This sura refers to an uncle of the Prophet who opposed him fiercely, as did his wife. He insulted the Prophet with ‘Tabbak yadak’ (‘may your hands be ruined’). This Meccan sura is the retort.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1 May the hands of Abu Lahab be ruined! May he be ruined too! 2 Neither his wealth nor his gains will help him: 3 he will burn in the Flaming Fire–– [a] 4 and so will his wife, the firewood-carrier, [b] 5 with a palm-fibre rope around her neck.
Footnotes
a. Abu Lahab means ‘Flame Man’ and this verse contains a pun on this name.
b. She used to tie bunches of thorns with ropes of twisted palm fibre and throw them into the Prophet’s path.
The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics)
The Qur'an / a new translation by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, copyright © 2004 Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press). Used by permission. All rights reserved.