111- Surat Al-Masad 

5 Verses - Makki (revealed in Mecca)

A'auzu Bellahi mena ash-shytani ar-rajim

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

Bismi Ellahi Ar-rhmani Ar-rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Tabbat yada Abi Lahabin wa tabb (1).

May the hands of Abi Lahab be ruined, and ruined is he. 

Ma aghna anhu maluhu wa ma kasab (2).

His wealth will not avail him, or that which he earned.

Sa-yasla naran dhaata lahab (3).

He will enter to a fire of blazing flames.

Wa-mra'atuhu hammalata al-hatab (4).

And his wife too, the carrier of firewood.

Fi jidiha hablun min masad (5).

In her neck a rope of twisted palm fiber.

Simplified interpretation:

 Surat Al-Masad is an acknowledgement of the punishment of Abu Lahab and Um Jamil in the hereafter, and it can be considered one of the miracles of the Holy Quran, because although Allah Almighty, has stated the consequences of their deeds, but they did not even try to enter Islam in order to prove that the words of the Holy Quran is not true, and they both died on the state of disbelief.  

 Abu Lahab was a nickname of Abdul-Uzza Bin Abdul-Muttalib, and he was called Abu Lahab because of the brightness of his face, he was the prophet's uncle, and one of the fiery tempered enemies of Islam, and he used to harm our prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and to say that He is a liar and an apostate.

 When Our Prophet started to warn His closest relatives where Allah commanded Him to do so, He ascended the mountain (Alsafa), and called Quraish clans to gather (O people come at once). They all gathered and He (PBUH) asked them: if  He told them that will be an enemy going to attack them in the morning or in the evening, would they all believe Him?, they answered yes. Then He said to them:

                 "verily, I am a Warner sent to you all before the coming of a severe torment".  

                  Then Abu Lahab said: have you gathered us for this! may you perish (ruined).

  

That was the cause of the revelation of: May the hands of Abi Lahab be ruined (perish), and ruined is he Aya (1).

 

Abu Lahab was an arrogant one, he not only rejected the call to faith in Allah and His Messenger, but also he challenged Allah's command by saying that his wealth and his children will save him from painful punishment on the day of resurrection even if what his nephew (Muhammad PBUH) says is true.

 So Allah states in the second verse" His wealth will not avail him, or that which he earned",that is, neither his wealth nor his children will avail him from the punishment, and it has been stated in the next verse (3): he will enter to a fire of blazing flames that is, he will be burnt in the Hellfire on the day of Judgement.

 Abu lahab's wife was known as Um Jamil, her name was Arwah Bint Harb Bin Umayyah, and she was supportive of Abu Lahab in his disbelief, for that Allah Almighty describes her as the carrier of firewood Aya (4). 

 There are many explanations of the phrase "the carrier of firewood", some scholars said that the carrier of firewood refers to tale-bearer, for Um Jamil used to carry information about the Messenger of Allah and his companions in order to ignite enmity between them and Quraish. Whereas some others said that it refers to Um Jamil when she used to collect firewood and throw it in the road which our Prophet passes from. And there are some scholars who have gone beyond her deeds when she was alive and said that she will be a carrier of firewood in the hereafter as well as she was supportive of her husband in the worldly life, but she will use that firewood to burn her husband by throwing it on him in the hellfire.

 No matter which one of these explanations is true, Allah Almighty knows better, but the result remains that she will burn in the hellfire, and a rope of twisted palm fiber will be around her neck as mentioned in the last verse.

  

No one Knows its interpretation except Allah