Al-Masad, "The Palm Fibre" (also called Al-Lahab, "The Flame"), is the 111th surah — five short verses revealed in Mecca. It is the Quran's most direct condemnation of a named individual: Abu Lahab, an uncle of the Prophet ﷺ.1
What it is about
The occasion is recorded in a well-known report: when the Prophet ﷺ climbed the hill of Safa and warned his relatives of a coming punishment, Abu Lahab retorted, "May you perish! Is this why you gathered us?"2 The surah answers him: "May the hands of Abu Lahab be ruined, and ruined is he. His wealth will not avail him or that which he gained." It goes on to name his wife, who is described carrying firewood with a rope of palm fibre around her neck — a fitting image for those who spread thorns and slander in the Prophet's path.
Why it matters
Because the surah predicted Abu Lahab's loss during his own lifetime, commentators read it as a kind of public prophecy: he could have disproved it simply by embracing Islam, and never did. To read Al-Masad in Arabic with translations and recitation, open it on Quran.com.