Tafsir al-Tustari

Perish the hands of Abū Lahab, and may he perish too!He said:That is, may his hands be ruined [lit. lost], and may he perish too! The first loss is the loss of his wealth and the other loss is in the loss of his soul. The meaning of loss is mentioned in what comes after this.He says:

His wealth will not avail him, nor what he has gained.[His wealth will not avail him,] in the Hereafter when he is brought to the Fire, nor what he has gained, that is, his sons, ʿUtba, ʿUtayba and Muʿtab.There is also another interpretation which is that the first Perish is like a supplication against him, while the second is describing the loss that will befall [him] according to that which has been pre-eternally destined [for him]. [This curse] is the response to Abū Lahab�s saying to the Prophet �May you perish!� when he gathered them together and invited them to the profession of God�s oneness, and warned them of the punishment with His words, And warn the nearest of your kinsfolk [26:214].His words, Exalted is He:

He will [soon] enter a flaming fire,Abū Lahab will be enveloped by the Fire in the Hereafter; a flaming fire, that is, it has no smoke.

And his wife�Umm Jamīl, �[will be] the carrier of firewood. It has been said that this means �the scandal mongerer� (nammāma). ʿIkrima said, �She used to carry thorns and throw them down in the path of the Prophet .�

with a rope of palm-fibre round her neck.That is, in the Fire it will be an iron chain like the iron pulley with which she will be dragged into it. She will be known by this distinguishing mark (ʿalāma) in Hell, just as she was well-known for hostility towards the Prophet . But God, be He glorified, knows best what is correct.Sahl was asked about sincerity (ikhlāṣ). He said:It is insolvency (iflās), that is to say, the one who knows that he is insolvent has realised the truth [of his situation].He [further] said:With these four verses God falsified all disbelief (kufr), and all [vain] desires (ahwāʾ). It was called the Sūra of Purity [of Faith] because it contains the declaration of God�s transcendence (tanzīh), Exalted is He, above all that is not fitting for Him.His words, Exalted is He: