Perish ruined be the hands of Abū Lahab in other words all of him — the use of ‘hands’ here to denote all of him is figurative and is because most actions are performed by them; the statement is an invocation — and perish he! may he be ruined! this tabba is a predicate as where one says ahlakahu’Llāhu wa-qad halak ‘God destroyed him and he indeed is destroyed’. When the Prophet threatened him with the chastisement he said ‘If what my brother’s son says is true then I shall ransom myself from it with my wealth and sons!’; so the following was revealed

His wealth will not avail him nor what he has earned wa-kasab means wa-kasbihi that is to say his sons; mā aghnā means mā yughnī.

He will soon enter a Fire of flames that is to say a fire that is flaming and ignited this statement is the source of his nickname which was given to him on account of his flaming reddish fair face

and his wife wa’mra’atuhu is a supplement to the person of the verb yaslā ‘he will enter’ separated by the clause of the direct object and its qualification — and this was Umm Jamīl — the carrier read hammālatu or hammālata of firewood cactus and thorns which she used to fling into the path of the Prophet s.

with a rope of palm-fibre around her neck fī jīdihā hablun min masadin is a circumstantial qualifier referring to hammālata’l-hatab which in turn is either a description of imra’atahu ‘his wife’ or the predicate of an implied subject.