Tazkirul Quran · Tafsir · in English
الشمس
Ash-Shams
The Sun · Meccan · 15 ayahs
90:11–91:10Page 595
وَٱلشَّمۡسِ وَضُحَىٰهَا ١
By the sun and its brightness
وَٱلۡقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَىٰهَا ٢
And [by] the moon when it follows it
وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّىٰهَا ٣
And [by] the day when it displays it1
وَٱلَّيۡلِ إِذَا يَغۡشَىٰهَا ٤
And [by] the night when it covers [i.e., conceals] it
وَٱلسَّمَآءِ وَمَا بَنَىٰهَا ٥
And [by] the sky and He who constructed it
وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا طَحَىٰهَا ٦
And [by] the earth and He who spread it
وَنَفۡسٖ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا ٧
And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it1
فَأَلۡهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقۡوَىٰهَا ٨
And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness,
قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا ٩
He has succeeded who purifies it,
وَقَدۡ خَابَ مَن دَسَّىٰهَا ١٠
And he has failed who instills it [with corruption].
Almighty God has made threefold arrangements for the guidance of man. On the one hand, the universe has been so constructed that it has become the practical manifestation of God’s will. On the other hand, the human psyche has been infused with an intuitive consciousness of good and bad. Thereafter, it was arranged that Truth and falsehood, justice and injustice be revealed clearly through the prophets in a language understandable to the people. Even after this, if people do not adopt the right path, they are undoubtedly transgressors.
91:11–15Page 595
كَذَّبَتۡ ثَمُودُ بِطَغۡوَىٰهَآ ١١
Thamūd denied [their prophet] by reason of their transgression,
إِذِ ٱنۢبَعَثَ أَشۡقَىٰهَا ١٢
When the most wretched of them was sent forth.1
فَقَالَ لَهُمۡ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ نَاقَةَ ٱللَّهِ وَسُقۡيَٰهَا ١٣
And the messenger of Allāh [i.e., Ṣāliḥ] said to them, "[Do not harm] the she-camel of Allāh or [prevent her from] her drink."
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمۡدَمَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رَبُّهُم بِذَنۢبِهِمۡ فَسَوَّىٰهَا ١٤
But they denied him and hamstrung1 her. So their Lord brought down upon them destruction for their sin and made it equal [upon all of them].
وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقۡبَٰهَا ١٥
And He does not fear the consequence thereof.1
The she-camel of the Prophet Salih, in a way, symbolised the principle that one should respect the rights of others and discharge one’s duties to them accordingly, even if they are helpless and weak. It is quite possible that a creature which, to all appearances, is only a ‘she-camel’, may be God’s sign brought before people to test them.
Text: through the Quran Foundation. The ayahs: Quran Foundation. Sources and licences