You are here: Home » Chapter 111 » Verse 1 » Translation
← Sura 111 →
← Aya 1 →

Chapter 111

Palm Fibreal-Masad ( المسد )

5 verses • revealed at Meccan

»The surah that mentions the Palm Fibre rope that in Hellfire shall be twisted around the neck of the wife of the Prophet’s uncle, who bitterly opposed Islam; for she took great pride in wearing an ostentatious necklace she became known for and would slip by night to strew thorns and prickly plants in the Prophet’s path to injure his feet. It takes its name from verse 5 in which the phrase “ḥablun min masad” (meaning “a rope of palm fibre”) occurs.«

The surah is also known as Abu Lahab, Fibre, Perish, The Flame, The Palm-Fibre Rope

بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ

Ali Unal: IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE ALL-MERCIFUL, THE ALL-COMPASSIONATE

1
تَبَّت يَدا أَبي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ

Ali Unal

Revealed in Makkah in the early period of the Makkan era of the Prophet Muhammad’s mission, this sūrah of five verses takes its name from the verb TabBa (be ruined), in the first verse. It promises and foretells the perishing of Abū Lahab and his wife, Umm Jamīl, implying the perdition awaiting similar people.
May both hands of Abu Lahab be ruined, and are ruined are they!1
  • Abū Lahab was one of the Prophet Muhammad’s uncles. Abū Lahab, meaning the father of flame, is a nickname that was given to him while he was a child because of the rosy glow on his cheeks. He was one of the fiercest enemies of the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, and Islam. Since he was an uncle of the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, he knew him very well and, therefore, was expected to believe in him. But he stubbornly rejected him and actively opposed him. He cursed him, saying: May your hands ruin, meaning “May you be left with no good at all and perish!” So because of his limitless enmity, the Qur’ān designated him as the Father of the Flame, signifying that he was one destined to be among those who would suffer the greatest torment in Hellfire, and foretold that he would perish without accepting faith and be left without any good. It happened just as the Qur’ān foretold. He died in great sorrow when he learned that the Makkan army had been badly defeated at the Battle of Badr. Because of his illness, which was very contagious, no one dared to approach his body to bury it. After a few days, they dug a pit and, pushing his body with long cudgels into it, buried his corpse with stones they threw over it from some distance away.