Surah Ash-Shams: Meaning, Translation and Transliteration

Surah Ash-Shams, "The Sun", is fifteen verses long, and almost half of it is oaths: by the sun, the moon, the day, the night, the sky, the earth and the human soul. All of them lead to one sentence: "He has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who instills it [with corruption]." The surah then tells the story of a people who failed, Thamūd, and the she-camel they killed.

This article gives the full surah in Arabic, a transliteration and the English translation, then goes through its meaning, the story it tells, and the dua the Prophet ﷺ made from its words.

The full surah

وَٱلشَّمۡسِ وَضُحَىٰهَا وَٱلۡقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَىٰهَا وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّىٰهَا وَٱلَّيۡلِ إِذَا يَغۡشَىٰهَا وَٱلسَّمَآءِ وَمَا بَنَىٰهَا وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا طَحَىٰهَا وَنَفۡسٖ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا فَأَلۡهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقۡوَىٰهَا قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا وَقَدۡ خَابَ مَن دَسَّىٰهَا كَذَّبَتۡ ثَمُودُ بِطَغۡوَىٰهَآ إِذِ ٱنۢبَعَثَ أَشۡقَىٰهَا فَقَالَ لَهُمۡ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ نَاقَةَ ٱللَّهِ وَسُقۡيَٰهَا فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمۡدَمَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رَبُّهُم بِذَنۢبِهِمۡ فَسَوَّىٰهَا وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقۡبَٰهَا

Transliteration

1. Wash-shamsi wa ḍuḥāhā
2. Wal-qamari idhā talāhā
3. Wan-nahāri idhā jallāhā
4. Wal-layli idhā yaghshāhā
5. Was-samāʾi wa mā banāhā
6. Wal-arḍi wa mā ṭaḥāhā
7. Wa nafsin wa mā sawwāhā
8. Fa-alhamahā fujūrahā wa taqwāhā
9. Qad aflaḥa man zakkāhā
10. Wa qad khāba man dassāhā
11. Kadhdhabat Thamūdu bi-ṭaghwāhā
12. Idhim-baʿatha ashqāhā
13. Fa-qāla lahum rasūlullāhi nāqatallāhi wa suqyāhā
14. Fa-kadhdhabūhu fa-ʿaqarūhā fa-damdama ʿalayhim rabbuhum bi-dhanbihim fa-sawwāhā
15. Wa lā yakhāfu ʿuqbāhā

English translation (Saheeh International)

By the sun and its brightness, and [by] the moon when it follows it, and [by] the day when it displays it, and [by] the night when it covers [i.e., conceals] it, and [by] the sky and He who constructed it, and [by] the earth and He who spread it, and [by] the soul and He who proportioned it and inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness, he has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who instills it [with corruption].

Thamūd denied [their prophet] by reason of their transgression, when the most wretched of them was sent forth. 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." But they denied him and hamstrung her. So their Lord brought down upon them destruction for their sin and made it equal [upon all of them]. And He does not fear the consequence thereof. (91:1-15)

If you learned to read the Quran in the IndoPak script, here is the same surah as it appears in a South Asian mushaf:

وَالشَّمۡسِ وَضُحٰٮهَا  ۙ وَالۡقَمَرِ اِذَا تَلٰٮهَا  ۙ وَالنَّهَارِ اِذَا جَلّٰٮهَا ۙ وَالَّيۡلِ اِذَا يَغۡشٰٮهَا ۙ وَالسَّمَآءِ وَمَا بَنٰٮهَا ۙ وَالۡاَرۡضِ وَمَا طَحٰٮهَا ۙ وَنَفۡسٍ وَّمَا سَوّٰٮهَا ۙ فَاَلۡهَمَهَا فُجُوۡرَهَا وَتَقۡوٰٮهَا ۙ قَدۡ اَفۡلَحَ مَنۡ زَكّٰٮهَا ۙ وَقَدۡ خَابَ مَنۡ دَسّٰٮهَا ؕ كَذَّبَتۡ ثَمُوۡدُ بِطَغۡوٰٮهَآ  ۙ اِذِ انۡۢبَعَثَ اَشۡقٰٮهَا  ۙ فَقَالَ لَهُمۡ رَسُوۡلُ اللّٰهِ نَاقَةَ اللّٰهِ وَسُقۡيٰهَا ؕ فَكَذَّبُوۡهُ فَعَقَرُوۡهَا   ۙفَدَمۡدَمَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رَبُّهُمۡ بِذَنۡۢبِهِمۡ فَسَوّٰٮهَا  ۙ وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقۡبٰهَا

You can read and listen to Surah Ash-Shams with its translation, or read it with the Urdu translation.

About the surah

Ash-Shams is the 91st surah of the Quran, with 15 verses, in the 30th juz. It is Meccan. Its name comes from its first word, ash-shams, the sun, and you'll also see it written as Al-Shams or Surah Shams.

The Prophet ﷺ named it as a surah suitable for leading the night prayer. When Muʿādh ibn Jabal led his people in ʿIshāʾ with a very long recitation and a man complained, the Prophet ﷺ told Muʿādh: "Why didn't you recite Sabbiḥ isma rabbika al-aʿlā, Wash-shamsi wa ḍuḥāhā and Wal-layli idhā yaghshā?" (Sahih al-Bukhari 705; Sahih Muslim 465). Buraydah also reported that the Prophet ﷺ would recite in ʿIshāʾ "Wash-shamsi wa ḍuḥāhā and surahs like it" (al-Tirmidhi 309).

Verses 1–8: The oaths

وَٱلشَّمۡسِ وَضُحَىٰهَا وَٱلۡقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَىٰهَا وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّىٰهَا وَٱلَّيۡلِ إِذَا يَغۡشَىٰهَا وَٱلسَّمَآءِ وَمَا بَنَىٰهَا وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا طَحَىٰهَا وَنَفۡسٖ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا فَأَلۡهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقۡوَىٰهَا

By the sun and its brightness, and [by] the moon when it follows it, and [by] the day when it displays it, and [by] the night when it covers [i.e., conceals] it, and [by] the sky and He who constructed it, and [by] the earth and He who spread it, and [by] the soul and He who proportioned it and inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness, (91:1-8)

Few passages in the Quran have so many oaths in a row. Counted one by one, there are eleven. They come in pairs:

• The sun and the moon. The sun and its ḍuḥā, the full brightness of the morning, and the moon "when it follows it", reflecting its light after it sets.
• The day and the night. The day "when it displays it", showing the sun or the world in its light, and the night "when it covers it".
• The sky and the earth. The sky "and He who constructed it", and the earth "and He who spread it".
• The soul, "and He who proportioned it".

The Arabic wa mā banāhā can be read two ways, and translators differ. Saheeh International reads mā as "He who", so the oath is by the sky and by its Builder. Others, including Maulana Junagarhi's Urdu translation, read it as "and its building", an oath by the sky and the way it was made. Either way, the point is the same: the order in creation points to its Maker.

After the great things of the universe, the surah comes to the human soul, nafs, and makes it the last and longest oath. Allah "proportioned it", giving it the right balance and abilities, "and inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness".

"Inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness"

The word alhamahā means Allah put the knowledge into it. Every person is born with a sense of right and wrong. The Prophet ﷺ said that every child is born upon the fiṭrah, the natural disposition (Sahih al-Bukhari 1385; Sahih Muslim 2658).

He also described how that sense feels from the inside: "Righteousness is good character, and sin is what wavers in your chest and you would hate for people to find out about" (Sahih Muslim 2553). The soul knows both paths. What it does with that knowledge is the subject of the next two verses.

Verses 9–10: Success and failure

قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا وَقَدۡ خَابَ مَن دَسَّىٰهَا

He has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who instills it [with corruption]. (91:9-10)

Everything before this was building up to it. Eleven oaths, and then the answer: success belongs to whoever purifies their soul, and failure to whoever corrupts it.

• Zakkāhā, "purifies it". Tazkiyah means both cleansing and growing, the way a plant grows when weeds are cleared away. A soul is purified by faith and good deeds, and by removing what spoils it: arrogance, envy, greed and the rest.
• Dassāhā, "instills it with corruption". The verb dassa means to bury or hide something, as in burying it in the ground (16:59 uses it for burying a newborn girl). A person who keeps giving in to sin buries the good in their own soul until it can hardly be seen.

The commentators discuss who does the purifying: the person, purifying their own soul, or Allah, purifying whom He wills. Most take the first meaning, which places the responsibility on each person. The Prophet's ﷺ dua below holds both together: we strive, and we ask Allah to purify us.

Verses 11–15: Thamūd and the she-camel

كَذَّبَتۡ ثَمُودُ بِطَغۡوَىٰهَآ إِذِ ٱنۢبَعَثَ أَشۡقَىٰهَا فَقَالَ لَهُمۡ رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ نَاقَةَ ٱللَّهِ وَسُقۡيَٰهَا فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمۡدَمَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رَبُّهُم بِذَنۢبِهِمۡ فَسَوَّىٰهَا وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقۡبَٰهَا

Thamūd denied [their prophet] by reason of their transgression, when the most wretched of them was sent forth. 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." But they denied him and hamstrung her. So their Lord brought down upon them destruction for their sin and made it equal [upon all of them]. And He does not fear the consequence thereof. (91:11-15)

Having said that the soul which corrupts itself fails, the surah gives an example of a whole people who did.

Thamūd lived in north-west Arabia and carved their homes into the mountains. Allah sent them the Prophet Ṣāliḥ, and when they demanded a sign, a she-camel was given to them as "the she-camel of Allah". She was to drink from their water on her day, and they on theirs (26:155; 54:27-28). They were warned not to harm her. The full story is told in Surah Al-A'raf (7:73-79), Surah Hud (11:61-68) and elsewhere.

Their "transgression", ṭaghwā, led them to reject him. Then "the most wretched of them", ashqāhā, rose up and killed the camel by hamstringing her. The Prophet ﷺ described this man in a sermon: he rose up as a mighty, fierce man, powerful among his people (Sahih al-Bukhari 4942; Sahih Muslim 2855). The commentators name him as Qudār ibn Sālif.

One man struck the blow, yet verse 14 says "they hamstrung her", and the punishment fell on all of them. The commentators explain that the people agreed to it and approved of what he did, so they shared the guilt.

Fa-damdama ʿalayhim rabbuhum: their Lord crushed them, covering them with destruction, "and made it equal", levelling them so that none escaped. The last verse, "He does not fear the consequence thereof", contrasts Allah with earthly rulers, who must worry about revenge or rebellion after they punish. Some commentators read it as describing the killer instead: he struck without fearing what would follow.

When the Prophet ﷺ and his army passed through al-Ḥijr, the land of Thamūd, on the way to Tabūk, he told them not to enter the dwellings of those who had been punished except weeping, so that what befell them would not befall them too (Sahih al-Bukhari 433; Sahih Muslim 2980).

The dua from Surah Ash-Shams

Zayd ibn Arqam reported that among the Prophet's ﷺ duas was this one, which takes its words from verses 8 and 9 (Sahih Muslim 2722):

ٱللَّهُمَّ آتِ نَفۡسِي تَقۡوَاهَا، وَزَكِّهَا أَنۡتَ خَيۡرُ مَنۡ زَكَّاهَا، أَنۡتَ وَلِيُّهَا وَمَوۡلَاهَا

Allāhumma āti nafsī taqwāhā, wa zakkihā anta khayru man zakkāhā, anta waliyyuhā wa mawlāhā. O Allah, give my soul its righteousness and purify it, for You are the best to purify it. You are its Guardian and its Protector.

The surah says the soul was inspired with its taqwā and that success belongs to whoever purifies it. The dua asks Allah for exactly those two things. It's short enough to learn today.

Word by word

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
وَٱلشَّمۡسِ وَضُحَىٰهَا	wash-shamsi wa ḍuḥāhā	by the sun and its brightness
وَٱلۡقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَىٰهَا	wal-qamari idhā talāhā	and the moon when it follows it
وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّىٰهَا	wan-nahāri idhā jallāhā	and the day when it displays it
وَٱلَّيۡلِ إِذَا يَغۡشَىٰهَا	wal-layli idhā yaghshāhā	and the night when it covers it
طَحَىٰهَا	ṭaḥāhā	spread it out
سَوَّىٰهَا	sawwāhā	proportioned it
فَأَلۡهَمَهَا	fa-alhamahā	and inspired it
فُجُورَهَا وَتَقۡوَىٰهَا	fujūrahā wa taqwāhā	its wickedness and its righteousness
قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ	qad aflaḥa	has succeeded
مَن زَكَّىٰهَا	man zakkāhā	whoever purifies it
وَقَدۡ خَابَ	wa qad khāba	and has failed
مَن دَسَّىٰهَا	man dassāhā	whoever buries it
بِطَغۡوَىٰهَآ	bi-ṭaghwāhā	because of its transgression
أَشۡقَىٰهَا	ashqāhā	its most wretched one
نَاقَةَ ٱللَّهِ وَسُقۡيَٰهَا	nāqatallāhi wa suqyāhā	the she-camel of Allah and her drink
فَعَقَرُوهَا	fa-ʿaqarūhā	and they hamstrung her
فَدَمۡدَمَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ	fa-damdama ʿalayhim	so He crushed them
عُقۡبَٰهَا	ʿuqbāhā	its consequence

Living by Surah Ash-Shams

• Treat your soul as the thing to look after. Eleven oaths lead to one point: success is purifying the soul. It deserves at least the attention we give our bodies and our careers.
• Listen to the sense of right and wrong you were born with. If something "wavers in your chest" and you'd hate people to know about it, that is the soul's inspiration at work.
• Clear out what spoils it. Pick one habit, like backbiting, anger or wasting time, and work on it.
• Don't approve of wrong, even if you don't do it. One man killed the camel, but a whole people shared the guilt because they were pleased with it.
• Make the Prophet's ﷺ dua part of your day: Allāhumma āti nafsī taqwāhā, wa zakkihā anta khayru man zakkāhā, anta waliyyuhā wa mawlāhā.
• Recite it in ʿIshāʾ, as he ﷺ advised Muʿādh.

Open Surah Ash-Shams to read and listen to it with its translation.