تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ
DOOMED are the hands of him of the glowing countenance, and doomed is he! (1)
مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ
What will his wealth avail him, and all that he has gained? (2)
سَيَصْلَىٰ نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ
[In the life to come] he shall have to endure a fire fiercely glowing, (3)
وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ
together with his wife, that carrier of evil tales, (4)
فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِنْ مَسَدٍ
[who bears] around her neck a rope of twisted strands! (5)
- DOOMED are the hands of him of the glowing countennce:1 and doomed is he!
- 1 The real name of this uncle of the Prophet was Abd al-Uzza. He was popularly nicknamed Abu Lahab (lit., "He of the Flame") on account of his beauty, which was most notably expressed in his glowing countenance (Baghawi, on the authority of Muqatil; Zamakhshari and Razi passsim in their comments on the above verse; Fath al-Bari VIII, 599), Since this nickname, or kunyah appears to have been applied to him even before the advent of Islam, there is no reason to suppose that it had a pejorative significance. - The expression "hands" in the above clause is, in accordance with classical Arabic usage, a metonym for "power", alluding to the great influence which Abu Lahab wielded.
- Perish the hands of the Father of Flame!6294 Perish he!
- 6294 Abu Lahab: "Father of Flame", was the nickname of an uncle of the Prophet, from his fiery hot temper and his ruddy complexion. He was one of the most inveterate enemies of early Islam. When the Prophet called together Quraysh and his own kith and kin to come and listen to his preaching and his warning against the sins of his people, the "Father of Flame" flared up and cursed the Prophet, saying "Perdition to thee!" According to the English saying, "the causeless curse will not come". His words were futile, but his power and strength were equally futile. The star of Islam rose higher and higher every day, and its persecutors dwindled in strength and power. Many of the leaders of persecution perished at Badr, and Abu Lahab himself perished a week after Badr, consumed with grief and his own fiery passions. Verse 3 was prophetic of his end in this very life, though it also refers to the Hereafter.
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Perish the hands of the Father of Flame! Perish he!
— Abdullah Yusuf Ali -
The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish.
— Marmaduke Pickthall -
Perdition overtake both hands of Abu Lahab, and he will perish.
— M. Habib Shakir -
Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet), and perish he!
— Taqiuddin Hilali and M. Mohsin Khan -
Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he!
— Abdul-Majid Daryabadi -
Perish the hands of AbiLahab, and perish he!
— Hasan Qaribullah and Ahmed Darwish -
Perish the hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he!
— Ayub Khan -
Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he!
— Sher Ali -
DOOMED are the hands of him of the glowing countenance, and doomed is he!
— Muhammad Asad -
Perish the hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he!
— Arthur Arberry -
Destroyed were the hands of Abu Lahab, and he lay utterly doomed.{{1}}
— Abu'l Ala Maududi