091
Muhammad Asad
ASH-SHAMS (THE SUN)
THE NINETY-FIRST
SURAH
Total Verses: 15
Introduction
THE KEY -WORD by
which this surah has always been
identified occurs in its first verse. It is generally assumed that it was
revealed shortly after surah 97 (Al-Qadr).
IN THE NAME OF
GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE:
1) CONSIDER the sun and its radiant brightness,
(2) and the moon as it reflects the sun! *
*Lit., ''as it follows it (talaha)", i.e., the sun. According to the
great philologist Al-Farra, who lived in the second
century after the hijrah, "the
meaning is that the moon derives its light from the sun" (quoted by Razi). This is also Raghib's
interpretation of the above phrase.
(3) Consider the day as it reveals the world, *
*Lit., "it" - a pronoun
apparently indicating "the world" or "the earth" (Zamakhshari). It is to be noted that verses 1-10 stress the
polarity - both physical and spiritual - inherent in
all creation and contrasting with the oneness and uniqueness of the Creator.
(4) and the night as it veils it
darkly!
(5) Consider the sky and its wondrous make, *
*Lit., "and that which has
built it" - i.e., the wondrous qualities which are responsible for the
harmony and coherence of the visible cosmos (which is evidently the meaning of
the term sama' in
this context). Similarly, the subsequent reference to the earth,
which reads literally, "that which has spread it out", is
apparently an allusion to the qualities responsible for the beauty and variety
of its expanse.
(6) and the earth and all its
expanse!
(7) Consider the human self, * and how it is formed in accordance with what it is meant to be, **
* As in so many other instances,
the term nafs, which has a very wide
range of meanings (see first sentence of note 1 on 4:1), denotes here the human
self or personality as a whole: that is, a being composed of a physical body
and that inexplicable life-essence loosely described as "soul".
**Lit., "and that which has
made [or "formed"] it (sawwaha) in
accordance with. . .", etc. For this particular
connotation of the verb sawwa, see note
1 on 87:2, which represents the oldest Qur'anic
instance of its use in the above sense. The reference to man and that which
constitutes the "human personality", as well as the implied allusion
to the extremely complex phenomenon of a life-entity in which bodily needs and
urges, emotions and intellectual activities are so closely intertwined as to be
indissoluble, follows organically upon a call to consider the inexplicable
grandeur of the universe - so far as it is perceptible and comprehensible to
man - as a compelling evidence of God's creative power.
(8) and how it is imbued with moral failings as well as with consciousness of God! *
*Lit., "and [consider] that
which has inspired it with its immoral doings (fujuraha)
and its God-consciousness (taqwaha)" -
i.e., the fact that man is equally liable to rise to great spiritual heights as
to fall into utter immorality is an essential characteristic of human nature as
such. In its deepest sense, man's ability to act wrongly is a concomitant to
his ability to act rightly: in other words, it is this inherent polarity of
tendencies which gives to every "right" choice a value and, thus,
endows man with moral free will (cf. in this connection note 16 on
(9) To a happy state shall indeed attain he who causes this [self]
to grow in purity,
(10) and truly lost is he who
buries it [in darkness].
(11) TO [THIS] TRUTH gave the lie, in their overweening arrogance, [the tribe of] Thamud, *
*For the story of the tribe of Thamud, given here as an illustration of man's potential
wickedness, see 7:73-79 and the corresponding notes.
(12) when that most hapless wretch
from among them rushed forward [to commit his evil deed],
(13) although God's apostle had told them, "It is a she-camel belonging to God, so let her drink [and do her no harm]!" *
*Regarding this "she-camel
belonging to God", see surah 7,
note 57. For the particular reference to the injunction, "Let her
drink", see 26:155 and the corresponding note 67. The formulation of this
passage shows that the legend of the she-camel was well known in pre-Islamic
(14) But they gave him the lie, and cruelly slaughtered her *
- whereupon their Sustainer visited them wwith utter destruction for this their
sin, destroying them all alike:
*For this rendering of aqaruha, see note 61 on 7:91.
(15) for none [of them] had any fear of what might befall them. *
*Implying that their total lack of compassion for God's creatures showed that they did not fear His retribution and, hence, did not really believe in Him.