Surah Al-Masad: (4) And his wife, the carrier of firewood.

Regarding His saying, the Exalted: {And his wife, the carrier of firewood}, there are several issues concerning it:

Issue 1: Recitations

It has been recited with tasghīr (diminutive form) for "his wife" (وَمُرَيْئِنَّهُ). It has also been recited with naṣb (accusative case) for "the carrier of firewood" (حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ), interpreted as an insult. The author of Al-Kashshāf stated: "I prefer this recitation, as a means of appealing to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) through one whom Umm Jamil loved [to insult]." It has also been recited with naṣb and tanwīn (indefinite accusative), and with rafʿ (nominative case).

Issue 2: The Meaning of "Carrier of Firewood"

Umm Jamil was Bint Harb, the sister of Abū Sufyān ibn Harb, and the paternal aunt of Muʿāwiyah. She harbored extreme enmity toward the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

They mentioned several interpretations for why she was described as the "carrier of firewood":

1. Carrying Thorns: She used to carry bundles of thorns and prickly plants and scatter them on the path of the Messenger of Allah at night. If one asks: How could she, being from a noble household, be described as a carrier of firewood? We reply: Perhaps, despite her wealth, she possessed a base character, or due to the intensity of her enmity, she personally carried thorns and firewood to place them in the path of the Messenger of Allah.
2. Spreading Slander (Nammīmah): The one who spreads slander and causes discord among people is called a "carrier of firewood" among them, meaning they ignite strife. A very talkative person is also called a "wood-gatherer of the night" (حَاطِبُ لَيْل).
3. Reproaching the Prophet for Poverty: This is the view of Qatādah: She used to taunt the Messenger of Allah regarding his poverty, so she was retorted by being described as one who gathers firewood (a sign of poverty).
4. Carrying Sins: This is the view of Abū Muslim and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: What is meant is the load of sins she carried in her enmity toward the Prophet, as these sins are like firewood that leads to the Fire. This is analogous to the verse where Allah likens the doer of sin to one carrying a load on his back, as in: {They have certainly borne a great slander and a manifest sin} (Qur'an 4:160), and {They will bear their burdens on their backs} (Qur'an 6:31), and {And man has borne it} (Qur'an 33:72).

Issue 3: Grammatical Analysis of "And his wife" (وَامْرَأَتُهُ)

If it is read in the nominative case (rafʿ), there are two possibilities:

1. It is coordinated with the pronoun in {He will burn} (سَيَصْلَى), meaning: He and his wife will burn. In this case, {around her neck a rope of palm fiber} (فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِّن مَّسَدٍ) is in the circumstantial case (ḥāl).
2. It is nominative as a new subject (mubtadaʾ), and {around her neck a rope of palm fiber} is the predicate (khabar).

Issue 4: The Incident with Asmāʾ

It is narrated from Asmāʾ that when Surah Al-Tabat was revealed, Umm Jamil came, wailing, with a stone in her hand. She entered the Mosque while the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was seated with Abū Bakr. She was saying:

Abū Bakr said: "O Messenger of Allah, she has approached you; I fear she might see you." The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "Indeed, she will not see me." And he recited: {And when you recite the Qur'an, We place between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a hidden barrier} (Qur'an 17:45). She then said to Abū Bakr: "I have been told that your companion has insulted me." Abū Bakr replied: "No, by the Lord of this House, he has not insulted you." She then left, saying:

There are discussions regarding this narration:

First Point: How was it permissible for Umm Jamil not to see the Messenger, yet she saw Abū Bakr, while they were in the same place?

• Our position (Ahl al-Sunnah): The question is moot, because when the necessary conditions for perception are met, perception is permissible (jāʾiz), not obligatory (wājib). If Allah wills for perception to occur, it happens; otherwise, it does not.
• The Muʿtazilah position: They offered several explanations:
  1. Perhaps the Prophet (PBUH) turned his face away from her and presented his back to her, and due to her intense anger, she did not investigate further. Or perhaps Allah cast fear into her heart, which diverted her gaze.
  2. Perhaps Allah cast the likeness of another man upon the Prophet, as He did with Jesus.
  3. Perhaps Allah diverted the rays of her sight away from that direction so that she did not see him.

Note: The objection remains against all three explanations, because these explanations establish that it is possible for something to be present yet unseen. If we allow this possibility, why should we not allow for the possibility of unseen filāt (perhaps referring to unseen creatures or phenomena) and trumpets being present without us seeing or hearing them?

Second Point: Abū Bakr swore that she had not been insulted. This is an example of maʿārīḍ (equivocation/ambiguity), because the Qur'an is not called hijw (insult/satire), and because it is the word of Allah, not the word of the Messenger. This narration thus indicates the permissibility of maʿārīḍ.

Remaining Questions on this Verse

Two questions remain concerning this verse:

Question 1: Why was it not sufficient to say {And his wife} but He described her as "the carrier of firewood"?

• Answer: It is said that he (Abū Lahab) had two other wives besides her. Allah the Exalted intended to prevent any assumption that the verse referred to any woman who was his wife; rather, the intent was specifically this one woman.

Question 2: Mentioning women is not appropriate for people of generosity and chivalry. How is it appropriate for it to be mentioned in the Word of Allah, especially the wife of one's paternal uncle?

• Answer: Since it was not deemed inappropriate to mention the wives of Noah and Lot due to the disbelief of those two women, it is even more appropriate not to find it inappropriate concerning the wife of a disbeliever, whose husband was also a disbeliever.

! 7 < { Around her neck a rope of palm fiber } . > 7 !

Regarding His saying, the Exalted: {Around her neck a rope of palm fiber}...