Al-Lahab
Makkan Period
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
[1] Destroyed were the hands of Abū Lahab,1 and he lay utterly doomed.2 [2] His wealth did not avail him, nor his acquisitions. [3] Surely, he will be cast into a Flaming Fire [4] along with his wife,3 that carrier of slanderous tales; [5] upon her neck shall be a rope of palm-fibre.
1. This refers to an uncle of the Prophet (peace be on him) who was commonly known as Abū Lahab.
2. Much though Abū Lahab tried to obstruct the forward march of Islam, his efforts ended in utter failure. What is said here is in fact a prediction but is couched in terms that convey the impression of an event that had already taken place.
3. The woman concerned was called Umm Jamīl. She was a sister of Abū Sufyān and was as staunch an enemy to Islam as her husband.