Which was revealed in Makkah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

The Fate of 'Umm Jamil, the Wife of Abu Lahab

Verse [ 111:4] وَامْرَ‌أَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ (And his wife as well, the wicked, the carrier of firewood.) As Abu Lahab was a vehement enemy of the Holy Messenger ﷺ ، his wife too was supportive of her husband in his disbelief, rejection, obstinacy, and in persecuting the Holy Prophet ﷺ . She was a sister of Abu Sufyan, and daughter of Harb Ibn 'Umayyah. Her nickname was Umm Jamil. The Qur'an makes plain in this verse that this wretched woman will also roast with her husband in the fire of Hell. She is described as حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ which literally means 'the carrier of firewood'. Idiomatically, Arabs use this expression to refer to a 'tale-bearer ', that is, one who gathers pieces of gossip and carries them between individuals and families in order to ignite the fires of discord and enmity between people, exactly as one would gather firewood to kindle the fire. This telltale woman improperly carried information concerning the private affairs of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ، and the blessed Companions in an attempt to ignite and instigate trouble. In this verse too, the phrase 'the carrier of firewood' has been interpreted by Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، Mujahid, ` Ikrimah رحمۃ اللہ علیہما and a group of commentators to mean that 'She was a tale-bearer' while Ibn Zaid, Dahhak and other commentators رحمۃ اللہ علیہم retain it in its original sense, and explain that she literally used to collect thorny branches from the jungle, and place them in the path of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in order to harm him - hence the description: 'carrier of firewood'. [ Qurtubl, Ibn Kathir ].