Surah Ash-Shams
(The Sun)
Chapter 91
It is 15 Verses 1 Unit (Ruku’): Revealed at Makkah
In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
1. I (Allah) swear by the sun and its brightness,
2. And (by) the moon when it follows it (reflecting the sun’s light),
3. And (by) the day when it unfolds its glory,
4. And (by) the night when it draws a veil (of darkness) over it (the earth),
5. And (by) the sky and He (Allah) Who made it,
6. And (by) the earth and He (Allah) Who spread it,
7. And (by) the soul and He (Allah) Who perfected it,
8. Then He inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it;
9. He will indeed be successful who purifies it (from evil),
10. And he will indeed fail who corrupts it.
11. (The tribe of) Thamud denied (the Truth) through their transgression,
12. When the most unfortunate of them was sent forth,
13. So Allah’s Messenger (Salih) said to them: It is a she-camel of Allah, so leave her (to) drink (and do not harm her).
14. But they denied him, and hamstrung her, therefore their Lord (Allah) crushed them for their sin and leveled them (to the ground or made it equal upon all of them).
15. And He fears not the consequences thereof.
Note: [Allah (God) swearing by His creation is indirect swearing by His own Holy Self for He is the Lord of Perfection and of all that exists. So, when Allah takes an oath of some of the created things He is drawing our attention to the great importance of the matter he is speaking about, and the importance of what he is swearing by. Allah’s swearing by the creation is simply taking an oath of Himself, His Perfectness, and His own Greatness. Allah mentions some of His created things as evidence of His existence and emphasizes to the readers of the Divine Revelation to ponder over His Signs. While Allah can swear by what He wills, yet for mankind it is unlawful for them to swear by other than Allah. It is a great sin to swear by Prophet Muhammad or Jesus Christ or any other Prophet or Angel or righteous person, or the Ka’aba, or someone’s life or honor, or a grave. The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: «Whoever swears by anything other than Allah is guilty of disbelief or polytheism» - Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhe, Ahmed. He also said: «Do not swear by idols, nor by your fathers.» - Saheeh Muslim]