Ash-Shams 91:1 - Linguistic Miracle

By the Sun and by its Duha

Commentary covering verses 1–10

This Surah is dedicated to the human soul, to our essence. This Surah will define what it is and then the next surah, Surah Layl, will tell us what purifies our soul. It is a question as old as time itself, what is the human being, what is the human essence.

﴾ ١ ﴿ وَٱلشَّمْسِ وَضُحَىٰهَا

By the Sun and by its Duha

This surah will mostly consist of two oaths in one verse like this. The first oath is by the Sun. The second oath by Duha.

Duha is the early part of the morning, after sunrise when the sun becomes easily and clearly visible in the sky. Initially after sunrise, the sun is not visible. After a couple of hours, it is right above us such that if we look above at the sky, the sun is clearly visible. This time when it becomes easily and clearly visible is Duha But the word Duha can also refer to the light of the sun during this time as well. The light of the sun is soft and pleasant at this time. In the context of this surah, Duha refers to the light of the sun during this period; not the time period itself. We will first just go through all the oaths and then bring them all together at the end In sha Allah.

﴾ ٢ ﴿ وَٱلْقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَىٰهَا By the moon as it follows it, The word Tala is translated as follows. It is important to note that this root contains the meaning of being subservient. For example, it was used for a baby fowl when it follows its mother right after birth etc.⁹³ ﴾ ٣ ﴿ وَٱلنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّىٰهَا By the day when it gives it glory This is Majaz Aqli. The use of Majaz Aqli keeps the focus on the sun which as we will see, forms the center of this surah.

﴾ ٤ ﴿ وَٱلَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَىٰهَا By the night as it conceals it

Majaz Aqli again. The pronoun it refers back to the sun again.

﴾ ٥ ﴿ وَٱلسَّمَآءِ وَمَا بَنَىٰهَا

By the sky and by its erection/ building Translations normally translate it as “ By the sky and he who built/ erected it .” They

translate the particle ما as what. But I take ما to be Ma al Musdariyah - which turns the verb after it into a verbal noun - because this keeps it true to the theme and context of the surah. This is also the position of al-Farrāʾ, al-Zajjāj, Qatādah, al-Mubarrad.⁹⁴

﴾ ٦ ﴿ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا طَحَىٰهَا By the earth and by its spreading/ flattening.

Ma al Masdaryah again.

﴾ ٧ ﴿ وَنَفْسٍۢ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا By Soul, and by its balancing

Notice the lack of the definite article. There was a definite article “al” with every object whose oath was taken off. Allah said - By the Sun, By the Moon, By the sky, By the earth; but here, there is no definite article, it is simply - By Soul.

This is for two reasons.

Firstly, to highlight that this is the main thing or subject being talked about. The lack of the definite article here suggests that every single oath that came before it, came in the context of the Soul and hence has something to do with the Soul. The Soul is the main and central subject being talked about. Every oath is in light of it. This is following the position that the definite article can be omitted to highlight the great and grand nature of a thing as is commonly understood in balāgha.

Secondly, the omission of the definite article creates plurality. It means that Allah is swearing by all souls. Every single human soul in every single human being, believer or disbeliever, man or woman alike. Every single human being has the same soul.

Collective Meaning of the Oaths This is the order of all the oaths.

1. The Sun 2. Duha 3. Moon 4. Day 5. Night 6. Sky 7. The elevation of the sky 8. Earth 9. The flattening and spreading of the earth 10. Soul 11. The balancing of the soul The oath by the sun is followed by an oath by the moon. The oath by the day is followed by an oath by the night. The oath by the Sky is followed by an oath by the earth. The oath by the flatness (lowness) of the earth is followed by the erection of the sky.

Each object is followed by its opposite.

The opposite of the sun is the moon; the opposite of the day is the night; the opposite of the sky is the earth, the opposite of the lowliness of the earth is the elevation of the sky.

When two opposites come together, balance is achieved.

Hence, Allah says right next:

﴾ ٧ ﴿ وَنَفْسٍۢ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا

By Soul, and by its balancing The human soul has been balanced by bringing together two opposites like the multiple phenomena that have been mentioned.

Now what are these two opposites? They are specified in the next verse and alluded to in the erection of the sky and the spreading of the earth. Allah says next:

﴾ ٨ ﴿ فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَىٰهَا Then he inspired it, its destruction and protection Allah put inside the human being, knowledge of good and bad, of what protects his soul and destroys it. Righteousness protects the soul, its boundary, its sanctity, and its rights whereas evil destroys it. Allah balanced the human being by putting inside him these two opposites - knowledge of good and bad. He can choose either and is given free will to do so.

Secondly, the phraseology is very generic and hence it can mean additional things. Allah put inside the human being what destroys his soul and what protects it. Namely, He put inside the human being lowly, worldly desires which destroy his soul, and He also put inside him what protects his soul, namely - the desire for the divine and righteousness. Islam asks of a human being to balance these two desires within himself. Man should neither dedicate himself solely to his spiritual needs and neglect the desires and needs of his body, nor should he live chasing bodily desires and neglect his spiritual needs. Marriage serves as a perfect example of this. The bodily desire for the other gender needs to be exercised under the oath and protection of marriage only. Hence, exercising bodily desires after fulfilling Islamic requirements harmonizes them with spiritual responsibilities and this extends to all other things. Another example is the money someone earns. Islam does not stop or put a threshold on how much money one should earn, but rather on how much effort he spends. If all he is occupied with is earning money, then this leads to neglecting his spiritual needs. Instead, he is to earn money whilst also taking care of religious duties. On the money he earns, he is to pay a fixed percentage of Zakāh annually too. This way, both the material and the spiritual needs are balanced and go hand in hand. Islam does not treat the physical and spiritual as exclusive that cannot be reconciled with each other. Rather, Islam reconciles and harmonizes them in such a way that they both go hand in hand. A perfect balance.

Now the question arises why specifically mention the sun with the moon and the day with the night? If the point was just to highlight the coming together of two opposites, Allah could have mentioned any pair of opposites such as for example; a man with a woman, an animal with an angel etc. Why specifically mention these objects?

Because these oaths are exactly what the human soul is. Sometimes it is bright and sometimes it is dark. Sometimes it is radiant, and sometimes it is dull. Just like the constant battle of the day and night, where sometimes the light takes over and then darkness gets over it right after, so is this battle going on within the human soul. Sometimes it is righteous and radiant like the day but then darkness and evil take over it like the night. Sometimes it is happy and joyful, other times, it is sad and dull.

﴾ ٩ ﴿ قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا

Qad Aflaha mn Zakka ha ﴾ ١٠ ﴿ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّىٰهَا

Wa Qd Khāba Mn Dassa Ha These two verses are impossible to translate.

Notice the first word in blue- Aflaha. This word was used for plowing land. A farmer is called “fallāḥ” in Arabic which comes from the same root.

The second word is Zakka which we have already covered in surah al- Nāziʿāt. It was used for a nourished and fertile land as well as for crops that produced increased yield.

The word Khāba comes from the root khāʾ wāw bāʾ which was used for ● A land that did not receive rain. Situated between two lands that received rain ● Uncultivated land While the root of the next word Dassa was used for: ● A snake that burrows deep inside the earth ● Burying ● Hiding You can see from these four words Aflaha, Zakka, Khāba and Dassa that this is a clear imagery of a land being either cultivated or not being taken care of.

The one who works hard like a farmer, plowing his land (his soul), and then purifies it, cultivates it, helping it grow and flourish - will gain great harvest, produce and benefit from his land (soul). That farmer has been successful. Just like fertile land that is tilled, watered, and taken care of, the soul responds to care and blossoms with goodness. The one who neglects his land (soul), buries its potential, hides its seed (potential and light) under layers of darkness (earth and desires) will have a barren soul like a land left unwatered and untouched. They miss out even when others around them (the other lands that received water) flourish.

Allah is presenting the human soul like a piece of land 1. Some lands (souls) are plowed, nurtured and purified, and so they become fruitful and successful.

2. Other lands (souls) are buried, ignored, hidden and receive no rain (divine guidance or inner effort)- and thus, they become fruitless, dry and ultimately, failures.

Allah is asking people to take care of their spiritual needs as well. We all take care of bodily desires. Just as we take care of our material needs daily, build our capital and investment salary by salary, so should we take care and try to increase in spiritual good. Just as a farmer consistently takes care of his crops to prevent them from rotting away, so should men tend to their souls daily to protect it from being wasted away.

⁹³ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 1, p.213
⁹⁴ See also - al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 29, p. 67