Is Abu Jahl worse than Pharaoh?

- Is the following narration a hadith?
- The Prophet (pbuh) stood next to the corpses of the polytheists who were killed in the Battle of Badr and addressed them as follows: “Allah punished you with a group that was with me. Doubtlessly, I was a trustworthy person but you declared me a traitor. You denied me though I was a truthful person.” Then, he turned toward Abu Jahl and said, “He was fiercer toward Allah than Pharaoh because when Pharaoh realized that he was going to die, he accepted the oneness of Allah. When Abu Jahl realized that he was going to die, he prayed to Lat and Uzza.” (Tabarani, al-Mujamul-Kabir, 11/302/h.no: 12067)
- The Prophet (pbuh) said that Abu Jahl was the Pharaoh of the ummah, that every nation had a Pharaoh and Abu Jahl was the worst of the Pharaohs. Is this true? It is written in the Quran that Pharaoh will be in one of the lowest fires of Hell. Does it mean that Abu Jahl will also be in the lowest part of Hell, and does it mean that Abu Jahl is worse than the Pharaoh who lived in the period of Moses (pbuh)?
- Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl were very bad people who hated Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Who was worse, Abu Lahab or Abu Jahl?
- Is Abu Lahab or his wife Umm Jamil worse?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The Prophet (pbuh) said about Abu Jahl, “He was the Pharaoh of my ummah.” (Ahmed b. Hanbal, 6/375).

Tabarani includes the following addition:

“... For when Pharaoh realized that he was going to die, he accepted the oneness of Allah. Abu Jahl, on the other hand, prayed to Lat and Uzza when he realized that he was going to die.” (see Tabarani, al-Mujamul-Kabir, 11/382)

However, it is stated that this narration is not sound. Nasr b. Hammad Nasai, one of the narrators of the hadith was described by Bukhari as a liar. (see Dhahabi, Mizanul-Itidal, 4/250)

Similarly, this narrator was marked as a liar by hadith authorities such as Abu Zur’a, Ibn Main, and Muslim. (see Ibn Hajar, Tahdhibut-Tahdhib, 10/425)

“The Hypocrites will be in the lowest depths of the Fire...” (an-Nisa, 4/145)

As it is clearly stated in the Quranic verse about hypocrites above, there is no clear statement about the Pharaoh regarding the issue.

“Then Allah saved him from (every) ill that they plotted (against him), but the burnt of the Penalty encompassed on all sides the People of Pharaoh. In front of the Fire will they be brought, morning and evening: And (the sentence will be) on the Day that Judgment will be established: ‘Cast ye the People of Pharaoh into the severest Penalty!’” (al-Mumin, 40/45-46)

Acting upon the expressions of the verses above, some scholars state that there will be hypocrites, Pharaoh and his followers in the lowest place in Hell.

Our recommendation is to prefer to deal with other useful issues instead of dealing with such issues that are of no use either in this world or in the hereafter.

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