Surah Lahab [111] – the Red Flame
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Student Notes - Nouman Ali Khan
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Bismillah ArRahman ArRaheem
Tafseer Juz Ammah – Nouman Ali Khan
Surat Lahab:
·
Surah no. 111
·
One of the shortest
surahs in the Quran
·
It is dedicated to Abu Lahab and his Wife
·
Allah
has never dedicated a particular Surah to a particular enemy anywhere else in
the Quran
·
Other enemy’s such as
Abu Jahl, and others were mentioned a few times but never by name
Question to be considered is:
·
Why is there this
special emphasis given to this enemy of Islam?
·
The placement of the
surah
Historical Background of Abu Lahab:
·
He was one of the most
famous and wealthiest people in Makkah (even before Islam)
·
He was the treasure
secretary at that time
·
His
orginal name is Abdul Uzzah
·
His nickname is Abu Lahab.
o
Lahab is a red flame
that flickers and gives of light
o
Abu doesn’t litteraly
mean father nessasarily. When someone is affiliated or associated with
something you can put Abu infront of their name.
§ Example: When Ali bin Abi Taleb was sleeping on the dust,
the Prophet called him Ya Aba Turaab. Meaning he was covered in dust
§ Example: Abu Hurayrah was called that because he had a cat
that he loved.
§ Abu Lahab
was given this nickname because he had a reddish complexion in his skin. And
this was considered as good looking
§ He had a powerful lineage. He was the grandson of Hashim.
§ He was the Uncle of the Prophet, and his father
in law.
History of Urwah (wife of Abu Lahab)
·
She was the
granddaughter of Ummayyah
·
She use to flaunt her
status and family background
·
Her nickname was Umm
Jamil (beautiful)
·
The city
use to look up to this couple because of their good looks and high status
Negative side of Abu Lahab
·
He was the next door
neighbor of the Prophet and he would throw filth into the house of the Prophet
whenever the Prophet use to read Quran
·
He ordered his sons
to divorce the daughters of the Prophet
·
When the Prophet’s
son Qasim passed away, Abu Lahab came out of his
house screaming and dancing. And he says Batara Muhammadun – Muhammed has had
his lineage cut off
o
This was the death of
a child in his own family and yet he celebrates
o
Even enemy’s in
battle do anything like this
o
This
kind of hatred is not shared by any other enemy of Islam
o
This is one of the
reasons why he was given this special dedication
o
He curses Islam by
saying Taban li Hadha Ad-Deen he was invited to become Muslim
o
When the Prophet
stood on the mountain and called everyone, he told them that he was a Prophet
and a warner. Abu Lahab said to him,Taban Lak!
Ayah
1:
تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ
·
Because Abu Lahab said Taban to the Prophet twice, it is
said to him twice.
·
When this Ayah was
sent down, Abu Lahab use to make fun of it. He would go into public gatherings
and he would take out his hands (because Allah said may his hands by destroyed)
and he would sarcastically say Taban Lakuma May you be destroyed.
Then he would say I don’t see in you any signs from what muhammed
said.
Tabb:
·
A past tense verb of
Tabba
·
The feminine form is
used because ‘hands’ in Arabic are feminine
o
There’s no it in
Arabic
o
Body parts that are
in twos are feminine
o
Body parts that are
singular are masculine
o
Arabs used past tense
for several reasons
o
One of them is when
something is guaranteed
o
The past is
associated with certainty, the future is not
o
So Allah is saying
that his hands being destroyed is guaranteed
o
The second is to
refer to a dua
§ That is why you’ll sometimes find the ayah translated as May both hands of Abu Lahab be destroyed
§ You can pray for someone and you can pray against someone
·
Tab literally means
to break apart slowly or to collapse
o
Other similar words
are infasama, inqadha, and taqada3ah
·
It is specifically
used when something is falling apart little by little until it’s completely
destroyed
o
That kind of
destruction is called tabaab
o
From Tabaab we get
the verb tab
o
This means Allah is
saying that Abu Lahab is not going to die an immediate death, rather he’s going
to die a slow and painful death
·
Tab was used by the
ancient arabs, they would go to a woman and ask her A shaabah am taabah (Are you a young woman
or are you being destroyed)
o
They didn’t say old
woman, they said destroyed because they affiliated old age with you
deteriorating slowly and slowly towards your destruction/demise (death)
Other meanings of Tabat
·
Tabat = Halakat (die violently)
·
Tabat = Khasirat (To suffer loss)
·
Tabat = Khaabat (To go bad)
·
Tabat = Dhalat (To go to waste)
·
Tabat = Safarat min kuli Khair
(To be completely void of any good)
Other names for Flame:
·
Shiwadh
·
Nu7aas
·
Maarij
·
Sharar
One reason why both hands of Abu
Lahab are mentioned is because it is narrated that he once picked up a
rock and tried to throw it at the Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him.
Tabat Yadahu: May both his hands be destroyed also includes his deen,
dunya, the things he does, and their outcomes.
Tabat Yadahu: Your right hand is used to attack, and your left hand is
used to defend. When Allah says may both his hands be destroyed this means that he won’t be able to attack anyone. And he won’t be able
to defend himself either.
Abu Lahab’s name:
·
His real name is
Abdul Uzzah, who was an idol/false god. So Allah
does not dignify him by mentioning the false god that he worshiped. Also
nobody is the slave of Uzzah so his name is a lie so Allah does not mention his
name.
·
Because he is of the
people of the Fire and Allah is going to put him in a flame that is flickering
red, why not call him by his nickname because his nickname has now been
given a new meaning. Now when he is called Abu
Lahab, he’s not called that because he has redish skin or he looks good,
but because he’s going to be in a Lahab forever.
Wa Tab
·
The first part is Dua
(May his hands be destroyed)
o
There’s no guarantee
that it will happen
o
The second part – wa
tab – is Khabr
§ It means that it is bound to happen. i.e. it is guaranteed
to happen
§ Abu Lahab
developed a very serious disease and he started developing a swelling in his
body
§ His sons, servants, family, and friends all stayed away from
his because they were afraid to catch the diseases from him
§ He’s dying painfully and slowly
and no one is there for him
§ His corpse was lying there and no one wanted to touch it so
his sons finally hire some Abyssinians who use logs to drag him into a pit and
then throw stones at him to fill up his grave. They didn’t even want to touch
him either.
§ Allah’s promise came true - that he would die a slow painful death.
Ayah 2:
مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ
·
His wealth and assets
did not benefit him at all.
·
There are different
kinds of negations in Arabic. Ex. Lam Yughni
·
The word ‘ma’
is strong: imphatic
o
It means not at all
o
It is always used to
negate a countering idea.
o
He and Quraish
believed that the biggest thing he had in his advantage was his wealth
o
This
verse negates this belief
o
Since the past is
used to guarantee something, this verse is not only saying that His wealth and assets did not benefit
him at all it is also saying that it will
not benefit him
o
Kasb: also includes
children
§ So the ayah is also saying that your children will not
benefit you either
§ Also Allah uses the third person ‘him’ instead of ‘you’.
§ Allah does not dignify him by addressing him.
§ This is a tradition of Allah against the worst
Kafir
§ Wa La Yukalimullah
Abu Lahab
use to take pride in two things and Allah took both
of them away from him in this surah
·
His good looks (the
disease he got was one of the skin)
·
And his wealth (his
wealth will never benefit him)
Ayah 3:
سَيَصْلَىٰ نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ
·
The tone has changed
– now the ayah speaks about the future
·
When the past tense
is used it’s usually used for the immediate future, something that will happen
very soon (or something that will happen in this world/dunya)
·
Maeaning of Verse:
Very soon he will be cast into a flame which
has the quality of red flame or flickr. This is an attack against him – you
like to be called by flames? Then that’s
what you’ll get.
·
The
letter ‘seen’ is used here as a threat and warning
Umm Jamil:
·
She was the
granddaughter of Ummayyah and the sister of Abu Sufyan
·
She had very high
status and a noble lineage and she would show it off
·
She and Abu Lahab were a high
class celebrity couple in Makah
She
use to grab her necklace when she saw the Prophet and she would swear by Lat
and Uzzah that she would spend the necklace to complete her animosity againt
the Prophet.
Ayah 4:
وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ
·
Now the surah starts
talking about his wife Umm Jamil
·
The word Imra’ah
o
There are two words
for wife in the Quran. Imra’ah and Zawj
o
The two functions of
marriage are, one to increase good in society and decrease evil, and number
two, children.
o
When any of theses
things is missing Allah uses Imra’ah.
o
And when they’re both
there he uses Zawj.
o
In this situation,
they have harmony and children but two negatives can’t make a positive
[except in math]
o
They didn’t increase
good in society so Allah uses the word Imra’ah
o
Because the word
Wamra’atuhu is marfoo’ (has dhamma) it is a second khabr
§ This means the ayah is saying: He will be cast into a flame
and so will his wife
§ They tag team in this dunya and in the akhira
·
The word 7amalata
o
The word is mansoob
(has fat7a)
o
There are 16 reasons
why a word can have a fat7a on it
o
One of the reasons is
shatm – condemnation/curse/anger
o
This is a way of
Allah mentioning her in disgust and the disgust is captured in the fat7a
o
Allah uses 7amaalah
instead of 7amilah to indicate that she will keep on carry it
o
7amaalah comes from
Fa3aalah
o
It’s also used to
indicate one’s profession
o
The slave girls who
use to bring in the wood were called 7amaalat al-7adab, and Umm Jamil use to think
of her self as being way over them but Allah degrade her and brings her down as
if to say I don’t care of your status in society. If you mess with the Prophet
then you don’t deserve anything like that
Ayah 5:
فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِّن مَّسَدٍ
·
She use to call the
prophet Mudhamam (the one who is condemned)
·
She use to also make
poetry against the Prophet
o
Mudhamaman
Qalayna – We are tired of him (mudhamam)
o
Wa
Deenahu Abayna – And his religion we have rejected
o
Wa
7ukmahu 3asayna – And his rule we will always disobey
o
The Prophet use to
say that they’re making fun of someone called Mudhamam and that his name was
Muhammed (someone who is praised and thanked)
When a dog is barking, there’s no wisdom in barking back
When people start talking obnoxiously and ignorantly the worst thing you can do
is respond
We have to learn to recognize a bark for a bark and an
intellectual criticism as an intellectual criticism
Two themes are coming to a conclusion in surah lahab
·
One theme has to do
with Abu Lahab
·
The second has to do
with Umm Jamil
Four different kinds of disbelievers:
1. A friendly disbeliever
·
Mu’tem bin adiyy
·
Abu Taleb
2. A noble enemy
·
He does show
animosity, but if he had become Muslim, he would have been amazing
·
Abu Jahl
3.Wretched enemy but nothing personal against the
Prophet
·
Utbah ibn Rabiah (the
great debater)
·
Waleed ibn Mugheerah
(poet)
4. Hates Islam and hates the Prophet
·
Abu
Lahab
Four domestic situations for women
1. A wonderful woman with a wonderful wali
(guardian)
·
Maryam
2. A wonderful woman with a terrible wali
(guardian)
·
Asiyah –
wife of Firown
3. A terrible woman but a wonderful wali
(guardian)
·
Wives of
Lut and Nuh
4. A terrible woman with a terrible wali
(guardian)
·
Umm Jamil
Two negatives don’t make a positive
The worst male enemy and the worst kind of female character are
both mentioned in this surah
Placement of the Surah
·
In the previous surah
Allah mentions that which will benefit you in the akhirah
o
Tasbeeh and
Istighfaar (glorifying Allah and asking for forgiveness)
o
In this Surah Allah
tells us about what will absolutely have no benefit in the akhirah
§ Money and the things you earn
§ Allah says in surah Baqarah, “For disbelievers worldly life
was beautified, and as a result they make fun of those who believe. And people
who have Taqwa will be above them [not in this world] on the day of
resurrection.
§ In this Surah Allah gave his messenger a gift:
§ Not only will he be above Abu Lahab in the akhirah but also in this dunya
Kataballah La’aghlibana Ana wa Rusuli (Allah has declared I
will dominate, I and and my messenger)
Ghalaba: is
used for victory in this world
Afla7a or Falaa7: is
used for victory and success in the next world 17
·
Allah says regarding
Firown, he was kept from accepting the deen/path
·
Part of the miracles
in the Quran is the prediction of the quran
·
The Quran says rome
will dominate in ten years, and this happened
·
In this surah Allah
says Abu Lahab will be destroyed.
o
Abu Lahab was very
smart and clever enemy and had a sharp tongue
o
This was
one of the easiest ways the quran made itself open to attack
o
Abu Lahab could have
said La ilaha ilallah
o
If he had said that,
even if it was sarcastically, he could say ‘your book is saying I’m burning in
hell but here I am taking shahadah and it’s suppose to protect me against the
hell fire. So your book must be wrong.
o
He had many years to
take this opportunity but the Quran said about Firown he was kept from
accepting the deen.
o
He never
took the opportunity and we learn from that he too was kept from accepting the
deen.
o
This is part of the
miracle of the Quran
Placement of the Quran (continued)
·
This surah comes
after Surah kafiroon and Surah nasr
·
Surah Kafiroon
concluded that there are two distict religions
o
Lakum deenakum wa
liya deen
o
To you your religion,
and to me, my religion
o
The deen of islam,
and whatever you people have
o
One of them is true,
and one of them is false
·
In Surah Israa’ Allah
says: The truth will manifest and the falsehood will be destroyed
·
The truth will
manifest
o
Idha Jaa’a nasrullah
(when the victory of Allah comes)
o
Surah nasr is the
fulfillment of the promise of the truth will manifest
·
Falsehood will be
destroyed
o
Tabat Yada Abi Lahab
o
Surah Lahab is the
fulfillment of the promise falsehood will be destroyed
·
Dr. Israr Ahmed use
to say Allah plants the seed somewhere and shows
the flower blooming somewhere else