Surah Ash-Shams (The Sun) Full Text — Wash-Shamsi wa Duhaha (Hafs)

About Surah Ash-Shams

Surah Ash-Shams is the 91st surah in the order of the mushaf, and one of the Meccan surahs — revealed to the Prophet ﷺ before the migration to Madinah. It contains 15 ayahs, and it is the fourteenth surah of Juz ‘Amma, the final part of the Quran that most Muslims begin their memorisation with.

The surah takes its name — “The Sun” — from its opening oath, «wash-shamsi wa duhaha» (“By the sun and its morning brightness”). Allah then swears by the moon when it follows it, the day when it displays it, the night when it covers it, the sky and He who constructed it, the earth and He who spread it, and the soul and He who proportioned it — then inspired it to know its wickedness and its righteousness. The answer of all these oaths comes in two short verses: he has succeeded who purifies the soul, and he has failed who corrupts it and buries it in sin. The surah then seals this truth with the story of Thamud, who denied their prophet, hamstrung the she-camel of Allah, and were destroyed for their sin.

The text shown on this page is the narration of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim, the reading used in most of the Muslim world, in the Uthmani script that follows the Madinah mushaf. The audio recitation is by Sheikh Saad Al-Ghamdi.

Virtues and place of Surah Ash-Shams

1. Recommended by the Prophet ﷺ for prayer

When the Prophet ﷺ counselled Mu‘adh about leading people in prayer without overburdening them, he said: “Why did you not pray with «sabbih isma rabbika al-a‘la», «wash-shamsi wa duhaha» and «wal-layli idha yaghsha»?” — recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Surah Ash-Shams is thus one of the surahs the Prophet ﷺ himself named as fitting for congregational prayer: long enough to fill the heart, short enough not to weary the people.

2. One of the longest oath sequences in the Quran

The surah opens with an eleven-part oath — by the sun and its brightness, the moon, the day, the night, the sky and He who constructed it, the earth and He who spread it, and the soul and He who proportioned it — one of the longest chains of oaths in the whole Quran. All of it leads to a single central truth: success belongs to the one who purifies the soul, and failure to the one who buries it in sin. The weight of the oaths tells the reader how much this truth matters.

3. The lesson of Thamud

The story of Thamud closes the surah with a sobering lesson: it was the most wretched of them who rose up and hamstrung the she-camel, yet the punishment fell upon them all — collective punishment followed collective approval of one man’s crime. A community that consents to wrongdoing shares in its consequence.

Themes of the Surah

1. The oaths and the soul (ayahs 1–8)

A chain of oaths opens the surah: by the sun and its morning brightness, the moon when it follows it, the day when it displays it, the night when it covers it, the sky and He who constructed it, the earth and He who spread it, and the soul and He who proportioned it — then inspired it to know its wickedness and its righteousness.

Read from ayah 1 →

2. Success and failure (ayahs 9–10)

The answer of all the oaths, and the heart of the surah: he has truly succeeded who purifies the soul — and he has truly failed who corrupts it and buries it in sin.

Read from ayah 9 →

3. Thamud and the she-camel (ayahs 11–15)

Thamud denied their prophet in their transgression, when the most wretched of them rose up. The messenger of Allah — Salih — warned them of the she-camel of Allah and her drink, but they denied him and hamstrung her, so their Lord destroyed them for their sin and levelled them — and He does not fear the consequence.

Read from ayah 11 →

Tips for reading and memorising

It is a short surah of only 15 short ayahs — one of the easiest in Juz ‘Amma to memorise.
A simple plan is five ayahs a day over three days — or memorise it section by section: the oaths (1–8), the answer (9–10), and the story of Thamud (11–15).
Listen to the recitation above by Sheikh Saad Al-Ghamdi and repeat after him.
Notice that every ayah ends with the same «-ha» sound — this shared rhyme carries the surah and makes it stick in the memory.
Use the “font size” buttons at the top of the page for a comfortable read.
You can print the surah from your browser (Ctrl+P) for a clean paper copy.

Frequently asked questions

How many ayahs are in Surah Ash-Shams?

Surah Ash-Shams has 15 ayahs. It is the 91st surah in the order of the mushaf, and it is a Meccan surah.

Why is it called Surah Ash-Shams?

It is called Surah Ash-Shams (“The Sun”) after its opening oath — «wash-shamsi wa duhaha» (“By the sun and its morning brightness”) — the first of the long chain of oaths with which the surah begins.

Where does Surah Ash-Shams appear in the Quran?

It is the 91st surah of the mushaf and the fourteenth surah of Juz ‘Amma — the 30th and final juz of the Quran, which is the part most Muslims begin their memorisation with.

What was the soul “inspired” with in ayah 8?

After swearing by the soul and He who proportioned it, Allah says He inspired it with its wickedness (fujur) and its righteousness (taqwa). According to the commentators, this means Allah placed in every soul the innate ability to recognise wickedness and righteousness — to know the difference between the two paths.

What does it mean to purify or bury the soul?

Ayahs 9 and 10 are the answer of all the oaths that open the surah: «qad aflaha man zakkaha» — he has truly succeeded who purifies the soul — and «wa qad khaba man dassaha» — he has truly failed who corrupts it and buries it in sin. The whole surah turns on this single truth.

What is the story of the she-camel in Surah Ash-Shams?

Ayahs 11–15 recall the people of Thamud, who denied their prophet in their transgression when the most wretched of them rose up. The messenger of Allah — the Prophet Salih — warned them not to harm the she-camel of Allah nor prevent her drink, but they denied him and hamstrung her, so their Lord destroyed them for their sin and levelled them — and He does not fear the consequence.

Is there a supplication connected to these verses?

Yes — a supplication of the Prophet ﷺ recorded in Sahih Muslim echoes the meaning of ayahs 7–10: “O Allah, grant my soul its taqwa and purify it — You are the best of those who purify it; You are its Guardian and Master.”

How long does it take to read the full surah?

A complete recitation of Surah Ash-Shams takes about 2 minutes at a moderate pace. Its 15 short ayahs make it well suited to daily reading and memorisation.

Which recitation is the text on this page based on?

The text shown on this page is the narration of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim — the most widely used reading in the Muslim world — written in the Uthmani script that follows the Madinah mushaf. The audio recitation on this page is by Sheikh Saad Al-Ghamdi.

Surah Ash-Shams (The Sun) — Full Text in Clear Arabic Script

Listen to the recitation