Surah 91. Ash-Shams

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Verses [Section]: 1-15[1]

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Quran Text of Verse 1-1591. Ash-Shams Page 59591. Ash-Shamsبِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِوَ الشَّمْسِBy the sunوَ ضُحٰىهَا۪ۙand its brightness وَ الْقَمَرِAnd the moonاِذَاwhenتَلٰىهَا۪ۙit follows it وَ النَّهَارِAnd the dayاِذَاwhenجَلّٰىهَا۪ۙit displays it وَ الَّیْلِAnd the nightاِذَاwhenیَغْشٰىهَا۪ۙit covers it وَ السَّمَآءِAnd the heavenوَ مَاand He Whoبَنٰىهَا۪ۙconstructed it وَ الْاَرْضِAnd the earthوَ مَاand He Whoطَحٰىهَا۪ۙspread it وَ نَفْسٍAnd (the) soulوَّ مَاand He Whoسَوّٰىهَا۪ۙproportioned it فَاَلْهَمَهَاAnd He inspired itفُجُوْرَهَا(to understand) what is wrong for itوَ تَقْوٰىهَا۪ۙand what is right for it قَدْIndeedاَفْلَحَhe succeedsمَنْwhoزَكّٰىهَا۪ۙpurifies it وَ قَدْAnd indeedخَابَhe failsمَنْwhoدَسّٰىهَاؕcorrupts it كَذَّبَتْDeniedثَمُوْدُThamudبِطَغْوٰىهَاۤby their transgression اِذِWhenانْۢبَعَثَ(was) sent forthاَشْقٰىهَا۪ۙ(the) most wicked of them فَقَالَBut saidلَهُمْto themرَسُوْلُ(the) Messengerاللّٰهِ(of) Allahنَاقَةَ(It is the) she-camelاللّٰهِ(of) Allahوَ سُقْیٰهَاؕand her drink فَكَذَّبُوْهُBut they denied himفَعَقَرُوْهَا ۪ۙ۬and they hamstrung herفَدَمْدَمَSo destroyedعَلَیْهِمْthemرَبُّهُمْtheir Lordبِذَنْۢبِهِمْfor their sinفَسَوّٰىهَا۪ۙand leveled them وَ لَاAnd notیَخَافُHe fearsعُقْبٰهَا۠its consequences

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Translation of Verse 1-15In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

(91:1) By the sun and its heat and brightness,¹

(91:2) and by the moon as it follows it;

(91:3) and by the day as it displays the sun's glory,

(91:4) and by the night as it envelopes the sun;²

(91:5) and by the sky and by Him Who made it;³

(91:6) and by the earth and by Him Who stretched it out;

(91:7) and by the soul and by Him Who perfectly proportioned it,⁴

(91:8) and imbued it with (the consciousness of) its evil and its piety:⁵

(91:9) He who purifies it will prosper,

(91:10) and he who suppresses it will be ruined.⁶

(91:11) In their presumptuous insolence the Thamud⁷ called the Truth a lie⁸

(91:12) when their arch-criminal rose up in rage.

(91:13) Then Allah's Messenger warned them: “Hands off the she-camel and her drink!”⁹

(91:14) But they rejected his statement as a lie and hamstrung the she-camel.¹⁰ For that crime their Lord rumbled down upon them, utterly razing them to the ground.

(91:15) He has no fear of its sequel.¹¹

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Commentary

1. The expression al-Duha underscores both the heat and light emitted by the sun. In Arabic idiom, it is used only to indicate the time after sunrise. al-Duha, therefore, brings into focus the heat provided by the sun, rather than its light.

2. As the night approaches, the sun disappears. The same is stated as the enshrouding by night. Actually the sun then goes down the horizon, as a result of which its light does not reach the parts of the earth that are enveloped by the night.

3. Allah has raised the sky as a canopy. Some Qur’anic scholars suggest that oaths are taken in Verses 5-7 with the use of the word ma. In other words, oaths are taken with reference to the raising of the sky, the stretching out of the earth and by the proportioning of the soul. However, this view is negated by Verse 8 which reads: “And imbued it (the soul) with (the consciousness of) its evil and its piety.” This observation does not fit in with the above oaths. Other Qur’anic scholars, however, assert that 1.is used here as a relative pronoun, referring to Allah Who has raised the sky, stretched out the earth and proportioned the soul. This interpretation is more plausible. One cannot raise the objection that ma cannot be used of a living being. At several places in the Qur’an itself ma has been used interchangeably with man, as for example, in al-Kafirun 109: 3 and al-Nisa’ 4: 3 and 22.

4. That is, God has invested man’s body and mind with special characteristics and has also equipped him with senses and other powers and abilities by means of which he can perform the tasks required of him. Allah has granted man such faculties of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling which serve as the perfect means for gaining knowledge of his surroundings. Moreover, he is blessed with reason, reflection, argumentation, inference, imagination, memory, discernment, judgement, will power and many other faculties which enable him to lead his life in the world. The Qur’anic idea of proportioning man implies also that by birth man is not a sinner or instinctively evil. On the contrary, goodness is innate in his nature. He has been created in the best mold, free from crookedness. Nothing obstructs him from following the right path. The Qur’an declares: “Allah has created man on the true nature,” (al-Rim 30: 30). The Prophet (peace be upon him) ‘elucidated this thus: “Every child is born on the true nature. It is his parents who turn him into a Jew, Christian or Magian. It is like the birth of a sound animal baby. You do not find any of these with a slit ear,” (Bukhari, Kitab al-Jana’iz). Only the polytheists slit their ears at a later stage out of superstition. Allah does not cause the birth of such deformed animals. Another Hadith states: “My Lord says that He has created all of His servants on the true nature. Satans, however, deviated them from their natural faith and forbade for them the things which I had declared lawful for them. Satans prompted them to associate with Me those regarding which I have not sent down any authority.” (Ahmad, Musnad, Vol. II, pp. 233 and 253. Muslim Kitab al-Qadar).

5. Ilham is derived from lahm which literally means to swallow something. In Arabic usage it is used in the sense of forcing something down someone’s throat. In the context of ilham from Allah to man, it stands for infusing some idea or concept into man’s heart and mind. That the human soul is imbued by Allah with a consciousness of its evil and piety signifies that the Creator has infused into man the propensity for both good and evil. Every human being realizes some inclination for good or evil. This has two meanings. First, that the Creator has imbedded in man’s nature tendencies and inclinations towards both good and evil. Second, Allah has impregnated every person’s subconscious with certain notions of good and evil: that good and evil deeds are intrinsically different, and are not of equal worth; that while fujur (immorality) is condemnable, taqwa (avoidance of evil) is praiseworthy, etc. These ideas are not foreign to man. On the contrary, his nature is quite profoundly acquainted with them. This is because man’s Creator has endowed him with an innate capacity to distinguish between good and evil. The same truth is asserted elsewhere thus:

And did We not show man the two highroads (of good and evil)? (al-Balad 90: 10)

Surely We showed man the right path, regardless of whether he chooses to be thankful or unthankful (to his Lord). (al-Dahr 76: 3)

Nay, I swear by the self-reproaching soul! But lo, man is well aware of himself, even though he might make up excuses. (al-Qiyamah 75: 2 and 14-15)

It is worth reiterating that Allah has imbued every creature with this natural consciousness, in a degree befitting that creature. The Qur’an proclaims: “Our Lord is He Who gave everything its form and then guided it,” (Ta Ha 20: 50). For example, every animal species has been granted requisite natural knowledge, which enables the fish to swim, birds to fly and bees to construct their beehive. Man is also given such knowledge in various respects. At one level, man has an animal existence. The best example on this count is of a baby that starts sucking his mother’s breast soon after birth. Had this knowledge not been imbued in him, no one could teach this to him. At another level, man is a rational being. In this sphere Allah has guided him since the beginning of the world. The same accounts for his constant advances and inventions, enriching his culture and civilization. On studying history, one notes that man did not achieve these simply on his own. Invariably, in all instances of discovery and invention, a thought or idea flashed suddenly across the human mind and which ultimately culminated in some invention or discovery.

Man has his moral being as. well. On this count, Allah has instructed him how to discern between good and evil and how to recognize the two as markedly opposite entities. Since it is a universal phenomenon, every society has followed and recognized the standard of good and evil. Every society boasts of a code that prescribes reward and punishment for good and evil respectively. This consistent presence of the moral code at all times and in all places itself bears out that it is natural and that it has been instilled by the All-Wise Creator. Otherwise, no source other than divine guidance can be identified as permeating human nature and the laws of nature.

6. This is the truth regarding which oaths have been taken. So let us delve a bit deeper into it. For persuading man of certain truths, the Qur’an generally cites some prominent objects easily observable to man. Accordingly, things are presented here in pairs of opposites. These are poles apart in their nature and effects. First, there is the contrast between the sun and the moon. The former is intensely bright and hot whereas the latter does not have light of its own. In the former’s presence, the latter pales into insignificance. The latter shines only when the former is not around. Even when it shines at its full, its light is not very bright. Nor does it emit any heat in the way the sun does. It leaves behind such effects as are not caused by the sun.

Another pair of opposites is represented by day and night. The two are markedly different from one another. Even a fool cannot mistake one for the other. The same holds true for the huge difference between the earth and the sky. The former is stretched out like a bed while the latter is raised as a canopy. Both are part of the universe and serve the purposes for which they-were created.

Yet their spheres of activity are different. Having cited these self-evident signs, reference is finally made to the human soul. Allah has proportioned it perfectly and blessed man with limbs, sense perception and mental faculties. He has granted man the consciousness of both good and evil, which are opposed to each other. Man is ‘attracted in equal degree to both good and evil. At the same time, he possesses innate knowledge about their respective effects. On the one hand is evil and on the other is piety. As the sun and the moon, day and night, and the earth and the sky are not alike, the evil and piety of the soul are not the same either. Man does draw a distinction between the two. He may be under the spell of some quasi-philosophical idea yet he recognizes all along what is good and what is evil. He instinctively praises good and regards it worthy of reward. By the same token, he reproaches evil and seeks to punish it. Yet the final judgement rests with Allah Who has imbued the human soul with this consciousness of evil and piety. It is He Who has set the standard of evil and piety. The two lead to entirely different results. One who purifies his self attains eternal success whereas one who suppresses his good self-ruins it.

Tazkiyah stands for purification, growth and development. In the context of the present verse, it emerges that one who purifies his soul, attains the heights of piety and one who promotes goodwill prospers. In contrast to it is the expression dassaha, a derivative of tadsiyah, which refers to suppression, concealment and misleading. The verse declares that one who suppresses the purification and positive development of his soul will be ruined. Some Qur’anic scholars have attributed the action of the purification and suppression of the soul to Allah. However, this does not fit with Qur’anic idiom. Had this been the intended meaning, the Qur’an would have employed a different wording. Furthermore, the above interpretation runs contrary to what the Qur’an says elsewhere: “He who purified himself shall prosper,” (al-A‘la 87: 14). At another place the Prophet (peace be upon him) is told: “You are not to blame if he would not cleanse himself,” (‘Abasa 80: 7). In both these instances, man is charged with the responsibility of attaining piety. Moreover, the Qur’an repeatedly makes it plain that man is on trial in this world:

Verily We created man out of a drop of intermingled sperm so that We might try him, and We therefore endowed him with hearing and sight. (al-Dahr 76: 2)

Allah created death and life that He might try you as to which of you is better in deed. (al-Mulk 67: 2)

Were Allah to play an active role in this trial by way of supporting one and suppressing the other, it would defeat the very purpose of a test. Therefore Qatadah, ‘Ikrimah, Mujahid and Sa‘id ibn Jubayr are justified in affirming that the responsibility rests solely with man. As to the Hadith cited by Ibn Abi Hatim on the authority’ - of Juwaybir ibn Sa‘id, Dahhak and Ibn ‘Abbas, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) assigned this role to Allah, this report is not authentic. For, in the chain, Juwaybir is a dubious narrator. Nor did ’ Dahhak have any first-hand contact with Ibn ‘Abbas. The authentic Hadith on this count is the following one, cited by Imam Ahmad, : Muslim, Nasa’i and Ibn Abi Shaybah on the authority of Zayd ibn Arqam that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to make this supplication: “O Lord! Grant piety to my soul and purify it. You are the best to purify it. You are its Patron and Guardian.” Nasa’i, Kitab al-Isti‘adhah, and Muslim, Bab al-Dhikr). An almost identical supplication is recorded by Imam Ahmad on ‘A’ishah’s authority and by Tabarani, Ibn Marduwayh and ibn al-Mundhir, with Ibn - ‘Abbas as its narrator.

In sum, man can only seek the piety and purification of his soul from Allah. It is His prerogative to bestow it. The same holds true for the suppression and corruption of one’s soul. Allah does not ~ impose it. However, as one opts for the wrong path, Allah denies him piety and purification. He lets man suppress and corrupt his soul in error and sin.

7. The truths laid down in the preceding verses are illustrated here with a historical report. The point made in Verses 7-10 may be better grasped in the light of these two observations: (i) Allah has created the human soul in the true nature and imbued it with consciousness of piety and evil. The Qur’an further clarifies that this innate knowledge is not sufficient for man to derive detailed guidance. For this, Allah sent down His Messengers with elaborate guidance. Their teachings clearly identify what is good and what is evil and how to attain piety. If man refuses to accept this divine guidance, he is bound to fall into error and cannot attain piety. (ii) Reward and punishment flow from one’s piety and evil respectively. Purification and piety of the soul inevitably lead to man’s prosperity. By the same token, suppression of the soul and indulgence in evil bring ruin upon man.

As an illustration of the above, the example of the Thamud is presented. Of all the earlier communities destroyed by divine punishment, the Thamud were in the closest vicinity of Makkah. Their ruins lay on the Makkans’ trade route in northern Hijaz. Jahiliyah poetry abounds in allusions to the Thamud, proving that their destruction was widely known in the region.

8. They rejected the Prophet Salih’s call, as they were not prepared to give up their evil practices. As a result, they rejected his call to piety. (For further details see al-A ‘raf 7: 73-76; Hid 11: 61-62; al-Shu'ara’ 26: 141-153; al-Naml 27: 45-49, and al-Qamar 54: 23-25.).

9. Its following details occur at other places in the Qur’an. The Thamud had challenged the Prophet Salih (peace be upon him) to produce a miracle, if he was true in his claim to Messenger ship. Accordingly, he presented a she-camel, saying that it was a sign of Allah that should be let free to graze. They should reserve one day for its water, while their cattle should have water on the next day. They would incur divine punishment if they hurt it. For some time, they followed these directions. However, they eventually urged their most wicked chief to kill it, which he did. (See al-A ‘raf 7: 73; al-Shu‘ara’ 26: 154-156, and al-Qamar 54: 29.)

10. Other Qur’anic details about this incident are as follows: They said: “O Salih! Bring upon us the scourge with which you threatened us, if you are truly a Messenger of Allah.” (al-A‘raf 7:77) Salih warned them: “Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days. This is a promise which shall not be belied.” (Hud 11: 65).

11. Unlike worldly kings and rulers, Allah does not have to think of the consequences before taking action against any community; for His power and authority is supreme. He did not fear any retaliation by some ally of the Thamud.