Tafseer Sūrah al-Masad (111)

This Sūrah is given the titles: Sūrah Tabbat, Sūrah al-Masad, Sūrat Abī Lahab, and Sūrah al-Lahab. 

It relates the destiny of Abū Lahab, who was the Prophet’s uncle and one of his severest enemies.

We learn from the surah that Islām does not give preference to one over another except in taqwā. For a non-relative Muslim can become a near and dear brother or sister if he has faith, and a near-relative can be an enemy if he disbelieves.

THE CAUSE OF REVELATION

It is narrated in the two books of sahīh from Ibn ‘Abbās that when Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was commanded to make his call public. He ascended the mount as-Safā one morning and called out aloud,  (واصباحاه) “O the calamity of the morning!” which is an alarm that was usually raised by a person who noticed an enemy advancing. The people of Quraysh rushed out. Muhammad (SAW) said, “O Banī Hāshim! O Banī `Abdul-Muttalib! O Banī so and so…! If I were to tell you that behind this hill there is an enemy host ready to fall upon you, would you believe me?” They said, “We had never seen you lying.” He then replied: “I warn you of a near punishment.” Abū-Lahab [who was present among the people] said, “May you be ruined! Have you called us for this?” The Prophet (SAW) didn’t answer his uncle, for the Arabs used to respect their elders. However Allāh sent down a response to the hostility of Abū-Lahab and his wife through this Sūrah al-Masad.

MEANING OF THE SŪRAH

Ayah 1: تَبَّتْ يَدَآ أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ

May the hands of Abū-Lahab be ruined, and ruined is he.

(tabbat): be ruined. 

This term has too many implications: It means;

هلكت : to die violently.

خسرت : to suffer loss.

خابت : to go in vain.

ضلت : to go to waste.

خلت من كل خير : to be completely void of every good.

(yadā): the two hands. It doesn’t refer to the physical hands, but to a person’s failure in his aim and objective.

Abū Lahab’s real name was `Abdul-`Uzzā.

Abū Lahab was one of the most famous and wealthiest people in Makkah.

He was the next door neighbor of the Prophet, and one of the severest enemies of his. 

Allāh did not mention his real name because, (God knows best);

a. He was better known by his nickname.

b. His nickname resembles the fate he was destined for.

c. The Qur’ān doesn’t approve his polytheistic name `Abdul-`Uzzā, which means slave of al-`Uzzā.

Ṭāriq al-Muḥāribī narrated, “While I was in the market of Dhil-Majāz I saw a young man speaking to the people, saying: “O people, say, ‘There is no god but Allāh’ you attain success.” On the other hand, there was a man walking behind him stoning him and causing his legs and feet to bleed while talking to the same people, “O people, he is a liar, do not believe him.” I asked who was that man and received the answer, “This is Muhammad claiming that he is a prophet and this is his uncle Abū Lahab.” 

Ayah 2: مَآ أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ

His wealth will not avail him, nor that which he gained.

The word (mā) is strong and emphatic. It means not at all. 

This ayah refers to his punishment in this world. 

When he died his wealth did not avail him, nor did his children about whom he used to brag. 

Ibn Mas`ūd narrated that Abū Lahab said, “If what my nephew was saying is true then I will sacrifice my wealth and my children to save myself on the Day of Judgement from punishment, so Allāh revealed, “His wealth will not avail him, nor that which he gained.”  

Ayah 3:  سَيَصْلَىٰ نَاراً ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ

He will enter to burn in a Fire of blazing flame.

This is the punishment which he will receive in the Hereafter. There will be nothing to save him from the punishment of Hell. This was revealed when he was still alive. He later died as a kāfir and this āyah was from the signs of Muhammad’s Prophethood. 

(Dhāta lahab): of blazing flame. It goes very well with the title by which he used to be known among his people, Abū Lahab.  

Ayah 4: وَٱمْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ ٱلْحَطَبِ

And his wife [as well] - the carrier of firewood.

And along with him, his wife too will be burnt in Hellfire.

She used to carry firewood which has thorns and put them in the Prophet’s path in order to harm him. 

So she will be carrying in the Hereafter her own fuel by which she and her husband will be burnt. The punishment is of the same nature as is the deed. 

She used to slander the Prophet (SAW), and carry evil tales about him and his companions, in order to create hatred among them.

Ayah 5: فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِّن مَّسَدٍ

Around her neck is a rope of [twisted] fiber.

(jeed): means the neck that is decorated with an ornament.

Umm Jameel used to wear a valuable necklace and say, “By al-Lāt and al-‘Uzzā, I will sell this necklace and expend its price in satisfying my enmity against Muhammad.”

she will have in Hell a rope of twisted fiber around her neck, by which she will carry the wood to burn herself and her husband; an equivalent penalty to her evil deed. 

When she heard this Sūrah recited by the companions of the Prophet (SAW) she went to see him and he was with Abū Bakr at the Ka`bah. She was carrying a handful of stones to stone him. She asked Abū Bakr about him because she was unable to see him. Allāh sent an angel to screen him from her as he (SAW) later told Abū Bakr.

How Wanting To Convert Muslims To Christians Brought Musa To Islam

Below is the story of young man who wanted to persuade Muslims to convert from the "evil" religion of Islam to Christianity. Read on his inspiration story and reflect. Here's is how he narrates his story:

"Assalam alaikum

"My Name Is Musa. I am an American Christian Convert (revert) to Islam.

"I was brought up Christian pretty much, but I never really practiced or cared about religion much until I was in my late teens.

"I went through a phase where I hated God for some unknown reason. I don't know if it was because I was trying to be "in" or "find myself" or what, but for some reason I blamed God for all of my faults. For my bad childhood. The flu. The Raiders not winning the super bowl. Whatever it was, it was "Gods Fault!"

"I was into Satanism and Voodoo, witchcraft. You name it; I was into it. I didn't care much about anything; my life, my family; nothing. I did what I wanted, when I wanted to. I skimmed by using other people. I was into guns and drugs, partying and hard-core Satanist rock music. I was over all a pretty bad dude. Anyhow, it all caught up with me when I was around 20 or so, and I ended my butt in Jail for 5 months.

"That give me some time to think. I really didn't think a lot about God while I was in there until one day I was bored and I decided to read the bible.

"There were tons of them there so I said to myself 'why not?'

"Well, much to my surprise I found the bible. Amazing! I didn't realize that everything I was looking for (or so I thought) was in this book. God - what a concept especially from a former Satanist. It was unheard of, but I began to study it.

"I couldn't get enough of it and started reading and didn't stop until I got out of Jail. One night I was reading my Bible from the light that was coming through a crack in the door after lights out. I was reading the story of Jesus (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in Matthew. And... 

"...wow! I wanted to be like him. I could just imagine him; living his entire life for God. I wanted to be like his followers. To be close to God. To love and worship God. At that moment in my life nothing else really mattered to me. Nothing was important in this world other than God.

"Anyhow, I decided that I was going to get baptized there in Jail. However, for some strange reason, the day I was supposed to be baptized was the day that they let me out of jail. The other crazy thing is they let me out of Jail early, a mistake on their part.

"I wasn't supposed to get out because I had other warrants and was waiting arragenment on Felony charges. I was a bad guy. Surprisingly, the other charges were dropped. I was out of jail (Alhamdulliah) and a free man -  free from Jail, free from my self torment ( or on my way to freedom anyhow)! 

"I soon went back to my old ways, but I was still never the same. I had promised God that I would never forsake Him again, and this is a promise I have kept. When I was out I changed a lot. I started going to church. My family all thought I was weird, because I was Jim "anti-God," the last time they saw me, and now I was going to church? 

"They all thought I had some crazy ulterior motive for seeking out God. Like I said I quickly went back to my old ways -  drinking a lot, illicit sex, back to my hard-core Satan rock. But it was Okay because all I had to do is ask Jesus (pbuh) to forgive me overnight and boom I'm saved! Right?

"Anyhow, I moved away from home again, for the 200th time, and In with some guy I met on the Internet down in South Carolina. Things were Okay there for a while, I just hung out, krpt to myself.

"One day I got this feeling that I needed to be close to God again. I started to feel that emptiness again like I did before when God was out of my life. It was pretty crazy, because I had not really done anything for God anymore. I was more about myself again. But for some reason I felt this pull back again, and strange as it sounds, to the middle east! 

"I felt that I needed to learn more about God, So I started looking online at websites about the Ancient  east and stuff like that. I came into the Syrian Orthodox church, who speak Aramaic, Which was the language Jesus (pbuh) spoke. 

"Surely this will get me closer to God. I learned that it was the earliest form of Christianity.

"'Wow,' I thought. I had found my calling. I thought that was what I was supposed to do. And I assumed that this Middle East hankering I was having was God telling me that I was to be a missionary and go convert those nasty "Muslim people". I was sure that is what I what I was supposed to do. I knew at this point that my life was for God and God alone. I thought about Missionary and Seminary school very much. I am not sure where it come from like I said, but It was just a realization that there really WAS God, that he was very real and that I needed to quit the things I was doing. So that is exactly what I intended to do.

"Well, I figured that If I was to convert these Muslim people I should know something about their religion, you know, so I could better show them how wrong they are (haha) and so I could better convert them to worship Jesus.(pbuh). I had figured it would be just a bunch of nonsense. 

"Everything I had heard on the news about "Islamic terrorists", how they worshiped some "Moon God" or something and the big black box in the desert. However, I realized very quickly that it was not completely true. The more I read the more I wanted to learn. I pretty much abandoned my studying of Aramaic and Christianity in exchange for Arabic and Islam (I had to know a little of the language to convert them no? hehe)!

"The biggest problem with me was that I was starting to really like what I was reading about Islam. I started telling my family, 'You know these Muslims are not that bad. They are not as strange as everyone thinks.'

"Inside I knew that I was a Muslim. Right from the start I felt that this is what I should be doing!

"They told me, 'You need to tread VERY carefully Jim!You need to be careful because Satan is looming and you are now a good Christian and all he wants to do is divert you from the truth. You can get "SUCKED IN" by this evil religion. Islam is evil and violent. Be careful!!!'

"I started talking about Islam every day to my friends and family, setting them strait on some of the wrong ideas they had about Islam. And I even started to implement some of the things I loved about Islam into my Christian worship. Prostrating, bowing ect, because I learnt that is how Jesus (pbuh) prayed.

"A Muslim friend I had met said to me, 'Jim you are a Muslim, you just need to learn to accept it. Accept that Allah has blessed you and led you to the truth."  

"And I knew she was right. You have to understand how devastating it was for me to learn that what I had believed in was wrong. I supposed for some people the conversion was not hard. It was coming to the truth that was hard and accepting was easy. For me it was other way round. I thought I was abandoning everything I was taught. I knew inside and Allah was telling me this is who I am. I knew this was the will of Allah, (Alhamdulliah) but I would not let myself believe it, and I went through the worst struggle of my life.

 I had Muslims I had been talking to online telling me, 'Jim you are already a Muslim.' And I knew I was. 

 "Then I had the Christians from my church telling me that Prophet (peace be unto him) was a demon possessed and that Islam was not the right way, that I was getting myself into something horrible and evil.

"I was torn. It was by far the hardest thing I had ever gone through. I have been through being beaten as a child, finding dead bodies in my house, being essentially kidnapped and taken from my mother, not to see her again until 15 years later,  severe anxiety disorder that put me in the hospital five times a month, and tons of other things I won't even get into, but ... 

"...those things were easy compared to the suffering I was going through now. My mental suffering.

 "Jesus... Allah... Muslim... Christian... So long I had loved Jesus... So long I had worshiped him as God, and to realize that I was wrong; Jesus was not God, I knew this and it was the hardest thing to admit it to myself.

"I was still very new to Islam and I did not know a whole lot, so I went by what people told me and the little that I had read. Finally I made my decision. I could not turn from the truth any longer. I had admitted to myself that I had been so blessed that Allah had shown me the truth!! Alhamdulliah! I called my very first Muslim friend and did Shahada with her on the phone.

"And then there was peace...

"My anxiety has all but gone. I have cut my medication in half and on my way to removing it completely. I have quit smoking. I quit drinking. I quit cursing. I quit doing drugs. And I leave in August for Cairo, Egypt not to convert Muslims like I originally believed but instead to study Arabic and Islam. (Alhamdulliah) I still have problems with my family, however. They don't like that I am a Muslim, although they have come to realize that this is really a life decision for me, That its not some kind of phase or something.Insha'Allah! They will realize the truth. I am trying to set an example. They have seen a huge change in me. Insha'Allah they will know that If I can change, they can also.

"This is the real short easy version of my story but I think I made the point. Allah is wonderful and I thank Him so much for showing me the truth. I am so excited about going to Cairo, I can hardly stand it. I will spend my very first Ramadan in Egypt. I will be able to learn from other Muslims. It will be so wonderful not to be so isolated, and alone. (Where I live now there isn't a Muslim for 100 miles or so). I just want to say Thank you for taking the time to read my story. May Allah bless you all."

Why Muslims Wage Wars And Drop Bombs

A few weeks ago in our Tawheed class, we were discussing how to answer people who think that Muslims all over the world are terrorists.

Most of the time when out teacher is answering our doubts, she relates her life experiences to put the concept across in a practical way.

To answer this query, she narrated her experience from the past, when she was preaching Islam to a group of nine ladies form varying nationalities - German, Spanish, British, Chinese, Japanese, and others.

One day, while she was with them, they said, 'Sister, please don't mind if we ask you one question?'

'No, go ahead and ask what you have to ask.'

'Don't feel bad or offended when we ask this, but why do Muslims drop bombs and wage wars?'

'Now that's a very good question,' my teacher said. 'But please, you also don't feel bad or offended when I answer you.'

There was a short pause and my teacher continued...

'Let me start with you,' she continued, turning towards the German lady. 'Do you remember Hitler? Do you know what he did in the world war II?,' she asked referring to the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jewish men, women and children were mercilessly killed.

The German lady was quiet.

'Let me come to you now,' she said, turning towards the Spanish lady. 'Phillipines was actually a Muslim country before the Spanish arrived there, forced people into Christianity, and killed those who refused to change their faith.' 

~ Christianity arrived in the Philippines with the landing of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. In the late 16th century, soldiers and missionaries firmly planted the seeds of conversion when they officially claimed the archipelago for Spain and named it after their king. Missionary activity during the country's long colonial rule by Spain and the United States transformed the Philippines into the first and then one of the two predominantly Christian nations in East Asia, with approximately 90% of the population belonging to the Christian faith, the other Christian nation being East Timor. ~

The Spanish lady too, had nothing to say.

Turning towards the British lady, my teacher said, 'The United Kingdom, prior to being united was acually four countries. England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales,' she counted off these countries on her fingers. 'The criminals form these countries were released and transported to America or Australia.'

~ Transportation to the Americas and later, Australia, was the second common penalty and many hangings were in fact commuted to transportation. Transportation began in 1718. By the American War of Independence in 1775, around 50,000 indentured convicts had been sent to these colonies. Judges who sat in courts in the port cities such as Bristol and Liverpool were often wealthy merchants and plantation owners. While the main labour force for their sugar and cotton plantations were slaves from Africa, they thought nothing of sentencing petty criminals to years of hard labour on their own property. While the conditions in the penal colonies were often as harsh as on the slave plantations, there was a crucial difference: the convicts could, in theory, look forward to freedom after they had served their sentence, while the slave could not. ~

We all know about the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Till date, some of the children born in these cities have deformities, due to the effects to the bombing.

~ On August 6, 1945, the United States used a massive, atomic weapon against Hiroshima, Japan. This atomic bomb, the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, flattened the city, killing tens of thousands of civilians. While Japan was still trying to comprehend this devastation three days later, the United States struck again, this time, on Nagasaki. ~

Turning to the Japanese and Chinese ladies, my teacher asked, 'Do you want me to continue?'

'No ma'am!' was the reply. 

The ladies had finally understood the point my teacher was trying to make. It's not Muslims who wage wars. Turn through the pages of history and you will see different countries decalaring wars on their rivals for some political reason or even for for taking over certain resources.

What were the 9/11 attacks for. Many people will never agree to the fact that they were an inside job. They will keep blaming the Muslims, who they believe to be the Islamic terrorists. Osama Bin Laden was alleged to be the master-mind behind these attacks; his motive being to forcedly stop specific foreign policies (American policy in the Middle East and its support of Israel), and force Non-Muslims to accept Islam.

True some of these people might include Muslims, but these are the people who got their religion wrong. Who might have been brainwashed by someone else to carry out their acts. And who do not represent the true religion of Islam, which always has and will always bring the message of peace to everyone!