Meccan, and its verses are 5 [revealed after Al-Fatiha] 'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'.

Al-tabab: destruction. From it, they say: 'Ashaaba am tabba', meaning: destroyed from old age and incapacity. The meaning is: his hands are destroyed, because it is narrated that he took a stone to throw at the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and he was destroyed and all of him perished. Or his hands were made to be destroyed. The intended meaning is the destruction of his entirety, as in His saying: 'by what your two hands have sent forth'. And the meaning of 'wa tabba': it was and it happened, as in the saying:

'May Allah reward him with the worst of his rewards... the reward of the howling dogs.' And he has done so. [[As if he had done good to him, so the reward is evil, and he invoked against him by saying: 'May Allah reward him with the worst of his rewards.' The reward of the dogs: a substitute for 'the worst of his rewards', and the pronoun 'his' refers to Allah or to the man being invoked against. And the reward of the howling dogs: stoning them. It is narrated as 'the charging ones' with a dal instead of a waw. And 'he has done': meaning Allah has done that reward in reality, where He inflicted it. And in it are types of eloquence:

The return, which is the return to the previous speech by negation for a reason, because the implication of the invocation is that what was invoked did not happen, so he negated it by saying 'and it has happened'. It is narrated instead of the first line: 'May his Lord reward me for Adi ibn Hatim.' And the pronoun 'his Lord' refers to Hatim, even though it is delayed in wording and rank for necessity, and it was permitted by Al-Akhfash, Ibn Jinni, and Ibn Malik in the allowance, because the object was advanced due to the strong implication of the action needing it. And it is said that the return of the reward is known from 'jaza'. It is also narrated instead of the first line: 'May Allah reward Absa, the sons of Al-Bagheed.' And it is a well-known tribe, and perhaps the poet is multiple, and what some commentators of the evidence of Al-Jami have narrated that Adi ibn Hatim was a man who built the palace of Al-Nu'man ibn Amr al-Qais at the back of Kufa, so he admired it and asked him: 'Did you build something like it?' He said: 'No, I built it on a stone; if it fell, the palace would fall.' So he threw it from its top and it fell dead: this is an error. The truth is that this story happened to Sanmar mentioned in the saying:

'His sons rewarded Abu Al-Ghaylan for his old age... and good deeds as Sanmar is rewarded.'

Because Adi ibn Hatim is a companion from the pure Arabs, and the pronoun 'his sons' refers to Abu Al-Ghaylan with a kasra. And Sanmar has two kasras and is emphasized.

And 'about' is related to 'reward', meaning: a reward arising from arrogance, and it has a meaning of mockery. It may also mean substitution, but the more correct meaning is that it signifies 'after'. It has been said that it means 'in', but this is not valid. The present tense is used instead of the past to bring to mind what has passed, because it is astonishing. This is supported by the reading of Ibn Mas'ud: 'And he repented'. It has been narrated that when the verse 'And warn your closest relatives' was revealed, he climbed Al-Safa and said: 'O morning!' The people gathered around him from every direction. He said: 'O sons of Abdul Muttalib, O sons of Fihr, if I inform you that at the foot of this mountain there are horses, would you believe me?' They said: 'Yes.' He said: 'I am a warner to you before the Hour.' Abu Lahab said: 'May you perish! Is this why you have gathered us?' [Agreed upon from the hadith of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father.] If you ask: Why did he use a nickname, as nicknames are a form of honor? I say: There are three opinions on this. The first is that he was more famously known by his nickname than by his name. A man may be known by one of them, and thus the nickname may be used in place of the name, or the name may be used in place of the nickname as an explanatory addition. When he wanted to make him notorious for the call of evil and for it to remain a characteristic of him, he mentioned the more famous of his two names. This is supported by the reading of those who read: 'the hands of Abu Lahab' [Mahamud said: 'And this is supported by the reading of those who read the hands of Abu Lahab.' Ahmad said: 'In this is evidence that the nominative is the most prominent form of grammar and the first of it. Do you not see that they preserved the form by which he became known, which was his initial state?'] As it has been said: 'Ali is the son of Abu Talib.' And 'Muawiya is the son of Abu Sufyan', so that nothing would be altered from it and confuse the listener. And for Faleeta ibn Qasim, the governor of Mecca, there are two sons, one of whom is Abdullah - in the genitive case, and the other Abdullah - in the accusative case. There was a man in Mecca known as Abdullah - with a soft 'd', and he is known only this way. The second opinion is that his name was Abdullah al-Uzza, but he was referred to by his nickname. The third is that since he was among the people of the Fire and his fate is to a fire with flames, his condition matched his nickname, so it was fitting to mention him by it. It is said: Abu Lahab, just as it is said: Abu al-Sharr for the wicked, and Abu al-Khayr for the good. Just as the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, nicknamed Abu al-Mahlab: Abu Safra, due to the yellowishness of his face. It has been said that he was nicknamed this due to the flames of his cheeks and their brightness, so it is permissible to mention this in mockery of him and in pride of it. And it is read as 'Abu Lahab', with a pause. This is a change of names, as they say: Shams ibn Malik with a 'd' in the genitive case. What has not benefited is a question in the sense of denial, and its place is accusative or negation. 'And what he earned' is in the nominative case. And 'what' is either a relative pronoun or a gerund meaning: 'and what was earned'. Or: 'and his earnings'. The meaning is: His wealth and what he earned with his wealth did not benefit him, meaning: the principal and the profits. Or his livestock and what he earned from their offspring and their benefits, and he was one who had much wealth [The phrase 'and he was one who had much wealth' is mentioned in the dictionary as meaning: much money and offspring, camels that have multiplied, and sheep that have increased in number. The 'old' refers to the ancient, and the 'new' refers to the recent (A).]. Or his wealth that he inherited from his father and what he earned himself. Or his old and new wealth. And from Ibn Abbas: what his children earned.

It is narrated that the sons of Abu Lahab sought arbitration from him, and they fought. He stood to mediate between them, but one of them pushed him, causing him to fall. He became angry and said: "Remove from me the evil earnings." This is from his saying, peace be upon him: "The best that a man eats is from his earnings, and his children are from his earnings." And from Al-Dhahak: What benefits him is his wealth and his evil deeds, meaning his plotting against the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. And from Qatadah: His deeds which he thought were beneficial to him, as in the saying: "And We brought forth what they did of deeds." It is reported that he used to say: "If what my nephew says is true, I will redeem myself from him with my wealth and my children." "He will surely burn" is read with a فتح (fatha) on the ياء (ya) and with a ضم (dhamma) on it, in both light and heavy forms. The س (seen) indicates a threat, meaning: it is bound to happen, no matter how long its time may be delayed. "And his wife" is Umm Jamil bint Harb, the sister of Abu Sufyan. She used to carry a bundle of thorns and prickles and scatter them at night on the path of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. It is said that she walked with gossip: and the one who spreads gossip is called a bearer of firewood among the people, meaning: igniting disputes among them and inheriting evil. He said:

"From the white [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-baydh] that was not hunted on the back of a she-camel ... and did not walk among the people with fresh firewood."

It was narrated by Ya'qub. The whiteness [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-baydh] is a metaphor for being free from blameworthy causes. To hunt means to find and perceive. Its weight is to be made to act, so the تاء (ta) of the active form is replaced by طاء (ta) according to the norm. Some narrated it as يضدد (yadudd) and some as يضطد (yadud), with the ضاد (dad) being pronounced in both, as it is from the opposite. One should consider the second view, as the دال (dal) in it has its proper emphasis, so perhaps it was lightened for necessity. The لامة (lamah): blame and its cause: it is likened to a mount that its owner is accustomed to riding on the path of concealment, so it is imagined to have a back for that reason. It was narrated, instead of firewood, as الخشب (al-khashab), which is wood, and the firewood that is used to kindle. The intended meaning is gossip: it is borrowed for that due to the commonality of igniting dislike from everything, because fresh firewood, when ignited, produces a lot of smoke. It was narrated: did not hunt, and did not walk with the ياء (ya) as it is an adjective for a masculine noun.

He made it fresh to indicate the smoking which is an increase in evil, and it was raised in conjunction with the pronoun in "He will surely burn," meaning: he and his wife will surely burn. "And in her neck" is in the position of a state. Or it is an independent clause, and in her neck is the news. It is read: "the bearer of firewood," in the accusative as an insult, and I prefer this reading. And it was interceded to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, with the beautiful: "Whoever loves to insult Umm Jamil." And it was read: "the bearer of firewood." And "the bearer of firewood" is with tanween, and in the nominative and accusative. And it was read: "and I made her small." Al-Masad is that which is twisted from ropes tightly, whether from palm fibers or leather, or others. He said: "And al-Masad is more bitter than a she-camel."

"If you desire rain while you are not driving the camels that are to be watered, then hasten to the water of a well with a large bucket like the bucket of Abu Tarek. And with a rope made: in the passive voice, meaning: it was twisted tightly. From أيافق (ayafiq), meaning: from its fibers, or from its skins. Al-Ayanq is the plural of أيناقة (aynāq). Al-Aynaq is the plural of نوق (nūq), and نوق is the plural of ناقة (nāqah). That rope is not fangs, meaning, aged she-camels, nor is it truths, meaning, young girls, nor weaklings, meaning: it is not from these types that are driven with difficulty, so in this variety, it changes from them. It is narrated: they are not, meaning: the she-camels from which it is twisted. The most likely is that the correct narration is with أيناقة (aynāq), meaning: hasten with a twisted rope of white palm fibers. And strong she-camels: do not need to be driven. And their milk is abundant: Al-Farra said: it is raised, and the hair is thick. He says: rather, their milk is plump and fat at the beginning, and this supports the narration: they are not among the she-camels. Others said: the abundant here means gone, and it is in the genitive by conjunction, meaning: nor weaklings, their milk. And abundant in the genitive is a response to weaklings, as if he raised their milk with weaklings.

And a man with a twisted creation, bound. The meaning is: in its neck is a rope made from twisted ropes. It carries that bundle of thorns and ties it around its neck, as the woodcutters do: to belittle its condition, to demean it, and to depict it as some of the woodcutters of the lowly, so that it may be angered. The saying "from the lowly so that it may be angered" refers to the servants. Anger is the feeling of rage. This is indicated by the dictionaries. (A) Some people have mocked Al-Fadl ibn Abbas ibn Utbah ibn Abu Lahab for carrying wood, and he said:

"What did you intend by insulting me and belittling me... Or what do you mock about the wood carrier?

A radiant one, exalted in glory, was deceived by it... She was the descendant of a noble chief."

This is the expression of Al-Fadl ibn Abbas ibn Utbah ibn Abu Lahab. The wood carrier refers to the wife of Abu Lahab, thus she is his grandmother. The radiant one is the white one. The exalted one refers to being spacious, and this is a metaphor for prominence and high status. The descendant is from the lineage of another, and the chief refers to her father, Harb, because she is the sister of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. She was cross-eyed and died strangled by the rope in which she used to carry wood. It is said that carrying wood is a metaphor for stirring up sedition, as she was a gossip. And "to my insult" is related to something omitted or to what I wanted in a way of inclusion, meaning: what did you intend leaning towards my insult, or joining it to my insult? Or what did you intend by my insult or with my insult? Did you intend that you are noble and without defect? It is permissible for "to" to mean "from" as the grammarians have said, and they have cited as evidence the saying:

"She says, and you have risen with the crown above it... The watering does not quench the son of Ahmara."

And it can be that it is for companionship, as they also said in the saying of Allah, the Most High: "And do not consume their wealth among your wealth." And "to insult" originally is "to be insulted," so one of the two 't's was omitted. As for "to be insulted by your complete grandmother, it should not be disregarded." It has been narrated: "of noble lineage." The meaning is that his lineage is genuine, as if he is included among the ancestors of the past or is among the people, and now to insult her while her status was elevated: is more severe in humiliation.

It is possible that the meaning is: her condition will be in the fire of Hell in the form she had when she was carrying a bundle of thorns, and she will always have a bundle of firewood from the tree of Zaqqum or from the Dhari. And in her neck is a rope made from twisted chains of fire: as every criminal is punished in accordance with the nature of their crime.

From the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him: "Whoever recites Surah Tabbat, I hope that Allah will not gather him with Abu Lahab in one abode." [Narrated by Al-Thalabi, Al-Wahidi, and Ibn Mardawayh from the hadith of Ubayy ibn Ka'b.]