Abū Lahab

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abu Lahab ( Arabic أبو لهب, DMG Abū Lahab  'Father of the Flame'; d. 624 ) was an uncle and implacable opponent of the Prophet Mohammed . He and his wife are condemned in sura 111 of the Koran, which - among others - also bears his name. His full name wasعبد العزى بن عبد المطلب / ʿAbd al-ʿUzzā b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib .

Life and family

Abu Lahab was a son of Abd al-Muttalib and one of the leaders of the Quraish . Tradition describes him as a tall, corpulent man who was easily inflamed with anger.

Abu Lahab's mother was called Lubna bint al-Harith. His wife was called Umm Jamil bint Harb b. Umaiya and had a strong dislike for the Prophet. She gave birth to three sons to Abu Lahab. Umm Jamil was given the nickname "the wood-bearer", alluding to Koran 111: 4 . Two of these sons, Utba ibn Abi Lahab and Utayba ibn Abi Lahab, were in the meantime married to two daughters of Muhammad, Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad and Ruqayya bint Muhammad.

The Koran Sura

Abu Lahab was one of the two contemporaries of Muhammad mentioned by name in the Koran. There is no doubt that Abu Lahab has hosted Mohammed many times in the prehistory of this Surah. Theodor Nöldeke describes the background of this sura as follows:

“All of Sūra 111 is considered to be one of the oldest revelations. With regard to their origins, most traditions agree in the following ways: After much hesitation, Muhammad finally summoned his countrymen, or, according to more probable reports, his family, the Banū Hāšim , and summoned them to be converted to God. But his father brother 'Abd-al'uzza b. 'Abd-almuttalib, called Abū Lahab, said:تبا لك ألهذا دعوتنا؟'Go to the hangman, is that why you called us together?' At these words, by the man who was very respected in the family, and which were certainly not meant as badly as they sound, the meeting split up because they found no meaning in Muhammad's speeches. With the words of Sura 111 the Prophet hurled a heavy curse on Abū Lahab and his whole house, making him his fiercest enemy. "

The sura opens with words similar to the curse from the mouth of Abu Lahab:

“Let the hands of Abu Lahab be abandoned to destruction! He (with his whole person) be given up to destruction! What use is his wealth and what has he acquired? He will (one day) burn in a blazing fire, (he) and his wife, the (miserable) firewood carrier. "

death

Abu Lahab contracted smallpox. He died in AD 624, two years after the Hijra , shortly after hearing the news of the Meccans' defeat at the Battle of Badr . One tradition says: "Abu Lahab only lived seven days after this incident, then God killed him with poisonous leaves."

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ferdinand Wüstenfeld: Genealogical tables of the Arab tribes and families. Göttingen 1852, p. 227
  2. ^ Ferdinand Wüstenfeld: Genealogical tables of the Arab tribes and families. Göttingen 1852, p. 180
  3. ↑ Ignaz Goldziher: The directions of the Islamic interpretation of the Koran, Leiden 1920, p. 289
  4. ^ EJ Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913-1936, Leiden 1987, Vol. I, keyword: Abu Lahab
  5. ^ Theodor Nöldeke (ed.): History of the Qorans. Part I, Dieterich, Leipzig 1909, p. 89f.
  6. ↑ Cf. also the traditions of Bukhari on this incident ( memento from January 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ The life of Mohammed after Muhammad ibn Ishāq edited by Abd el-Malik Ibn Hishām . Vol. I. (transl. Gustav Weil ) Stuttgart 1864, p. 344

literature

  • EJ Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam 1913–1936, Leiden 1987, Vol. I, keyword: Abu Lahab
personal data
SURNAME Abū Lahab
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Abu Lahab; أبو لهب (Arabic); عبد العزى بن عبد المطلب (Arabic)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Uncle and unforgiving opponent of the Prophet Mohammed
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century or 7th century
DATE OF DEATH 624