As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
Surah Al- Masad In the Name of Alldh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
1. Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he.
2. His wealth and his children will not benefit him!
3. He will be burnt in a Fire of blazing flames!
4. And his wife too, who carries wood.
5. In her neck is a twisted rope of
Masad (palm fiber).
Its Name
It is called Surah Al-
Masad because it mentions that Umm Jamil, the wife of Abu Lahab, will have a twisted rope of palm fiber tied around her neck in the Hellfire.
It is also called Surat Tabbat, a name that is taken from the first word of the first verse; which means, perish the two hands of Abu Lahab. It is also called Abu Lahab and Lahab.
The Subject Matter Of This Surah
This Surah deals with the punishment and destruction of Abu Lahab and his wife. Abu Lahab was an enemy of Allah Almighty and His Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam); so bitter was his enmity that he abandoned his living in order to follow the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) wherever he would go and discourage people from believing in him. This Surah promises him that the Hellfire will surround him from all directions and that he will roast therein. His wife accompanies him because she was his partner, helping him to harm the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam).
Its Relation To What is Before It
In Surah An-Nasr, Allah Almighty informs us that the recompense for the obedient worshipper is victory in this world and a great reward in the Hereafter; meanwhile, in Surat Al-
Masad Allah Almighty shows us the end awaiting the disobedient: loss in this world and punishment in the Hereafter.
In What Context Was This Surah Revealed
In their Sahihs, Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded that Sa'id bin Jubair narrated that Ibn 'Abbas (Radhi Allahu Anhu), said, "When
And warn your tribe of near kindred.
was revealed, Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) climbed As-Safa and said:
'Yaa Sabaahaa
(A loud call for help, one that is usually made during the morning time).'
The people of Quraish gathered around him and said, 'What is the matter with you?' He (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said:
'If I were to tell you that the enemy was coming in the morning or evening, would you believe me.'
They said, 'Yes, indeed!' He (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said,
Then I am a warner to you of an imminent punishment that is severe.'
Abu Lahab said, 'Perish and loss to you, is this why you called us.' And then Allah Almighty revealed:
Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab and perish he!"
The Meaning Of Its Words
Tabbat Yadaa Abee Lahab: Literally, may his hands be perished and lost; but here, it is referring to his deeds.
Wa Tabb: The word for perished is used again, but this time it means, may he perish himself in the Hellfire.
Maa Aghnaa Anhu Maaluhoo wa Maa Kasab: What will his wealth serve him in the face of Allah's anger and punishment, in this world and in the Hereafter!
Wa Maa Kasab: i.e. his wealth, children, and so on.
Sayasla Naaran Thaata Lahab: He will be burnt in a Fire of blazing flames.
Thaata Lahab: Blazing and burning.
Wamraa'tuhu: i.e., UmmJamil, his wife.
Hammalatal-Hatab: i.e., she will carry the thorns of Sa 'dan, which she used to scatter on paths she expected the Prophet to take.
Feejeedihaa: i.e. on her neck.
Hablum-mim-Masad: i.e. made from palm fiber.
The Meaning in Summary
This Surah discusses the destruction of Abu Lahab, an uncle of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam). He was a bitter enemy and would inflict severe harm on the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam). He had no religion, no scruples, and not even a sense of loyalty to relatives - may Allah punish him severely. Allah Almighty condemned Abu Lahab in this Surah, which is to serve as a humiliation for him until the Day of Judgement. So He said:
Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab.
Meaning, he will be lost and humiliated in his works.
And perish he!
He will never escape.
His wealth and children will not benefit him ...
The wealth he has that causes him to transgress.
... and children.
None of this will avert Allah's punishment from him when he suffers it.
He will be burnt in a Fire of blazing flames!
Meaning, he will be surrounded by the Fire from every side, he and his wife who carried the wood. She was severe in her atrocities against Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam), she and her husband cooperating in sin and transgression, rushing and hastening to evil in any way they could to harm the Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam). She would even scatter Sa'dan (a tree) thorns in the path where the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) would walk.
In her neck is a twisted rope of Masad.
Meaning around her neck will be a rope of palm fiber, as a Judgement from Allah for their enmity against Allah and His Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam).
What Can Be Derived From These Verses
1. Allah Almighty destroyed not only Abu Lahab's wicked plans to hurt the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) , but destroyed him as well.
2. Neither money nor children can avail a person when he deserves the Hellfire for perpetrating deeds that anger Allah Almighty.
3. It is categorically forbidden to harm a believer.
4. That being related to a righteous person will be of no help if one is following Shirk and disbelief, for was not Abu Lahab the uncle of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam), and is not his abode the blazing Hellfire.
5. There is an amazing miracle in this chapter. It was revealed while Abu Lahab and his wife were still alive and it informed them that they would be punished in the Hellfire, which meant that they would not accept Islam before they died. And indeed, things turned out exactly as Allah Almighty informed, and He Almighty is the All-Knower of both the seen and the unseen.