And for whom I smoothed all things smoothly down;
Yet desireth he that I should add more!
But no ! because to our signs he is a foe,
I will lay grievous woes upon him
For he plotted and he planned !
May he be cursed ! 11-19.
He had said that the words of the Prophet were those of a mere man and were
spoken under the influence of magic. Then follows the condemnation :
We will surely cast him into hell-fire,
And who shall teach him what hell-fire is ?
It leaveth nought, it spareth nought,
Blackening the skin. 26-9.1
This same person is referred to in Suratu'lQalam (lxviii) as,
The man of oaths, a despicable person,
Defamer going about with slander. 10-11.
Who, when our wondrous verses are recited to him, saith,
'Fables of the Ancients,'
We will brand him in the nostrils. 15-16.
Another bitter opponent of Muhammad was his uncle 'Abdu'l-'Uzza, known as Abu
Lahab, who was instigated by his wife to reject Muhammad's claim. Both uncle and
aunt are fiercely condemned in an early Meccan chapter, Suratu'l-Lahab (cxi) :
Let the hands of Abu Lahab perish and let himself perish!
His wealth and his gain shall avail him not,
Burned shall he be at the fiery flame,