Abū Lahab, jina lake halisi lilikuwa ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā bin ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, alikuwa mjomba wa Nabii ﷺ. Alipewa jina hilo la utani kwa sababu ya sura yake ya kung'aa.

Abū Lahab, whose real name was `Abd al-‘Uzzā ibn `Abd alMuţţalib, was the Prophet’s uncle. He was so nicknamed because of the radiant look on his face.

Pamoja na mkewe, Abū Lahab alikuwa mmoja wa wapinzani wakali zaidi wa Mtume wa Mwenyezi Mungu ﷺ na mawazo aliyoyaeneza.

Together with his wife, Abū Lahab was one of the most hostile opponents of God’s Messenger and the ideas he propagated.

Ibn Isĥāq alisimulia riwaya ya Rabī`ah ibn `Abbād al-Daylī: “Nilipokuwa mdogo nilimwona mimi pamoja na baba yangu Mtume wa Mwenyezi Mungu ﷺ akiwalingania Waarabu kwenye Uislamu, akisema: ‘Enyi wana wa... (akiwaita kwa majina ya kabila zao), mimi ni Mtume wa Mwenyezi Mungu nilitumwa kuwaamuru mnyenyekee kwake na kumwabudu Yeye peke yake, bila kumshirikisha na chochote, na kuniamini na kunilinda mpaka nitekeleze alichonikabidhi Mwenyezi Mungu.’ Nyuma yake alikuwepo mtu mwenye macho yaliyoelekea pembeni na uso wenye mng’ao, ambaye alikuwa akisema baada ya yeye kumaliza: ‘Enyi wana wa... Mtu huyu anataka mwache al-Lāt na al-`Uzzā [sanamu mbili maarufu zilizoabudiwa na Waarabu washirikina] na washirika wenu katika majini, watoto wa Mālik ibn Aqmas, na badala yake mzikubali bidaa hizi na upuuzi alioleta. Msimsikilize wala msifuate anachohubiri.’ Nilimwuliza baba yangu huyo mtu alikuwa nani, naye akaniambia kuwa alikuwa Abū Lahab, ami yake Mtume ﷺ.” [Imepokewa na Aĥmad na al-Ţabarānī.] Tukio hili ni mfano mmoja tu wa vitisho na chuki ya Abū Lahab dhidi ya Mtume ﷺ na ujumbe wake. Mkewe, Arwā bint Ĥarb ibn Umayyah, dada yake Abū Sufyān, alimpa uungwaji mkono usioyumba katika kampeni yake kali na isiyokoma.

Ibn Isĥāq related the following report by Rabī`ah ibn `Abbād al-Daylī: “When I was young I once watched, with my father, God’s Messenger preaching Islam to the Arab tribes, saying ‘O sons of... (calling their respective tribal names), I am God’s Messenger sent to order you to submit to, and worship Him alone, invoking nothing else beside Him, and to believe in me and protect me until I carry out what God has entrusted to me.’ A cross-eyed, bright-faced man was behind him, who used to say, after he had finished, ‘O sons of... This man wants you to forsake al-Lāt and al-`Uzzā [two prominent idols worshipped by the pagan Arabs] and your allies of the jinn, the children of Mālik ibn Aqmas and to substitute for them these innovations and nonsense he has come up with. Do not listen to him, nor follow what he preaches.’ I asked my father who that man was and he told me that it was Abū Lahab, the Prophet’s uncle.” [Related by Aĥmad and al-Ţabarānī.] This is but one incident of Abū Lahab’s intimidation and ill- will towards the Prophet and his message. His wife, Arwā bint Ĥarb ibn Umayyah, Abū Sufyān’s sister, gave him unfailing support in his virulent, relentless campaign.

Sura hii iliteremshwa kama jibu kali dhidi ya kampeni ya uadui ya Abu Lahab na mkewe. Mwenyezi Mungu alijichukulia jukumu la kutoa neno la mwisho kwa niaba ya Mtume Wake ﷺ.

This sūrah was revealed as a counterattack against Abū Lahab’s and his wife’s hostile campaign. God took it upon Himself to say the final word on behalf of His Messenger.

“Wameangamia mikono ya Abū Lahab; ameangamia yeye mwenyewe.” (Aya 1) Neno la Kiarabu tabba, lililotafsiriwa hapa kuwa ‘limeangamia’, pia lina maana ya kushindwa na kukatwa. Neno hili limetumika mara mbili kwa maana mbili tofauti. Mara ya kwanza limetumika kama dua, ilhali katika mara ya pili linadokeza kwamba dua hiyo tayari imekwishajibiwa. Hivyo, katika aya moja fupi, kitendo kimoja kinadhihirika ambacho kinaonyesha pazia la tukio la vita. Kinachofuata baadaye ni maelezo tu ya yaliyotokea, pamoja na kauli kwamba “mali yake na alichokichuma havitamfaa chochote.” (Aya 2) Hana pa kukimbilia. Ameshindwa, amebwagwa na amelaaniwa.

“Doomed are the hands of Abū Lahab; doomed is he.” (Verse 1) The Arabic term, tabba, rendered here as ‘doomed’ also signifies failure and cutting off. The term is used twice in two different senses. It is used first as a prayer, while in the second instance it implies that the prayer has been already answered. So, in one short verse, an action is realized which draws the curtains upon a battle scene. What later follows is merely a description of what took place with the remark that “his wealth and his gains shall avail him nothing.” (Verse 2) He can have no escape. He is defeated, vanquished and damned.

Hiki kilikuwa hatima yake katika dunia hii, lakini katika Akhera "atalazimika kuvumilia moto unaowaka." (Aya ya 3) Moto umeelezwa kuwa na miali ili kusisitiza kwamba unawaka kwa nguvu.

This was his fate in this world, but in the hereafter “he shall have to endure a flaming fire.” (Verse 3) The fire is described as having flames in order to emphasize that it is raging.

"Na mkewe, mbeba kuni," ataishi humo pamoja naye akiwa na "kamba ya nyuzi za mtende shingoni mwake," ambayo kana kwamba, atavutwa nayo kuelekea motoni, au ambayo alitumia kufungia mafungu ya kuni, kulingana na kama tafsiri ya maandishi inachukuliwa kuwa ya kihalisi au ya kiistiara.

“And his wife, the carrier of firewood,” will reside there with him having “a rope of palm-fibre round her neck,” with which, as it were, she is being dragged into hell, or which she used for fastening wood bundles together, according to whether a literal or metaphorical interpretation of the text is adopted.

Lugha ya sūrah hii inaonyesha upatanifu wa ajabu kati ya maudhui yake na mazingira yanayojengwa kuizunguka. Abū Lahab atatumbukizwa katika moto wenye lahab, ambalo kwa Kiarabu ni miali ya moto; na mkewe anayebeba kuni, mafuta ya moto, atakutana na moto huo huo akiwa na kamba ya nyuzi za mtende shingoni mwake. Jahannam, pamoja na miali yake inayowaka kwa nguvu, ndiyo itakayokaliwa na Abū Lahab. Wakati huo huo mkewe, anayekusanya miiba na mbao kali, vitu vinavyoweza kuongeza sana ukali wa moto, anaviweka vyote kwenye njia ya Mtume ﷺ. Kwa hiyo, kwa wakati wake, ataburutwa hadi motoni akiwa na kamba shingoni mwake, amefungwa kama kuni.