Ash-Shams 91:7–13

وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا (and by the soul, and the One who made it well,...91:7) If, in this phrase, the particle ma is taken to function as infinitival particle, it signifies 'by the human soul and its perfection'. If ma is taken in the sense of man , it signifies 'by the soul and the One who proportioned it'. The

فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَ‌هَا وَتَقْوَاهَا (then inspired it with its [ instincts on evil and piety...91:8) The word ilham denotes 'to cast into the heart'. The word fujur denotes 'open transgression'. The meaning of taqwa is well-known. This sentence is linked with the seventh oath وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا and by the soul, and the One who made it well, [ 91:7] ', signifying that Allah has equipped man with human soul which has the capacity to distinguish between good and bad, and right and wrong. In other words, in his make-up Allah has built in him a special ability to choose freely the righteous path or the sinful path. Whichever way he takes out of his own free will, he will be rewarded or punished. This interpretation is deducible from a traceable Hadith which is transmitted by Muslim on the authority of Sayyidna ` Imran Ibn Husain ؓ . The Holy Prophet ﷺ was sitting in the company of his followers. They asked him a question regarding Divine Destination. In response, the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited this verse. This verse will allay the doubt about Divine Destination only if the words 'then inspired it with its (instincts of) evil and piety, [ 91:8] ' are taken in the sense that human soul has been inspired with conscience to distinguish between right and wrong, and has also been granted the ability to do good as well as the ability to commit sin. Man is not a creature of pure force or coercion. He has free will to choose his path of good or evil. He, in fact, has the option to do good or refrain from sin. The choice is his, for which he is rewarded or punished.

Sayyidna Abu Hurairah and Ibn ` Abbas ؓ report that whenever the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited the verses [ 91:7-8] under comment would stop and recite the following supplication aloud:

اللّٰھُمَّ اٰتِ نفسِی تَقوٰھَا اَنتَ وَلِیُّھَا وَ مَولَاھَا وَ اَنتَ خَیرُ مَن زَکَٰھَا

'0 Allah! Give my soul its good. You are its Guardian and Master, and the best to purify it.'

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا ﴿9﴾ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا ﴿10﴾ (success is really attained by him who purifies it, and failure is really suffered by him who pollutes it....91:10). This is the subject of the seven oaths. The primitive meaning of tazkiyah is 'inner cleanliness', signifying 'he who obeyed Allah and purified his inner and outer selves.' Verse [ 10] signifies 'he who caused his soul to sink in the swamp of sins will be deprived'. The word dassa is derived from the basic word dass' which denotes 'to bury in the ground' as for instance it occurs elsewhere in the Qur'an, thus:

أَمْ يَدُسُّهُ فِي التُّرَ‌ابِ

...or put it away into the dust? [ 16:59] '

Some of the commentators have analysed that the pronouns of zakka 'He purified' and dassa 'He caused to pollute' as referring to 'Allah', signifying that 'he is successful indeed whose soul Allah has purified and he has failed whose soul Allah pollutes '. This verse has divided the entire mankind into two groups: [ 1] successful; and [ 2] unsuccessful. An example of the second group has been cited to show how it rejected the message of Allah and consequently how Allah destroyed them. Such a group will receive severe punishment in the Hereafter. Sometimes, however, an installment of punishment is meted out to them in this world as in the case of Thamud. Their story is recounted fully in Surah A` raf [ S.7:73-79; S.11:61-68; S. 26:141-159; S.27:45-53; S..41:17-18; S.54:23-32; and S. 69:4-5]. Here a brief reference is made to that story and their punishment.