91. The Sun (1 – 15)
A Meccan sura, the central theme of which is purifying or corrupting the soul, with the tribe of Thamud given as an example of corruption.
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
1By the sun in its morning brightness2and by the moon as it follows it, 3by the day as it displays the sun's glory 4and by the night as it conceals it, 5by the sky and how He built it 6and by the earth and how He spread it, 7by the soul and how He formed it 8and inspired it [to know] its own rebellion and piety! 9The one who purifies his soul succeeds 10and the one who corrupts it fails. 11In their arrogant cruelty, the people of Thamuda See e.g. 7: 73–9 (on the tribe of Thamud). called [their messenger] a liar, 12when the most wicked man among them rose [against him]. b Cf. 54: 29. 13The messenger of God said to them, ‘[Leave] God's camel to drink,’ 14but they called him a liar and hamstrung her. Their Lord destroyed them for their crime and levelled them. 15He did not hesitatec Literally ‘he does not fear’. to punishd One of the lexical meanings of ‘uqba is jaza’, here ‘to punish’; or ‘does not fear the consequences’. them.