The Qur'ân, Rodwell edition [1876]; at sacred-texts.com
MECCA. 5 Verses
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
LET the hands of ABU LAHAB 1 perish,and let himself perish!
His wealth and his gains shall avail him not.
Burned shall he be at the fiery flame, 2
And his wife laden with fire wood,--
On her neck a rope of palm fibre.
1 Undoubtedly one of the earliest Suras, and refers to the rejection of Muhammad's claim to the prophetic office by his uncle, Abu Lahab, at the instigation of his wife, Omm Djemil, who is said to have strewn the path of Muhammad on one occasion with thorns. The following six Suras, like the two first, have special reference to the difficulties which the Prophet met with the outset of his career, especially from the rich.
2 In allusion to the meaning of Abu Lahab, father of flame.