Surah Ash-Shams – Mahmoud Khalil Al Hussary

Ash-Shams ("The Sun") is the 91st surah of the Quran, in Juz' Amma. Meccan, it has 15 verses and is the 26th surah in the traditional order of revelation, after Al-Qadr. It opens with one of the longest series of oaths in the Quran: by the sun and its morning brightness, the moon, the day, the night, the sky, the earth and the soul (91:1-7).

The oaths lead to the surah's central statement: God inspired the soul with its wickedness and its righteousness, and "he has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who corrupts it" (91:8-10).

The story of Thamud illustrates this: in their arrogance they rejected their messenger Salih, and the most wretched among them hamstrung the she-camel they had been told to leave alone, so their Lord destroyed them (91:11-15).

The Prophet ﷺ told Mu'adh ibn Jabal, who had prolonged the evening prayer, to recite this surah, Al-Ala or Al-Lail instead (al-Bukhari, Muslim). He also used to pray: "O God, grant my soul its piety and purify it, for You are the best to purify it" (Muslim).