Written by Hakkı YILMAZ Translated by Digital Translation (İstanbul) Controlled by Murat Özcan (Chicago) and Ayşe Ay Yiğit (İzmir) http://presentationofislamandquran.com/articles.html

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SURAH AL-LAHAB (HE LOST HIS POWER) or AT-TABBAT
MECCAN PERIOD
Division: 17
1Two hands of Abu Lahab30 ruined.31 2Abu Lahab ruined himself as well.
Neither his wealth nor his gains helped him. 3-5Soon will he and his wife ,with a
fiber noose on her neck who carries wood be thrown into flaming fire.
(6/111, Al-Lahab/1-5)
30 It is widely accepted that the person mentioned in this Surah as Abu Lahab is
Abduluzza bin Abdulmuttalib ben Hasheem; and his wife is Umm Jamill [Awra]. The historical
records describe Abu Lahab as an extremely wealthy, large, red faced and hot tempered person. He
fought against Islamuntil the end of his life and always led or was among those who used to associate
others with Allah. Although he did not participate in the Battle of Badir personally, he sent
mercenaries. When our Prophet started to convey the Messages revealed to himby Allah, Abu Lahab
was the first one to deny. During the recitation of Al-Fatiha, he cried out, “Curse be upon you! This is
why you gathered us here?” and threw stones at Him, injuring His feet. Thereafter, during the visits
of our Prophet at bazaars, markets, etc. to convey the truth, Abu Lahab followed Him like a shadow;
tried every possible way to prevent Him. He sabotaged His meetings, trying to convince people by
saying, “Here, he is my nephew, he is a madman, do not listen to him!”. His verbal attacks were
sometimes followed by physical attacks. And these were not all he did. He used to ridicule our
Prophet, saying “If son of my brother tells the truth, I will pledge my children and wealth and evade
the punishment”.
While Abu Lahab was keeping his animosity against our Prophet alive with verbal and
physical attacks, his wife supported her husband by laying thorns around the Prophet’s house and
spreading gossips against Him. Her support was so enthusiastic that she gave her beloved necklace
away as a gift for the sake of this hatred. Many mufassir [interpreter of the Qur’an] suggest that the
expression “a fiber rope on her neck” mentioned in the 6th Ayah represents that infamous necklace.
Such hatred coming from close relatives saddened the Prophet. He could not reach the success
He wanted due to their preventions and negative propagandas. The damage caused by His uncle was
much higher that the damage caused by others. Some said: “Why should we believe in somebody
who is not trusted even by his own uncle?”.
These Ayat, known as the Surah “Abu Lahab” were revealed to cheer up and support and
motivate the Prophet in such distressful times.
In the previously revealed Ayat, those who transgressed because of the wealth, property and
people’s support they had were mentioned without being named, and it was revealed that these people
who denied the Akhirat should be left to Allah, that they would be punished by Allah. Those
mentioned with their characteristics and properties were personified in the persona of Abu Lahab.
Since the Qur’an is a universal message beyond time and space, it would be wrong to assume
that this message is peculiar to a specific timeframe or to a specific geographic region. While giving
an example about a matter in the Qur’an, Allah does not specify a date, place or name. He describes

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those who deal with their attitude, character and personal properties. Thus, He ensures that the
example He gives will always be valid, at any time and in any place.
Another message conveyed through this Surah is that, since even Prophet’s own uncle has no
privilege, social position of an individual notwithstanding if he is a king, a slave; wealthy or poor, or
inherited honorific titles such as Sayyid or Sharif will not make the individual privileged on the Day
of Akhirat.
These Ayat fulfill a miracle by providing news for the future. In the Surah, it is stated that Abu
Lahab and his wife would not surrender and believe and would be sent to the Jahannah [Hell]. Died
15 years after the Surah was revealed, Abu Lahab denied the truth until his death. This miracle, which
was witnessed by all during the years in which the Qur’an continued to be revealed, is one of the
crystal clear evidences of the prophethood of Muhammad.
31 The literal meaning of the Arabic word Tabbat is “one that is dried, perished,
demolished”. Consideration of the phrase “two hands” mentioned in the Ayah as “metonymic”, i.e.
with the mention of two hands, the owner of these hand is actually referred, is of secondary
importance.
The phrase two hands represents the two powers of Abu Lahab. Then, 3rd sentence of the
respective division explains his two powers as “his wealth and his revenues”. When it is considered
that Abu Lahab was a wealthy man, “his revenues” may be deducted to be his social circle, his
organization, sons, servants and the militia he trained. We preferred the metaphorical meaning.