Tafseer of The Palm Fibre · Al-Masad · 111:4
And his wife [as well] - the carrier of firewood.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
And His words وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — that is to say: Abū Lahab and his wife, the carrier of firewood, will soon burn in a Fire that blazes. The Qurʾān reciters differed in the reading of حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ: most of the reciters of Medina, Kūfa and Baṣra read "ḥammālatu al-ḥaṭab" in the nominative, with the exception of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Isḥāq, who read it in the accusative as has been reported to us concerning him. Concerning ʿĀṣim there are different readings; both the nominative and the accusative have been transmitted from him. The one who read it in the nominative made it an attribute of the woman and let it stand in the nominative for the woman on the basis of the preceding statement, namely "sayaṣlā". It is also possible that it is in the nominative on the basis of the state, namely His words فِي جِيدِها (around her neck), with "ḥammāla" then being an attribute of the woman. As for the accusative — that is on the basis of reproach. It is also possible that it is in the accusative because of the disjoining of the woman, since the woman is a definite noun and "ḥammālatu al-ḥaṭab" is an indefinite noun.
The correct reading in our view is the nominative, because that is the most eloquent of the two forms, and because of the consensus of the scholars among the reciters concerning it.
The scholars of exegesis differed concerning the meaning of His words حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ. Some said: she used to bring thorns and cast them on the path of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so that they would pierce his foot when he went out for the prayer.
Mention of those who said this:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: My uncle related to me, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — he said: she used to carry thorns and cast them on the path of the Prophet ﷺ, in order to harm him and his companions. And it is said: حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — one who spreads rumors about.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Abī Isḥāq, on the authority of a man of Hamadān who was called Yazīd ibn Zayd, that the wife of Abū Lahab used to throw thorns on the path of the Prophet ﷺ, and then there was revealed: تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ... وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ.
Abū Hurayra al-Ḍubaʿī, Muḥammad ibn Firās related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, on the authority of Qurrat ibn Khālid, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya al-Jadalī, concerning His words حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — he said: she used to lay thornbushes on the path of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, as though he were treading upon a sand dune therein.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abā Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — she used to carry thorns and cast them on the path of the prophet of Allah ﷺ in order to harm him.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His words وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — he said: she used to take branches of thorns and throw them by night on the path of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Others said: she was called "the carrier of firewood" because she spread evil, circulated rumors, and mocked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for his poverty.
Mention of those who said this:
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: Abū al-Muʿtamir said: Muḥammad claimed that ʿIkrima said, concerning حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — she spread rumors.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — he said: she spread rumors.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Al-Ashjʿī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, likewise.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, likewise.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — all together on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — he said: the spreading of rumors.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ: that is to say: she used to carry tales from one person to another.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — he said: she scatters rumors about and spreads them.
Some said: she mocked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for his poverty, and she used to carry firewood — and she was then mocked because she carried firewood.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, concerning وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ — he said: she spread rumors.
The interpretation most deserving of being deemed correct, in my view, is the opinion of the one who said: she carried thorns and threw them on the path of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, because that is the most obvious meaning.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā ibn Yazīd, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Yazīd ibn Zayd — and he was the most faithful companion of Masrūq — who said: When تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ was revealed, it reached the wife of Abū Lahab that the Prophet ﷺ mocks you. She said: "Why does he mock me? Have you seen me as Muḥammad said — that I carry firewood? فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِنْ مَسَدٍ?" She remained for a while, and then she went to him and said: "Truly your Lord has forsaken you and turned away from you." Then Allah revealed: وَالضُّحَى * وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى * مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى.
