Sūrat al-Shams

Meccan. Its verses are 15 (revealed after [Sūrat] al-Qadr).

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

{By the sun and its brightness,

And the moon when it follows it,

And the day when it reveals it,

And the night when it covers it,

And the sky and He who constructed it,

And the earth and He who spread it,

And a soul and He who proportioned it,

And inspired it [with] its wickedness and its righteousness,

He has succeeded who purifies it,

And he has failed who corrupts it.}

"Its brightness" (ḍuḥāhā): Its light when it rises and its authority is established. Hence, it is said: "the time of ḍuḥā," as if one were to say, "His face is like the sun of the ḍuḥā." It is also said that ḍaḥwah is the rising of the day, while ḍuḥā is beyond that. Ḍaḥā' (with a fatha and long vowel) refers to when the day has extended and is nearing its midpoint.

"When it follows it" (idhā talāhā): Rising as the moon sets, taking from its light; this occurs in the first half of the month. It is also said: when it becomes full, it follows the sun in radiance and light.

"When it reveals it" (idhā jallāhā): At the swelling and expansion of the day, for the sun is revealed in its entirety at that time. It is also said that the pronoun refers to the darkness, the world, or the earth, even if they were not previously mentioned—similar to how they say, "It has become cold," intending the morning, or "It has rained," intending the sky.

"When it covers it" (idhā yaghshāhā): When it sets and the horizons darken.

If you ask: The matter of the accusative case for idhā is problematic. You must either consider the wāws (in the oaths) as conjunctions, which would require them to govern the following nouns and verbs, leading to the difficulty of a single particle governing two different agents (like saying, "I passed by Zayd yesterday, and today [by] ‘Amr"). Or, you consider them as oaths, which falls into a construction that both al-Khalil and Sibawayh agreed was awkward.

I say: The answer is that the wāw of oath is used in a way that completely dispenses with expressing the verb, unlike the bā’ (of oath), where the verb is sometimes expressed and sometimes implied. The wāw stands in place of the verb, while the bā’ acts as a substitute for both. The conjunctive wāws are deputies for this wāw, so they are rightfully agents over both the verb and the noun, just as you say, "Zayd struck ‘Amr, and Bakr [struck] Khālid"—you raise the subject with the wāw and put the object in the accusative because it stands in place of the verb "struck," which is the agent for both.

I have treated mā as a masdariyyah (infinitive) particle in His words: "And He who built it," "And He who spread it," and "And He who proportioned it." This is not the preferred view due to His words: "And inspired it," and the corruption of the structure that would result. The preferred view is that it is a relative pronoun (mawṣūlah). It was chosen over man (who) to signify the meaning of description, as if it were said: "By the sky and the Great Power who built it; by the soul and the Wise One of dazzling wisdom who proportioned it." In their speech, they say: "Glory to Him who subjected these to us."

If you ask: Why is "soul" (nafs) indefinite? I say: There are two views. First, that it intends a specific soul among all souls, which is the soul of Adam, as if He said: "And one of the souls." Second, that it intends every soul, and it is indefinite to denote multiplicity, in the manner mentioned in His words: "A soul shall know" (al-Takwīr: 14).

The meaning of inspiring "its wickedness and its righteousness" is to make it understand and comprehend them, that one is good and the other is evil, and to enable it to choose whichever it wishes. This is evidenced by His words: "He has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who corrupts it." He made the soul the agent of purification and corruption, and the one responsible for them. Purification (tazkiyah) is growth and elevation through righteousness. Corruption (tadsiyah) is diminution and concealment through wickedness. The root of dassā is dassasa, just as it is said of taqaḍḍa that it is taqaḍḍaḍa. Ibn ‘Abbās was asked about this and said: "Do you not read: 'He has succeeded who purifies himself' (al-A‘lā: 14) and 'He has failed who bears injustice' (Ṭāhā: 111)?"

As for those who claim the pronoun in "purifies" and "corrupts" refers to Allah—and that the feminine gender refers back to "who" (man) because it carries the meaning of "soul"—this is a reversal by the Qadariyyah, who attribute to Allah a decree from which He is free and exalted, spending their nights in the fabrication of an obscenity which they attribute to Him.

If you ask: Where is the answer to the oath? I say: It is omitted. The estimation is: "He has destroyed them," i.e., the people of Mecca, for their denial of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), just as He destroyed Thamūd because they denied Ṣāliḥ. As for "He has succeeded who purifies it," it is a statement following His words "And inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness" by way of digression, and it is not part of the answer to the oath at all.

"Thamūd denied by their transgression. When the most wretched of them was sent forth. And the Messenger of Allah said to them, '[Do not harm] the she-camel of Allah or her drink. But they denied him and hamstrung her. So their Lord brought down upon them destruction for their sin and leveled it. And He does not fear the consequence thereof."