Which Surah Names an Opponent of the Prophet, and Who Was He?
أي سورة تسمي خصما للنبي، ومن هو؟
Surah Al-Lahab denounces an opponent of the Prophet by name, and that person was Abu Lahab, a paternal uncle of the Prophet. (Corrected here from the original published wording, which called him a grand-uncle; Abu Lahab was a son of Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's grandfather.) "May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and he himself perish!" (Surah Al-Masad 111:1).
سورة اللهب تذم خصما للنبي بالاسم، وهو أبو لهب، عم النبي. (صُحّح هنا عن النص المنشور سابقا الذي جعله عم جد النبي؛ فأبو لهب ابن عبد المطلب جد النبي.) تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ (سورة المسد: 1).
1. The Only Contemporary of the Prophet Condemned by Name | المعاصر الوحيد للنبي المذموم باسمه
Surah Al-Masad, also known as Surah Al-Lahab, is unique among the Quran's 114 surahs for directly naming and condemning a specific living opponent of the Prophet by name. Other opponents of the Prophet in his own time are described in the Quran, but none of them is named the way Abu Lahab is here.
تُعد سورة المسد، المعروفة أيضا بسورة اللهب، فريدة بين سور القرآن الـ114 لتسميتها وإدانتها المباشرة لخصم معين حي للنبي باسمه. ويصف القرآن خصوما آخرين للنبي في زمانه، لكنه لا يسمي أحدا منهم كما سمى أبا لهب هنا.
2. Opposition From Within His Own Family | معارضة من داخل عائلته
What made Abu Lahab's opposition especially painful was that it came from the Prophet's own family, a relative who mocked and actively worked against his mission rather than merely disbelieving quietly. His wife is condemned alongside him later in the same short surah for her own role in this hostility, described as the carrier of firewood, which Ibn Abbas explained as the thorns she spread on the Prophet's path.
ما جعل معارضة أبي لهب مؤلمة بشكل خاص أنها جاءت من داخل أسرة النبي نفسها، قريب سخر منه وعمل بنشاط ضد رسالته بدلا من مجرد الكفر بصمت. وتُدان زوجته إلى جانبه لاحقا في السورة القصيرة نفسها لدورها في هذا العداء، إذ وُصفت بحمالة الحطب، وفسره ابن عباس بالشوك الذي كانت تلقيه في طريق النبي.
3. A Short Surah With a Striking Prophecy | سورة قصيرة بنبوءة لافتة
Surah Al-Masad was revealed in Makkah at a time when Abu Lahab was alive and openly hostile, yet it foretold his ultimate ruin in terms that could easily have been disproven had he simply accepted Islam at any point before his death. He never did, and scholars point to this as one of the Quran's clear predictive statements about a specific individual's fate.
نزلت سورة المسد في مكة في وقت كان فيه أبو لهب حيا ومعاديا علنا، ومع ذلك تنبأت بهلاكه النهائي بعبارات كان من السهل دحضها لو أنه اعتنق الإسلام في أي وقت قبل وفاته. لكنه لم يفعل ذلك أبدا، ويشير العلماء إلى هذا باعتباره أحد التصريحات النبوية الواضحة في القرآن عن مصير فرد بعينه.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Which surah names an opponent of the Prophet directly?
Surah Al-Masad, also called Surah Al-Lahab, which names Abu Lahab.
Who was Abu Lahab to the Prophet?
His uncle, who fiercely opposed his mission.
Is anyone else condemned in the same surah?
Yes, Abu Lahab's wife is condemned as well for her role in the hostility against the Prophet.