affirmation without qualification; affirming this report is not then obligatory for you. Had you affirmed without qualification, it would have been impossible for us to make this report. Rather, this report was made only because we knew that you would not affirm without qualification.”

All of this assumes that Abū Lahab was made to hear this verse and commanded to affirm it; but that was not the case. When Allah revealed His words:

“He will burn in a Fire of blazing flame,”

it cannot be conceded to them that Allah commanded His Prophet to make Abū Lahab hear this statement and commanded Abū Lahab to affirm it. Indeed, no one can produce a report that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded Abū Lahab to affirm that this surah had been revealed. Thus, the claim that he was commanded to affirm that he would not believe is false: no Muslim scholar has transmitted it. To attribute it to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is to speak without knowledge—indeed, it is a lie against him.

If it is said, “Faith was obligatory for Abū Lahab, and faith includes believing this,” the answer is:

We do not concede that, after this surah was revealed, the Messenger was obliged to convey it to him—or indeed any other surah. Rather, the decree of punishment had become binding upon him, just as it became binding upon Noah’s people when he was told:

“None of your people will believe except those who have already believed, so do not be distressed by what they have been doing.”

After that, the Messenger is no longer commanded to convey the message to them, for he has already conveyed it to them, but they disbelieved until the decree of punishment became binding upon those very individuals. Allah may inform the Messenger that a particular person will not believe, yet not command him to inform that person