سَيَصلىٰ نارًا ذاتَ لَهَبٍ

Soon he will enter the blazing fire.

EXEGESIS

Sa-yaṣlā (soon he will enter) is composed of the verb yaṣlā and the preposition sa. The latter indicates the occurrence of something in the near future. The verb yaṣlā is an imperfect tense verb derived from ṣalā, meaning to become part of the fire and to roast in it.^{‎[1]Tahqiq.}

Nāran dhāt lahab (blazing fire) literally means: a fire which has blazes. The expression is used to imply the enormity of the fire. In addition, it rhymes with abī lahab in the previous verse.^{‎[2]Ahsan al-Hadith, 12/396.}

EXPOSITION

In addition to warning Abū Lahab that he will enter hell, the fire of which is defined by enormous blazes, this verse implies that Abū Lahab will not believe until the end of his life and will die as an enemy of the faith. It is a confirmation of the truthfulness of the Messenger of God and the validity of his message, since that was indeed what happened.^{‎[3]Tabrisi, 10/852.} Had Abū Lahab believed in the message of the Prophet, which he had the free will and choice to, this chapter would have been proven to be wrong and against reality; however, this did not happen.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. It is reported that after the Battle of Badr, Abū Lahab, who had not participated in the battle, asked Abū Sufyān about it on his return. Abū Sufyān told him about the event and how the Quraysh were defeated and battered, adding: ‘By Allah, we saw, in the course of the battle, some riders between the earth and the heaven who had come to help Muhammad.’ At this moment, Abū Rāfiʿ, who was a servant of Abbas and was present there, raised his hand and said: ‘They were the angels of heaven.’ Abū Lahab, who was angered by his statement, slapped him, and lifted him up and smashed him on the ground. He continued beating him because of his grief and disappointment. At that moment, Umm al-Faḍl, Abbas’s wife, who was present, struck the head of Abū Lahab, and said: ‘Have you found this weak man alone?’ Abū Lahab was wounded, bleeding from the head. One week later he died from a contagious disease, and since his body had an unbearable smell, no one approached to bury him. His body was left until some people took it outside Mecca and poured water on it from a distance, and threw stones at it until it was buried under the piles of stone and soil.^{‎[4]Bihar, 19/227.}

[1] Tahqiq.
[2] Ahsan al-Hadith, 12/396.
[3] Tabrisi, 10/852.
[4] Bihar, 19/227.