Surah 111. Al-Lahab, Ayah 1
| تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ |
| Transliteration | : | tabbat yadaa 'abe lahab wa- tabba |
| Pickthall | : | The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish. |
| Asad | : | DOOMED are the hands of him of the glowing countenance1 and doomed is he! |
| Malik | : | Perish the hands of Abu Lahab! And perish he! |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Perish the hands of the Father of Flame! Perish he! 6294 |
Note - 1The real name of this uncle of the Prophet was 'Abd
al-'Uzza. He was popularly nicknamed Abu Lahab (lit., "He
of the Flame") on account of his beauty, which was most
notably expressed in his glowing countenance (Baghawi, on
the authority of Muqatil; Zamakhshari and Razi passim in
their comments on the above verse; Fath al-Bari VIII,
599). Since this nickname, or kunyah, appears to have
been applied to him even before the advent of Islam,
there is no reason to suppose that it had a pejorative
significance. - The expression "hands" in the above
clause is, in accordance with classical Arabic usage, a
metonym for "power", nludst the great influence which Abu
Lahab wielded.
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Note - 6294Abu Lahab, "Father of Flame", was the nick-name of an
uncle of the holy Prophet, from his fiery hot temper and
his ruddy complexion. He was one of the most inveterate
enemies of early Islam. When the holy Prophet called
together the Quraish and his own kith and kin to come and
listen to his preaching and his warning against the sins
of his people, the "Father of Flame" flared up and cursed
the holy Prophet, saying "Perdition to thee!" According
to the English saying, "the causeless curse will not
come". His words were futile, but his power and strength
were equally futile. The star of Islam rose higher and
higher every day, and its persecuters dwindled in
strength and power. Many of the leaders of persecution
perished at Badr, and Abu Lahab himself perished a week
after Badr, consumed with grief and his own fiery
passions. Verse 3 was prophetic of his end in this very
life, though it also refers to the Hereafter.
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The real name of this uncle of the Prophet was 'Abd al-'Uzza. He was popularly nicknamed Abu Lahab (lit., "He of the Flame") on account of his beauty, which was most notably expressed in his glowing countenance (Baghawi, on the authority of Muqatil; Zamakhshari and Razi passim in their comments on the above verse; Fath al-Bari VIII, 599). Since this nickname, or kunyah, appears to have been applied to him even before the advent of Islam, there is no reason to suppose that it had a pejorative significance. - The expression "hands" in the above clause is, in accordance with classical Arabic usage, a metonym for "power", nludst the great influence which Abu Lahab wielded. |
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Abu Lahab, "Father of Flame", was the nick-name of an uncle of the holy Prophet, from his fiery hot temper and his ruddy complexion. He was one of the most inveterate enemies of early Islam. When the holy Prophet called together the Quraish and his own kith and kin to come and listen to his preaching and his warning against the sins of his people, the "Father of Flame" flared up and cursed the holy Prophet, saying "Perdition to thee!" According to the English saying, "the causeless curse will not come". His words were futile, but his power and strength were equally futile. The star of Islam rose higher and higher every day, and its persecuters dwindled in strength and power. Many of the leaders of persecution perished at Badr, and Abu Lahab himself perished a week after Badr, consumed with grief and his own fiery passions. Verse 3 was prophetic of his end in this very life, though it also refers to the Hereafter. |
