ADHIKR

This Surath got its name “Ash-Shams (the Sun)” from the first verse, which says, “The Sun and its brightness.” This Surath, containing fifteen verses, was revealed in the early period of the Messenger’s Meccan life. After quoting six visible and experiential phenomena, this Surath also mentions the fashioning of the soul and giving it Adhikr, which contains both wickedness and heedfulness – Falsehood and Truthfulness. It reminds mankind, who were created with the freedom to select the single way of gratefulness and the different ways of ungratefulness, that whoever identifies himself will become prosperous, and whoever does not identify himself will become a failure. This Surath ends by urging mankind to learn a moral lesson from the tragic consequence of the Thamud people who defiantly slaughtered the camel that was given to them as a Sign from their Lord, warning that the consequence of neglecting Adhikr, which explains all these events, will be even worse.