In the Name of Almighty Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
15 آية
بِسۡمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Surah Ash-Shams is the 91st chapter of the Quran, containing 15 verses. Revealed in Makkah, it opens with a striking series of oaths by the sun and its brightness, the moon that follows it, the day, the night, the sky, the earth, and the soul and He who fashioned it and inspired it with both its wickedness and its righteousness, affirming that whoever purifies his soul truly succeeds, and whoever corrupts it truly fails. The surah then recounts the story of the people of Thamud, who in their arrogance hamstrung the she-camel sent to them as a sign from Salih and were utterly destroyed for their crime, Allah having no fear of the consequence. Below you can read the full Surah Ash-Shams in Arabic with a clear English translation and a verse-by-verse tafsir (explanation of the meaning) from Aysar al-Tafaseer, with the option to jump to any specific verse.
3. Allah Almighty also swears by the day as it drives out the darkness. (It is said that the meaning could be: The adjuration is by the day as it shows up the sun’s glory, because the clearer the day is, the more apparent is the sun.)
4. After Allah Almighty swore in the three previous verses by the light to glorify it, He swore by the night as it conceals the sun and its light (it could also mean: by the night as it covers the earth and spreads its darkness over it),
9. After Allah Almighty has indicated that He inspired the souls with the knowledge of good and evil, He then mentions what each soul receives as a reward for doing each. He said: “He who purifies his soul with obedience to Allah and purifies it from vice and corruption will succeed.”
10. But he who corrupts it and kills its readiness for good by disobedience, committing sin, and avoiding good, charity, and neighbourly kindness, such is a loser. Allah has omitted the mention of those He takes an oath against, for it is indicated by analogy. It is as if He is saying: “By the sun and its light .. those deniers among you shall undergo what the people of Thamud underwent.”
12. The most wicked man of Thamud set out to hamstring the she-camel of Allah. (His undertaking to kill the she-camel is an evidence of his denial of their prophet Saleh who told them that he was a messenger of Allah, and that the she-camel was sent by Allah, as a sign of the veracity of his prophecy.)
13. Their prophet Saleh said to them: “Beware of harming Allah’s she-camel and from infringing on the day assigned to her for drinking. (Saleh had agreed with his people that they should drink on one day and the she-camel on another.)
14. The people of Thamud denied that Saleh was a messenger from Allah, and that the she-camel was a sign from Allah to prove the truth of what he said. Thus, they undertook to kill her and did not fear the chastisement that the Prophet warned them of. Therefore, their Lord inflicted His punishment upon them, and destroyed them all. He punished all the members of the tribe equally; none remained. (It has been said that the meaning of “levelled’ is as follows: that Allah Almighty levelled their land after He had torn it down completely, and He destroyed it all, leaving no construction standing.)
15. Allah Almighty does not fear the consequence of His decree to destroy them, for He is Mighty; none can resist Him.
Tafsir by Dr. Assaad Homad (1917–2011), Syrian scholar and jurist, author of Aysar al-Tafaseer, an accessible interpretation of the Quran reviewed by Sheikh Muhammad Mutwally Al-Shaarawi and certified by the Ministries of Awqaf in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. English translation by the Homad family. Read more about the author and this tafsir →
Source: This series of Tafsir books has been made available online by the family of Dr. Assaad Homad (may Allah have mercy on him). These volumes were entirely digitized to provide an accessible and easy format for todays digital age. Please keep Dr. Assaad and his family in your sincere prayers.
تم إتاحة هذه السلسلة من كتب التفسير عبر الإنترنت من قبل عائلة الدكتور أسعد حومد (رحمه الله). لقد قمنا برقمنة هذه المجلدات بالكامل لتوفير تنسيق يسهل الوصول إليه واستخدامه في عصرنا الرقمي الحالي. نرجو منكم ألا تنسوا الدكتور أسعد وعائلته من صالح دعائكم.