Ash-Shams
Ash-Shams is the 91st surah of the Qur'an, with 15 ayat or verses. It opens with a series of solemn oaths sworn on various astronomical phenomena, the first of which, "by the sun", gives the sura its name, then on the human soul itself. It then describes the fate of Thamud, a formerly prosperous but now extinct Arab tribe. The prophet Saleh urged them to worship God alone, and commanded them in God's name to preserve a certain she-camel; they disobeyed and continued to reject his message; they killed the she-camel and nine of them plotted to kill Saleh and his followers, so God destroyed those who had wronged the people of Thamud and saved Saleh and the righteous believers who had followed him.
Summary
- 1-10, Oaths that man's happiness and misery depends on the purity or corruption he hath wrought in it
- 11-15, Thamúd destroyed for rejecting their prophet
Name of the surah
91:1 وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحَاهَا
91:2 وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَاهَا
91:3 وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّاهَا
91:4 وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَاهَا
Translation: By the sun and its brightness, and the moon when it follows it. And the day when it displays it, and the night when it covers it. . Notice "it," "it," "it,"... in Arabic, the pronoun used is haa, which is feminine. And all the other nouns referred to are masculine; which only leaves Ash-Shams–the sun–which is a feminine word; that's the "it" referred to in the first four ayaat.
Period of revelation
Sūrat ash-Shams is a Meccan surah. Meccan suras are chronologically earlier surahs that were revealed to Muhammad at Mecca before the hijrah to Medina in 622 CE. They are typically shorter, with relatively short ayat, and mostly come near the end of the Qur'an's 114 surahs. Most of the surahs containing muqattaʿat are Meccan. In his book, The Corân, William Muir classifies ash-Shams in a Quranic sub-category known as the Soliloquies - a literary form of discourse in which Muhammad talks to himself or reveals his thoughts without addressing a listener. However, Sale argues that this sūrah seems to be ruled out of that category by the change in style of āyāt.Theme and subject matter
In view of the subject matter, this Surah consists of two parts. The first part consists of vv. 1-10, and the second of vv. 11-15.According to an account from the book A Comprehensive Commentary on the Quran, translated by George Sale, Principal Subjects of verses 1-10 is "Oaths that man's happiness and misery depends on the purity or corruption he hath wrought in it" and "Thamúd destroyed for rejecting their prophet" in verses 11-15.
Sayyid Qutb, who was an Egyptian author, Islamist of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and was seen as a controversial intellectual due to his justification of violence against civilians, surmised the overall theme of Surat Al-Lail in the introduction to his extensive Quranic commentary, Fi Zilal al-Quran by saying:
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a well-known Pakistani Muslim theologian, Quran scholar and exegete, and educationist, surmised the overall theme of Surah Shams as The leaders of the Quraysh have been warned, on the basis of the law of retribution, about their rebellious and arrogant attitude towards the Prophetic mission.
And his analysis of subject says:
The Theme of Surah ash-Shams presented in Malik Al-Qur'an Translation coincides with Javed Ahmad Ghamidi's theme and overlaps with thematic analysis of Sayyid Maududi which says:
And that its theme is to distinguish the good from the evil and to warn the people, who were refusing to understand this distinction and insisting on following the evil way, of the evil end. However Malik argues that Major Issue, Divine Law and Guidance in this surah is that "Success depends on keeping the soul pure and failure depends on corrupting it, people of Thamud were leveled to the ground for that very reason."
1-10 Good and evil
The first part deals with three things:-:1-That just as the sun and the moon, the day and the night, the earth and the sky, are different from each other and contradictory in their effects and results, so are the good and the evil different front each other and contradictory in their effects and results; they are neither alike in their outward appearance nor can they be alike in their results.
2-That God after giving the human self powers of the body, sense and mind has not left it uninformed in the world, but has instilled into his unconscious by means of a natural inspiration the distinction between good and evil, right and wrong, and the sense of the good to be good and of the evil to be evil.
3-That the future of man depends on how by using the powers of discrimination, will and judgement that Allah has endowed him with, he develops the good and suppresses the evil tendencies of the self. If he develops the good inclination and frees his self of the evil inclinations, he will attain to eternal success, and if, on the contrary, he suppresses the good and promotes the evil, he will meet with disappointment and failure. Sahl al-Tustari, a Sufi and scholar of the Qur'an, mentions, "By the day when it reveals her , He said: This means: the light of faith removes the darkness of ignorance and extinguishes the flames of the Fire.
11-15 Historical precedent of the people of Thamud
In the second part citing the historical precedent of the people of Thamud the significance of prophethood has been brought out. A messenger is raised in the world, because the inspirational knowledge of good and evil that Allah has placed in human nature, is by itself not enough for the guidance of man, but on account of his failure to understand it fully man has been proposing wrong criteria and theories of good and evil and thus going astray. That is why Allah sent down clear and definite revelation to the prophets to augment man's natural inspiration so that they may expound to the people as to what is good and what is evil. Likewise, the prophet Saleh was sent to the people of Thamud, but the people overwhelmed by the evil of their self, had become so rebellious that they rejected him. And when he presented before them the miracle of the She-Camel of God, as demanded by themselves, the most wretched one of them, in spite of his warning, hamstrung it, in accordance with the will and desire of the people. Consequently, the entire tribe was overtaken by a disaster.The last verse has an alternative reading: and it is subject to varying interpretations among scholars. The suggestion that God has no fear is not appropriate when considering the divine nature of God in Islamic theology. Fear is a human attribute associated with vulnerability, uncertainty, and the possibility of harm, none of which apply to God, who is omnipotent, omniscient, and completely self-sufficient. God’s actions are driven by wisdom and justice, not by fear or anxiety. In the context of the verse, interpreting it to mean that God does not fear any consequences would imply that there could be some form of repercussion or retaliation against God, which contradicts His supreme and transcendent nature.
As such and by drawing a parallel to the meaning of "تَخَوُّفٍ" as used in Surah An-Nahl: , it can be understood to mean that after God's retribution was executed upon the people of Thamud, nothing was left of their life that would necessitate a gradual seizing or causing of further loss. Essentially, the punishment was so complete and absolute that there was no need for any further divine intervention or gradual punitive measures. This interpretation highlights the totality and finality of the divine punishment, leaving no room for lingering effects or gradual losses to be further executed.
Another interpretation involves the word "عُقْبَـٰهَا" which can be understood to mean "its descendants" as used in Surah Az-Zukhruf:. In this context, "عُقْبَـٰهَا" refers to the progeny or descendants of the people of Thamud. This interpretation suggests that after the divine retribution was executed upon Thamud, the surviving believers and their descendants would not fear oppression or harm from the disbelieving people. The punishment was so decisive and complete that it not only eradicated the immediate wrongdoers but also ensured safety and peace for the faithful and their progeny, thus eliminating any fear of future oppression by the disbelievers. This understanding underscores the protective aspect of divine intervention, safeguarding the believers and their lineage from the tyranny and injustice of the disbelievers. This interpretation is further supported by noting the alternative reading of the verse: **"فَلا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا"** "so that its descendants do not fear."