The interpretation of Surat Al Masad

All praise be to Allah and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone who has no partner and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.

Of the Surahs which are repeated on our hearings and need from us meditation and forethought is Surat Al Masad. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Perish the two hands of Abû Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet) and perish he! * His wealth and his children will not benefit him! * He will be burnt in a Fire of blazing flames! * And his wife, too, who carries wood (thorns of Sa'dân which she used to put on the way of the Prophet peace be upon him, or used to slander him). * In her neck is a twisted rope of Masad (palm fiber)." [Surat Al Masad: 1-5].

Al Bukhari and Muslim reported in their Sahihs (books of authentic Hadiths) on the authority of Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) ascended As-Safa (a mountain in Makkah) one day and said: O mornings. Thereupon, Quraysh gathered and said to him: What's wrong with you? He said: What would you do if I inform you that the enemy is approaching you in the morning or in the evening, will you believe me? They said: Yes. He said: I am warning you against severe torture. Thereupon, Abu Lahab said: Perish you! Did you gather us for this? Thereupon, the Surah was revealed (Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab).[1] In another narration, Abu Lahab said: "Perish you the rest of the day."[2]

• As for Allah's Saying: "Perish the two hands of Abû Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet) and perish he!", the first was an invocation against him and the second was a predicate. Abu Lahab is one of the Prophet's uncle and his name was `Abdul-`Uzza ibn `Abdul-Muttalib. His nickname was Abu `Utbah and he was named as such because his face was bright.

Moreover, he frequently harmed the Prophet (peace be upon him) and always hated him as well as his religion.

Imam Ahmad reported in his Musnad on the authority of Rabi`ah ibn `Abbad Ad-Dayly who was an atheist but embraced Islam that he said: I saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) with my own eyes in the market of Dhul-Majaz saying: "O people, say: La Ilaha Illa Allah (No god but Allah) so that you may succeed." Passing by its paths while people were gathered around him. I saw no one saying something to him, whereas he did not keep silent, saying: "O people, say: La Ilaha Illa Allah (No god but Allah) so that you may succeed." However, there was a cross-eyed person with bight face and two plaits saying: He is an atheist and a liar. So, I asked: Who was that? People said: Muhammad ibn `Abdullah who is claiming to be a prophet. I then asked: Who was the one who was belying him? People said: His uncle Abu Lahab.[3]

• As for Allah's Saying: "Perish the two hands of Abû Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet) and perish he!" Perish means destruction as Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "And the plot of Fir'aun (Pharaoh) led to nothing but loss and destruction (for him)." [Surat Ghafir: 37]. Allah mentions his hands before his body because they are the tool of actions and work, give and take.

• As for Allah's Saying: "His wealth and his children will not benefit him!" Nothing will ward off the punishment of Allah, and the Ayah includes his children as well as his wealth, as Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "My wealth has not availed me; * My power (and arguments to defend myself) have gone from me!" [Surat Al Haqqah: 28 - 29]. Allah also says: "Verily, those who disbelieve, neither their properties nor their offspring will avail them whatsoever against Allâh; and it is they who will be fuel of the Fire." [Surat Al `Imran: 10].

• As for Allah's Saying: "He will be burnt in a Fire of blazing flames!", the meaning is Allah threatened him with a blazing fire because the pleasures of the world and staying in it is little in compare to the eternal life, even if years passed while the people who are in the Barzakh (period between death and the Resurrection), they will feel it as one hour. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "As if they had not stayed more than an hour in a single day. (O mankind! this Qur'ân is sufficient as) a clear Message (or proclamation to save yourself from destruction). But shall any be destroyed except the people who are Al-Fâsiqûn (the rebellious against Allah's Command, the disobedient to Allâh)?" [Surat Al Ahqaf: 35].

• As for Allah's Saying: "And his wife, too, who carries wood (thorns of Sa'dân which she used to put on the way of the Prophet peace be upon him, or used to slander him)." His wife is Um Jamil, Arwa bint Harb ibn Umayyah and the sister of Abu Sufyan. She was one of the noble of Quraysh but her nobleness did not elevate her because she participated with her husband in harming the Prophet (peace be upon him). She used to carry thorns and put them in the path of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to harm him.

Some commentators said: She helped her husband for disbelief, therefore she will carry the wood and throw it on her husband on the Day of Recompense.[4]

As for Allah's Saying: "In her neck is a twisted rope of Masad (palm fiber)," it means that she used to come out with a rope in her neck to get wood and put it in the path of the Prophet (peace be upon him).[5]

Sa`id ibn Al Musayyab said: She used to have a precious necklace and she said: I would have spent it for stirring rivalries against Muhammad, so Allah replaced her with a rope from Hell.[6]

Al Bazzar reported in his Musnad on the authority of Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: When Surat Al Masad was revealed, the wife of Abu Lahab came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) while Abu Bakr was sitting there. Abu Bakr said to the Messenger of Allah: If you lean aside, she will not be able to harm you. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: There will be a barrier between me and her. She said to Abu Bakr: O Abu Bakr, your friend has insulted us. Abu Bakr said: No, by the Lord of this girl. He never uttered poetry. She said: Do you believe that? When she went away, Abu Bakr said: She did not see you? The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: No, an angel kept of screening me until she has gone.[7]

Scholars said: This Surah shows a manifest miracle and an obvious proof to the Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah because since the Surah was revealed telling that they will not become Muslims, they did not declare Islam even as a trick which was a sign for prophethood.[8]

As for Abu Lahab, he died in the worst way and Allah took avenged His Prophet.

Ibn Ishaq said: Few days after the Battle of Badr, he was inflicted by Al `Adasah[9], so he died and his two sons could not approach to bury him. So, they leaved him for thirty days until he was rotten. A man from the Quraysh said to them: Woe to you, you do not feel shame? Go and bury your father. They said: We fear that pimple. He said: I shall help you in that. Then, they took him to the desert. By Allah, they did not wash him but threw water on him then carried him to the top of a mountain in Makkah and leant him to a wall and threw stones[10] at him; to Hell and how worst it is![11]

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.