Al-Masadd - Introduction and Summary To Surah 111- Al Masad or Al Lahab

Introduction and Summary To Surah 111- Al Masad or Al Lahab

This very early Makkan Surah, though it referred in the first instance to a particular incident in a cruel and relentless persecution, carries the general lesson that cruelty ultimately ruins itself. The man who rages against holy things is burnt up in his own rage. The epithet Abu-Lahab is often thought to refer to Muhammad's uncle, Abd-al-Uzza, one of his most inveterate opponents and other fiery tempered enemies of Islam. His hands, which are the instruments of his action, perish, and he perishes himself. No boasted wealth or position will save him. The women, who are made for nobler emotions, may, if they go wrong, feed unholy rage with fiercer fuel—to their own loss. For they may twist the torturing rope round their own neck. It is a common experience that people perish by the very means by which they seek to destroy others.