Surah Ash-Shams — Word by Word
الشمس
The Sun
Explanations are simplified from tafsirs by Ibn Kathir, Mufti Muhammad Shafi, and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. Spot an inaccuracy? Let us know.
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
wal-shamsi waḍuḥāhā
By the sun and its brightness
wal-qamari idhā talāhā
And [by] the moon when it follows it
wal-nahāri idhā jallāhā
And [by] the day when it displays it
wa-al-layli idhā yaghshāhā
And [by] the night when it covers [i.e., conceals] it
wal-samāi wamā banāhā
And [by] the sky and He who constructed it
wal-arḍi wamā ṭaḥāhā
And [by] the earth and He who spread it
wanafsin wamā sawwāhā
And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it
fa-alhamahā fujūrahā wataqwāhā
And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness,
qad aflaḥa man zakkāhā
He has succeeded who purifies it,
waqad khāba man dassāhā
And he has failed who instills it [with corruption].
kadhabat thamūdu biṭaghwāhā
Thamūd denied [their prophet] by reason of their transgression,
idhi inbaʿatha ashqāhā
When the most wretched of them was sent forth.
faqāla lahum rasūlu l-lahi nāqata l-lahi wasuq'yāhā
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."
fakadhabūhu faʿaqarūhā fadamdama ʿalayhim rabbuhum bidhanbihim fasawwāhā
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].
walā yakhāfu ʿuq'bāhā
And He does not fear the consequence thereof.