B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m
Teachings of the Qur'aan
Al-Lahab
Soorah 111:1-5
Name and Background
Teachings and Commentary
Ayub A. Hamid
Name and Background
Like many other Soorahs, the name Al-Lahab comes from the
first verse.
This Soorah prophesizes about Aboo Lahab and his wife. Aboo
Lahab was the worst enemy of the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam's
Islamic mission and the only such enemy mentioned by name in the Qur-aan,
though there were many other enemies of the mission almost as staunch as he
was. Thus some background information about him will be pertinent here.
Pre-Islamic Arabia was a land of lawlessness, insecurity and
bloodshed. There was no protection for anyone's life, wealth or honour except
the fighting power of one's blood relatives. Thus, the Arabs highly valued
blood relation and regardless of the circumstances or cause, every person would
stand up with and fight for his blood relatives -- the closer the relationship,
the more loyal the protection. Anyone not honouring one's relationship, that
is, not providing protection to and fighting for one's relatives, was
considered the worst kind of person. That is why when the Prophet sall Allaahu
'alayhi wa sallam was giving the message of Islam, his clan provided him full
support, though many of them did not believe in him.
Aboo Lahab was a brother of the Prophet's late father. An
uncle was considered like a father, especially when the father was not alive.
However, Aboo Lahab sided with the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam's
enemies, breaking the ethical and social rules that were the core of Arabian
society.
He was a rich man, but he was also extremely miserly. He
never provided any support to his nephew when the Prophet was a child under the
care of the other uncle, Aboo Taalib.
At the start of his Islamic mission, when the Prophet sall
Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam used the morning-danger-call[1] tradition to gather
the Quraish and warn them about the Hereafter, before anyone could have
responded, Aboo Lahab reacted angrily saying, "Perished be you! Did you gather
us for this?"
When the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam invited his
close relatives for a dinner to talk to them about Islam and started started
talking after the dinner, Aboo Lahab immediately interrupted, did not give the
Prophet a chance to say what he wanted to say and caused the gathering to
disperse.
One day he asked the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
"If I accept your Deen, what would I get when you succeed?" When he was told
that he would be like all other believers, without any special status, he
responded, "Perished be this Deen where I am treated equal to everyone else."
He was also extremely annoyed by the Qur-aanic criticism of those who are
stingy and by the constant Islamic exhortation about spending in the way of
Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala to help the poor and the orphans.
Two of the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam's daughters
were betrothed to two of the sons of Aboo Lahab. When the Prophet started the
Islamic mission, Aboo Lahab ordered his sons to divorce Prophet's daughters,
which they did.
When the second and only remaining son of the Prophet died,
instead of offering condolences to the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam,
Aboo Lahab went to the Makkans merrily announcing that Muhammad had become
totally root-less.
When the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam used to go
out to bazaars, fairs, exhibitions and pilgrim encampments to invite people to
Islam, Aboo Lahab would follow him throwing dust and stones at him and
announcing to people, "Do not listen to him, he is a deviant liar". Aboo
Lahab's word was taken very seriously by outsiders because, according to Arab
traditions, a father or uncle's word about a son carried the most significant
weight, and those outsiders did not know the real situation.
When the Makkans boycotted the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi
wa sallam's clan, Aboo Lahab sided with the enemies and participated in the
boycott of his own clan. In fact, he was so vicious that when his clan would
try to buy groceries from trade caravans arriving in Makkah, he would out-bid
his clan to make them unable to obtain supplies for their families.
He was the next door neighbour of the Prophet sall Allaahu
'alayhi wa sallam. He and his wife used to throw their filthy trash over the
wall into the Prophet's house, which was sometimes aimed at the food being
cooked in the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam's house. Aboo Lahab's wife
used to put thorny bushes at night right in front of Prophet's door so that in
the morning, when he or his children venture out, they would get hurt.
After the death of Aboo Taalib, the clan's leadership was
inherited by Aboo Lahab who, because of his wealth and religious influence,
became the most influential Makkan chief. As the leader of the clan, he
withdrew the protection of the clan that had been available to the Prophet sall
Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam under the leadership of his uncle Aboo Taalib.
Deprived of the protection from his own uncle, the Prophet had to seek
protection from Mut'am ibn 'Addi in order to stay and continue his mission in
Makkah.
This Soorah announces that he and his wife are doomed to fail
in their efforts to eradicate Islam and that they will be severely punished and
humiliated in the Hereafter. When was this announcement made, that is, when was
this Soorah revealed? Some people think that it was revealed in the early
period of Makkah in response to the comments that Aboo Lahab made about the
Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and Islam using similar words as used in
this soorah for him. This assumption is untenable considering that it has never
been the style of the Prophet or of the Qur-aan to respond to the enemies in
the same harsh language as they used in their animosity. Even if the Qur-aan
citicizes someone or prophesizes about the punishment of Allaah Subhaanahu wa
Ta'aala for any people, it does so only after all attempts have been made and
all avenues have been exhausted to open the heart of that person to Islam. For
this reason, it was revealed late in the Makkan period when his vicious
behaviour, which was totally unacceptable from all Arabian and Makkan
standards, had become evident to people. If we use the approach, the most
pertinent juncture appears to be when Aboo Lahab had withdrawn the clan's
protection and the Prophet had to live under the protection of another clan. At
that stage, it had become evident that in his animosity towards Islam and the
Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, he could do the most unthinkable and
abominable act in the eyes of Arabs. Thus, it was sometime after this stage
that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala revealed this Soorah to let everyone know
that Aboo Lahab was going to be an utter failure and to comfort the Prophet
sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam by informing him of the success of his mission.
The revelation of this Soorah, singling out Aboo Lahab by
mentioning his name, underscored another important point - a prophet or a
believer does not make any compromise in the matter of principle for a close
blood relative. Rather, if a relative is on the wrong, he will be singled out
more than another person. Also, the closeness is determined by the strength of
the faith, not by blood.
This Soorah announces the failure of Aboo Lahab and his gang
immediately after Soorah An-Nasr announced the victory of the Islamic mission.
That is in the same way as Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala said, "The truth came
and falsehood vanished." Banee Israaeel 81:17. Another way to look at the
arrangement of the three Soorahs - Al-Kaafiroon, An-Nasr and Al-Lahab - is in
the light of the following statement the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam
made after the conquest of Makkah:
"There is no God except Allaah alone; He fulfilled His
promise and helped His slave; and defeated all of the opponents by Himself."
The same statement has been made by the three Soorahs: The
uncompromising message of Towheed has been conveyed in Al-Kaafiroon, Allaah
Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala's help and victory has been announced in An-Nasr and the
defeat of the opponents has been predicted in Al-Lahab.
Teachings
In the name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
1 Perished are Aboo Lahab's wishes and ruined is he. 2
Neither did his wealth avail him nor did his works. 3 Soon shall he be in a
flaming fire; 4 as shall be his wife - the bearer of fuel. 5 Upon her neck
shall be a halter of strongly twisted palm-fibre.
Commentary
The literal meaning of the first phrase is "Broken are the
hands of Aboo Lahab" and that is a proverb to indicate utter failure in one's
plans, goals, wishes, etc., on which a person may have put all his power,
money, efforts and/or energies. Although it was a prophesy, past tense was used
to indicate its inevitability.
His failure became evident when the majority of his cohorts
and accomplices were killed in the battle of Badr. He himself had not
participated in the battle because he had sent another person on his behalf in
return of a 4,000 dirham loan which the person was unable to pay back to Aboo
Lahab. So, when the news of defeat reached him in Makkah, he was so shocked
that he fell ill, contracted some infectious disease such as malignant pustule
or smallpox and died in seven days. During his sickness, he was abandoned by
his family for fear of contracting the disease. They did not even approach his
body to bury him after his death. The corpse was rotting for a few days. Then
his sons hired some slaves to dispose of his body.
As mentioned earlier, he was one of the four wealthiest men
of Makkah, and was extremely greedy and miserly. But all the wealth he
accumulated proved to be useless for him.
The Arabic word for "his works" literally means "what he
earned". Some commentators think it means the profits he was earning on his
wealth, but the profits are part of the wealth already described. Others think
that it means his sons, who were of no help when he needed them in sickness and
death.
His wife was very fond of jewellery and used to wear a heavy
golden necklace. In her opposition to the Islamic mission and the Prophet sall
Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, she was like her husband. Some of her behaviour in
this respect has already been mentioned above. When this Soorah was revealed
and became known to the public, she went looking for the Prophet in a very
angry mood. She was reciting poems of condemnation against the Prophet sall
Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. The Prophet was in the Holy Ka'bah along with Aboo
Bakr. When Aboo Bakr saw her coming, he expressed his concern that she would
misbehave. The Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam comforted Aboo Bakr by
assuring him that she would not be able to see him. She approached them, did
not see the Prophet but complained to Aboo Bakr that your friend (the Prophet)
has said some verse of condemnation about me. Aboo Bakr denied the allegation
and she left. Aboo Bakr was right in denying it, firstly, because it was not
poetry of condemnation that she was implying, and secondly, it was not from the
Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam but from Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala.
In the Hereafter, she will be carrying the huge burden of her
sins and misbehaviour, and instead of a golden necklace, she will have a thick
and coarse rope around her neck.
______________________________
[1] Please see the teaching of Al-'Aadiyaat for details of
nature and need for this danger call.
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Copyright © 2008 Ayub A. Hamid
All rights reserved
This document may be used, only with this copyright notice
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attributed to the author Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid. Contact the author for all
other rights, which are reserved.
Note: This series is providing the teachings of the Qur'aan,
not a literal translation. Instead of literal translation, it gives
interpretive meanings of the verses, along with their contextual details.
Please remember that any translation of the Holy Qur'aan is in fact only an
expression of the translator's understanding of the Word of Allaah Subhaanahu
wa Ta'aala, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur'aan itself. Only the
original Arabic text can be called the Holy Qur'aan.
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Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid is a visionary and strategic Islamic
thinker residing in Canada for the last 33 years. His recently published books
are:
1. Islam - Does It Make Sense?
2. Unveiling the Commands-The Truth about Hijaab, Khimaar
and Jilbaab.
3. Finding A Soulmate - A Guide for Parents and Youth.
4. A Book Unlike Any Other.
5. Islam - Adopting Its Paradigms.
6. Exploring the Islamic Beliefs.
http://soundvisioncanada.com/shop/pbrowse.asp?Pg=3&Cat=10004
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The following soowar 'Teachings of the Qur'aan' series by
Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid, are available on request:-
Al Faatihah
Al Baqarah
Aali 'Imraan
A Nisaa'
Al Maaidah
Al An`aam
Al A`raaf
Al Anfaal
At Teen
Al`Alaq
Al Qadr
Al Bayyinah
Al Zilzaal
Al Aadiyatt
Al Qaari`ah
At Takaathur
Al`Asr
Al-Humazah
Al-Feel
Al-Quraish
Al-Maa`oon
Al-Kowthar
Al Kaafiroon
Al Nasr
K a r i m a
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