This Surah was revealed about Abu Lahab and
his wife. Abu Lahab was the uncle of the Prophet and
Abu Lahab’s wife was the sister of Abu Sufyan, they were all staunch enemies of Islam and
they hurt and injured the prophet very much. Some have said Abu Lahab’s name was Abdul
Uzza عَبْدالعُزّیwhich means the servant and slave of the idol Uzza. Then he was named Abu Lahab which means the
father of flames. This could be that he had a red face or being
of a fiery tempered nature. When Allah (swt) first told the Prophet (s)
to invite the people to Islam, the Prophet (S) went up the mountain and called out to
them. When the people came to see him, the Prophet
said to them “If I tell you that there is a huge army of enemies camping on the other
side of this mountain, would you believe me? The people replied: Of course we will believe
you, you have never lied Then the Prophet replied “ I am a messenger
from Allah warning you of a painful punishment, warning you to stop worshipping your idols
and inviting you to believe in the One and only God. Abu Lahab, who was in the crowd shouted at
the Prophet and said, May you be destroyed, is that what you gathered us here for! At these moments Allah revealed to the Prophet
Surat al Masad to answer the disgraceful words of Abu Lahab. Suratul Masad starts off with
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Tabbat yadaa abee lahabin watabb تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ
May Abu Lahab and his hands be destroyed The word tabbat and watabb means a never ending
loss which leads in one being destroyed. And that's exactly what happened to him, Abu
Lahab died of a contagious disease, and his body gave off an unbearable foul smell, so
no one came close to his body for a number of days until they got some others to bury
him. Why is Allah mentioning his hands? Some have said the word Yada (hands) could
indicate that these same physical hands that Abu Lahab used to injure the Prophet (s) with
will be destroyed. Others have said it is has a more general
meaning and it means all his actions will be destroyed. Allah swt has not mentioned many enemies by
name in the Quran, Abu Lahab injured the Prophet so much that Allah has cursed Abu Lahab by
name in this Surah. Allah also called him by his nickname Abu
Lahab instead of his real name, this could be due to his name goes well with his fate
that has been described in this surah. The next verse says
Ma aghnaa ‘anhu maaluhu wamaa kasab مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُ
وَمَا كَسَبَ His wealth and everything he has will not
help him. Abu Lahab was a rich and a proud man, he believed
his money and whatever he had such as his children will save and help him. But Allah is saying none of this will benefit
him The next verse says
Sayaslaa naaran dhaata lahab سَيَصْلَىٰ نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ
Very soon he will burn in a flaming fire. He likes to be called by the name of Abu Lahab,
so the fire for his punishment is also lahab, i.e. flaming. The next verse says
Wamra-atuhu hammaalatal hatab وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ
And his wife (will also burn in the flaming fire,) carrying firewood
We know that firewood gives fuel to a fire, with her actions, she fuelled the hellfire
for herself. Some have said it is because she used to carry
spiky pieces of wood, throwing them in the way of the Prophet (s) to hurt him. So as a punishment she fuelled the hellfire
for herself. Some have also said it means that she used
carry gossip between people to cause conflict and fights. The person carrying the gossip is known as
the one carrying firewood as they started the fire between the people. The next verse says
Fee jeedihaa hablun min masad فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِّن مَّسَدٍ
Around her neck will be a rope of palm fibre The word masad is a rope made of palm fibre. Some have said the rope will be so harsh and
tight, so heavy and so hot that it is impossible to remove it from around her neck. Some have also said she had a very precious
necklace and she swore that she would sell it and spend the cost of it to hurt the holy
Prophet. So Allah punished her with something else
around her neck. So this surah is showing us that Abu Lahab
and his wife are specifically mentioned as the cursed ones and the enemies of Islam. And no relationship, whether you are the uncle
or another family member with the prophet can benefit you when you have no faith. It also shows us they are cursed because of
their behaviour, and any other person who have their qualities will also have the same
destiny as theirs. This Surah is also one of the miracles of
the Quran. This Surah was revealed when Abu Lahab and
his wife were still alive and informed them they will be in hell, meaning that they will
never believe in Islam. They could have accepted Islam to try and
prove the Prophet wrong. But the Prophecy actually happened and they
both died without accepting Islam