Transliteration:( Wamra-atuhoo hammaa latal-hatab )
Umm Jameela bint Harb ibn Umayyah, the sister of Abu Sufyaan, was also known as Auraar, with the appellation Umm Jameela. She, too, will be sent to Hell because of her staunch enmity towards the Holy Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). She would carry a bundle of thorns from the jungle on her head and place them in the path of the Holy Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) to prick his sensitive feet, causing him pain and hardship.
From this, we understand that marriages among polytheists, if not performed in accordance with Islamic law, are still valid in worldly terms. This is seen from the fact that Allah Almighty referred to Umm Jameela as the wife of Abu Lahab. Therefore, the children of non-believers are legitimate and entitled to inheritance.
Umm, Jameela’s enmity towards the Holy Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) was so severe that, despite her wealth, she personally went into the jungle, gathered thorny branches, and carried them on her head to place them in the Prophet’s path. She did not ask her maids or servants for assistance in this task.
This illustrates that her actions were not just a personal grievance, but a worldly punishment for her wickedness. The thorns she placed in the Prophet’s path symbolize the thorns that would afflict her both in this world and the Hereafter. Any person who harbors enmity towards the Holy Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) will ultimately face suffering, both in this life and the next.
The tafsir of Surah Masad verse 4 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Masad ayat 1 which provides the complete commentary from verse 1 through 5.
(111:4) along with his wife,[3] that carrier of slanderous tales;[4]
3. Her name was Arwa and her nickname (kunyat) Umm Jamil. She was sister of Abu Sufyan and was no less bitter than her husband, Abu Lahab, in her enmity to the Messenger (peace be upon him). Abu Bakr’s daughter Asma has related that when this Surah was revealed, and Umm Jamil heard it, she was filled with rage and went out in search of the Prophet (peace be upon him). She carried a handful of stones and she was crying some verses of her own, satirizing the Prophet (peace be upon him). She came to the Kabah, where the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sitting with Abu Bakr. The latter said: O Messenger of Allah, there she comes and I fear lest she should utter something derogatory to you. The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: She will not see me. The same thing happened. She could not see the Prophet (peace be upon him) although he was there. She said to Abu Bakr: I hear that your companion has satirized me. Abu Bakr replied: No, by the Lord of this house, he has not satirized you. Hearing this she went off. (lbn Abi Hatim, Ibn Hisham; Bazzar has related an incident on the authority of Abdullah bin Abbas also, which closely resembles this). What Abu Bakr meant was that she had not been satirized by the Prophet (peace be upon him), but by Allah Himself.
4. The words in the original are hammalat al-hatab, which literally mean: carrier of the wood. The commentators have given several meanings of it. Abdullah bin Abbas, Ibn Zaid, Dahhak and Rabi bin Anas say: She used to strew thorns at the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) door in the night; therefore, she has been described as carrier of the wood. Qatadah, Ikrimah, Hasan Basri, Mujahid and Sufyan Thauri say: She used to carry evil tales and slander from one person to another in order to create hatred between them; therefore, she has been called the bearer of wood idiomatically. Saaid bin Jubair says: The one who is loading himself with the burden of sin is described idiomatically in Arabic as: Fulan-un Yahtatibu ala zahri bi (so and so is loading wood on his back); therefore, hummalat al-hatab means: The one who carries the burden of sin. Another meaning which the commentators have also given is: she will do this in the Hereafter, i.e. she will bring and supply wood to the fire in which Abu Lahab would be burning.
[2009]- She used to put thorns in the Prophet's path and slander him (ﷺ) . The word "firewood" was used by the Arabs to allude to slander and backbiting.
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