 4-5 The punishment of his wife
“And his wife, the carrier of firewood,” will reside
there with him having “a rope of palm-fiber round her neck,” with which, as it
were, she is being dragged into Hell, or which she used for fastening wood
bundles together, according to whether a literal or metaphorical interpretation
of the text is adopted.
The language of this chapter achieves remarkable harmony
between the subject matter and the atmosphere built around it. Hell, with its fiercely
burning lahab, or flames, will be inhabited by Abu Lahab. At the same
time his wife, who collects thorns and sharp woods, materials which can
significantly increase the blaze, will be met with the same fire with a rope
tied round her neck, bundled like firewood. How perfectly matched are the
words and the pictures portrayed: the punishment is presented as being of the
same nature as the deed: wood, rope, fire and lahab!