91 ASH-SHAMS
Name
The Surah has been so
designated after the word ash-shams
with which it opens.
Period of Revelation
The subject matter and the
style show that this Surah too was revealed in the earliest period at Makkah at
a stage when opposition to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace) had
grown very strong and intense.
Theme and Subject Matter
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.
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. 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 Allah 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 judgment 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.
In the second part citing the
historical precedent of the people of Thamud the significance of Apostleship
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 (peace be upon them) 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 Salih (peace be upon him) 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, 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.
While narrating this story of
the Thamud nowhere in the Surah has it been said "O people of Quraish, if
you rejected your Prophet, Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings),
as the Thamud had rejected theirs, you too would meet with the same fate as
they met."The conditions at that time in Makkah were similar to those that
had been created by the wicked among the people of Thamud against the Prophet
Salih (peace be upon him). Therefore, the narration of this story in those
conditions was by itself enough to suggest to the people of Makkah how
precisely this historical precedent applied to them.
Tafseer By Syed
Abu-Ala' Maududi:
Maududi's
translation and commentary on the Qur'an, "The Meaning of the
Qur'an", ranks as one of the best such works in existence today.
Unlike many early translators, Maududi uses the standard technique of providing
an explanation of the Qur'anic verses from the Sunnah of the Prophet (sas),
including the historical reasons behind the verses. Unfortunately, this represents
a very small portion of the six volumes which comprise the complete commentary.
May Allah forgive
our mistakes. Please let us know if you find any, so that our future editions
are free from them. Feel free to contact us anytime:
Understand the
Q’uran & Salah (understandquran.salah@gmail.com)
