Verse 16
The Clot • makkah
View Aspects
Important Words:
نسفعا (we shall seize him and drag him). سفعه means, he made a mark upon it with hot iron; he struck or slapped his face. سفع بناصیته means, he seized his forelock and dragged him (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verses (10-18) though generally applying to every haughty and hardened disbeliever, have been taken by some commentators to refer particularly to Abu Jahl, leader of the Quraish of Mecca. He was in the forefront in annoying, opposing and persecuting the Holy Prophet and the Muslims. Some of the slaves who had embraced Islam were dragged at his instance by the forelock in the streets of Mecca. After the defeat at Badr, the dead bodies of some of the leaders of the Quraish, Abu Jahl among them, were dragged by their forelocks and thrown into a pit dug for that purpose. That was a fit punishment for the treatment they had meted out to the helpless Muslims years before at Mecca.
The verses (10-18) though generally applying to every haughty and hardened disbeliever, have been taken by some Commentators to refer particularly to Abu Jahl, leader of the Quraish of Mecca. He was in the forefront to annoy, oppose and persecute the Holy Prophet and the Muslims. Some of the slaves, who had embraced Islam, at his instance were dragged by the forelock in the streets of Mecca. After the defeat at Badr, the dead bodies of some of the leaders of the Quraish, Abu Jahl among them, were dragged by their forelocks and thrown into a pit dug for that purpose. That was a fit punishment for the treatment they had meted out to the helpless Muslims years before at Mecca.