سُورَةُ الشَّمْسِ

The text: Surah Ash-Shams (91), verses 1 to 15 بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحَاهَا ﴿١﴾ وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَاهَا ﴿٢﴾ وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّاهَا ﴿٣﴾ وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَاهَا ﴿٤﴾ وَالسَّمَاءِ وَمَا بَنَاهَا ﴿٥﴾ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا طَحَاهَا ﴿٦﴾ وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا ﴿٧﴾ فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا ﴿٨﴾ قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا ﴿٩﴾ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ دَسَّاهَا ﴿١٠﴾ كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ بِطَغْوَاهَا ﴿١١﴾ إِذِ انْبَعَثَ أَشْقَاهَا ﴿١٢﴾ فَقَالَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ نَاقَةَ اللَّهِ وَسُقْيَاهَا ﴿١٣﴾ فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِذَنْبِهِمْ فَسَوَّاهَا ﴿١٤﴾ وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا ﴿١٥﴾

Listen to the recitation while following the text with your eyes, then read the meaning in the next block.

Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Simple, version 1.0.2), © 2008-2010 Tanzil.net, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence, reproduced without any change (http://tanzil.net). Each verse is on its own line, followed by its number; the basmala, which the Tanzil file places at the start of the first verse, is written on its own line.

The name and the context Ash-Shams means "the sun". The surah is Makkan. It is one of the surahs the Prophet ﷺ advised Mu'aadh to recite when he led the prayer (Bukhari 705, Muslim 465).

The meaning, passage by passage • Verses 1 to 6: Allah swears by pairs in creation: the sun and its brightness, the moon when it follows it, the day when it reveals it, the night when it covers it, the sky and the One who built it, the earth and the One who spread it. • Verses 7 and 8: then He swears by the soul and the One who proportioned it, "and inspired it with its wickedness and its piety". Allah gave the soul the ability to recognise good and evil, and to choose. • Verses 9 and 10: the answer to the oaths: "He has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who buries it." Purifying the soul means raising it through obedience to Allah; burying it means hiding it and lowering it under sins. • Verses 11 to 15: an example of a buried soul: the people of Thamud. Allah had sent them the prophet Ṣaaliḥ, with a she-camel as a sign, and had told them to let her drink in her turn. The most wretched of them rose and killed her, and the people approved. Allah then destroyed them all, "and He does not fear the consequences".

A word to notice Eleven oaths before a single sentence: this is the passage of the Qur'an with the most oaths in succession, according to the commentators [À VÉRIFIER]. This insistence shows the importance of what is sworn: success depends on the purification of the soul. The Prophet ﷺ used to say in his supplications: "O Allah, give my soul its piety and purify it, You are the Best to purify it; You are its Protector and its Master" (Muslim 2722).

Exercise: learn the supplication of Muslim 2722 ("Allaahumma aati nafsii taqwaahaa, wa zakkihaa anta khayru man zakkaahaa, anta waliyyuhaa wa mawlaahaa") and say it this week, for example after a prayer.

Understanding the lesson

Explanation The heart of the surah is verse 8: Allah has made known to the soul the path of evil and that of piety. Every human being feels this knowledge within: the unease after a wrong, the peace after a good deed. Ibn Kathir explains that Allah showed it the two ways; As-Sa'di adds that the soul was given the ability to choose, and that it will be answerable for it. Purification of the soul (tazkiya) is not a vague idea: it means learning what pleases Allah and doing it, keeping away from sins, and treating the diseases of the heart such as pride, envy and miserliness. The soul is like a spring: if it is cleaned, it gives clear water; if refuse is thrown into it, it is buried. The story of Thamud shows the buried soul at the scale of a people: one man killed the she-camel, but all were punished because they approved. To approve of evil is already to take part in it. Finally, purification is a gift from Allah that one asks for: that is the meaning of the Prophet's ﷺ supplication (Muslim 2722). We make the effort, and we ask Allah to purify.

Lessons to draw from it • Listen to the conscience Allah placed within us: it recognises good and evil. • Purify your soul every day: prayer, remembrance, repentance, good deeds. • Do not approve of evil, even when you do not do it yourself. • Ask Allah to purify our soul, for He is the best to purify it.

Key points to remember • Ash-Shams (91), 15 verses, Makkan. • Verses 1 to 7: eleven oaths. • Verse 8: the soul knows its wickedness and its piety. • Verses 9 and 10: success by purifying the soul, failure by burying it. • Supplication: Muslim 2722.

The main message Your success is decided in your soul: purify it through obedience and ask Allah to purify it, instead of burying it under sins.