ABSTRACT
ABU LAHAB’S SIGNIFICANCE During the time of the Prophet Muhammad, the authenticity and credibility of Islam, the Qur
) an and the Prophet him-
self were often questioned. When Abu Lahab was still well and alive, according to what we are told, a short sura of the Qur
) an was revealed to the Prophet.
The chapter (sura 111) said that Abu Lahab would die in a state of unbelief and so would go to hell for not believing in the One God. We are told: ‘The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish. His wealth and gains will not exempt him. He will be plunged in flaming fire, And his wife, the woodcarrier, will have upon her neck a palmfibre rope.’ Abu Lahab lived for many years after
this prophecy was revealed and this means that he could have harmed the early years of Islam and the Prophet’s mission by pretending to convert and
