Al-Masad (Arabic: المسد, (meaning: "Twisted Strands" or "The Palm Fiber"[1]) is the 111th chapter (sūrah) of the Quran.

It has 5 āyāt or verses and recounts the punishments that Abū Lahab and his wife will suffer in Hell.

[9][10] In the 1730s the chapter title was known as Abu Laheb by translator George Sale.

² Mā ’aghnā ‘anhu māluhū wamā kasab(a)

⁵ Fī jīdihā ḥablu m-mi m-masad(im)

² Mā ’aghnā ‘anhu māluhū wamā kasab(a)

4 And his wife too, who carries wood (thorns of Sadan which she used to put on the way of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), or use to slander him).

Quranite Sam Gerrans chooses to maintain the literal translation, "father of flame", denoting the type of person made perfectly clear from the context of the chapter.

[12] This surah takes its name from verse 5 in which the phrase “ḥablun min masad” (meaning “a rope of palm fibre”) occurs that mentions the palm fibre rope that in hellfire shall be twisted around the neck of the wife of Muhammad's uncle, who bitterly opposed Islam; for she took great pride in wearing an ostentatious necklace she became known for and would slip by night to strew thorns and prickly plants in Muhammad's path to injure his feet.

[13][14][15] Thus, regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), it is believed an earlier "Meccan surah".