Surah 111 · Verse 1

[111:1] The expression Abu Lahab means the "father of flame" or provocateur. Traditional commentaries tie this description to Muhammed's uncle Abd al- Uzza bin Ab al-Muttalib. Even if the first person who was implied by this verse were Muhammed's uncle, the chapter by using a metaphor rather than a proper name, refers to all warmongers and their allies who provokes people to violence. In this chapter, the wife has two different roles: either she is supplying more fuel for her husband in support of his bigoted campaign against peacemakers, or she is supplying fuel for her husband who is burning himself with flames of hatred. Some of the followers of the hadith and sunna, who consider the name to be only a proper name, present this chapter as evidence for the divinity of the Quran, by arguing that Abu Lahab could have falsified the Quran simply by professing Islam after hearing these verses about him. This assertion is the product of poor thinking. If the Quran was the product of Muhammed, Muhammed would never accept his conversion to Islam, and would continue condemning him with additional accusations, such as, him being a lying hypocrite. And Muhammed would be right (not necessarily in his claim of the origin of the Quran) regarding Abu Lahab, since he could never honestly acknowledge the truthfulness of a book condemning him to be a misguided loser; his conversion would create a contradiction. In other words, such a claim cannot be falsified, and thus cannot be used as an example of prophecies.