About Surah Ash-Shams
The Arabic name of Surah Ash-Shams is الشمس. Ash-Shams means “The Sun”. The surah opens with an oath by the sun. It is a Makki surah, revealed in Makkah before the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. It was revealed early in Makkah, when opposition to the Prophet had grown strong. In the revelation-order list used by quran.com, it is number 26 of 114. In the order of the Mushaf it comes after Surah Al-Balad and before Surah Al-Layl.
Main Themes of Surah Ash-Shams
The surah teaches that good and evil are distinct and that a person’s future depends on how they shape their own soul.
- Just as the sun and the moon, day and night, earth and sky differ, good and evil differ in their nature and in their results.
- Allah has inspired the human soul with an awareness of right and wrong.
- Success lies in purifying the self, and failure in corrupting it.
- The story of Thamud shows why prophethood is needed: natural awareness alone is not enough without clear revelation.
Learn Surah Ash-Shams with Tajweed
Smart Quran Academy offers one-to-one online classes in which qualified teachers listen to your recitation and correct it gently. Learn Surah Ash-Shams with the rules of Tajweed, memorize it in our memorization classes, and request a free trial lesson when you are ready. Teachers work on the articulation points of the letters, the rules of noon and meem sakinah, and the correct length of each madd.
