Surah al-Masad (The Palm Fiber) is a Meccan surah. (1)

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

“May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and may he perish!” (1)

Regarding His saying, “May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and may he perish!” Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Salihi informed us; Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hiri informed us; Hajib ibn Ahmad al-Tusi informed us; Muhammad ibn Hammad narrated to us; Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us from al-A'mash, from Amr ibn Murrah, from Sa'id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn Abbas, who said:

One day, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, climbed Mount Safa and called out, “O people, beware of a morning attack!” Quraysh gathered around him and asked, “What is the matter?”

He said, “If I were to tell you that an enemy force would attack you in the morning or in the evening, would you believe me?”

They replied, “Yes.”

He said, “Then I am a warner to you before a severe punishment.”

Abu Lahab said, “Perish you! Is this why you summoned us all?” Thereupon Allah, exalted is He, revealed: “May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and may he perish!”—to the end of the surah. (2)

His saying, “May they perish,” means: the hands of Abu Lahab have failed and lost—or rather, Abu Lahab himself. The statement is made about his hands, but what is intended is the man himself, as is customary in Arabic usage, where a part of something is used to refer to the whole.

It was also said that the word “hand” is merely an idiomatic addition, as in such expressions as “the hand of time” and “the hand of misfortunes and calamities.”

It was also said that what is meant by it is his wealth and possessions. They say, “So-and-so is of limited means,” meaning that he has little wealth. The term used here means loss and destruction.

Abu Lahab was the son of Abd al-Muttalib and the Prophet’s paternal uncle. ⦗205a⦘ His name was Abd al-Uzza. Muqatil said: He was given the kunyah Abu Lahab because of his handsomeness and the radiance of his face.