Tafseer of Surah Shams Part Two

11. The Thamud (TRIBE) rejected (their Prophet) through their rebellion.
12. When the most wicked among them went forth;
13. But the apostle of Allah said to them: "It is a She‑camel of Allah! and (bar her not from) her drink!"
14. Then they rejected him (as a false prophet) and they slayed her. So their Lord annihilated them on account of their crime and made the punishment equal to all.
15. And He (Allah) does not fear its consequences.

Almighty Allah speaks of how the nation, Thamud rejected their Messenger (salutations be upon him) because of the rebellious and transgressing ways they had adopted. He subsequently afflicted their hearts with rejection of that guidance and faith which their Messenger had brought from Him.

“When the most wicked among them went forth” - The most wicked of this tribe was Qudaar bin Saalif the slayer of the camel. It is him to whom Allah refers in the verse: “So they called their friend, who then attacked (the camel) and butchered it.” This particular person was a man of noble descent, well respected and obeyed, and a leader among his people. Imam Ahmad reports that once the Messenger of Allah (salutations upon him) delivered a sermon and discussed the camel of (The Prophet Saalih), and its slayer. He then said: “When the most wicked among them went forth” A man who was of repute, influential and accepted by his tribe, set forth to kill the camel, a man of the calibre of Abu Zumu’ah.”

Ibni Abi Haatim narrates from Ammar bin Yaasir that the Messenger of Allah (salutations be upon him) said to Ali: “Shall I not inform you of the most wicked of people?” He said: “Please do!” He went on: “Two men: one is the blood-letter of the Thamud, the one who slayed the camel. The other is the man who shall strike you here (i.e. on the head) until this (i.e. the beard) is wet with your blood!”

“The Apostle of Allah” in the above verse is Saalih (upon whom be peace).

“It is the she-camel of Allah” - This means, be careful not to harm this camel.

“And her drink” - meaning: do not trangress with regard to the times of drinking, for she has an appointed day to drink, whilst you too have an appointed day to draw water.

“Then they rejected him and slayed her” - They rejected the message brought by him, thus precipitating the slaying of the camel. Allah had brought out this camel from solid rock as a sign of prophethood and proof against their rejection.

“So their Lord annihilated them on account of their crime” - In other words, their Lord descended His Wrath upon them, resulting in their total destruction.

“And made the punishment equal to all” - The chastisement was made to descend upon everyone equally. Qatadah says: When the slayer of the camel wrought his crime, the whole tribe, big and small, male and female, everyone supported him. So when they all participated in the killing of the camel, Allah brought upon them his destruction and made it common to all.

“And he does not fear its consequences” - Ibni Abbas t says: “Allah never fears any reprisal from anyone.” Dhahhak and Suddi say: “The man who killed the camel never feared the consequences of his action.” However, the first view is preferred because the context of the sentence attests to it.

And Allah knows best.

Part One

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Tafseer of Surah Shams Part One

This is a Makki Surah and it has 15 verses

In The Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful.
1. By the Sun and its (glorious) splendour.
2. By the Moon when she follows it.
3. By the Day when it displays the Sun’s brightness.
4. By the Night when it blankets the Sun.
5. By the Firmament and its (wonderful) construction.
6. By the Earth and how It has been stretched out.
7. By the Soul and That which proportioned it.
8. And inspired it with its good and bad.
9. successful indeed is he who purifies it.
10. And he has indeed failed who corrupts it.

“By the Sun and its (glorious) splendor” - Mujahid says: This means its light. And Qatadah says: Its “light” or “brightness” means the day itself. Ibni Jareer says: The correct interpretation is that Allah took an oath by the sun and its daylight, because the manifestation of the Sun’s rays is actually daylight.

“By the moon when she follows it” - Mujahid said: It follows the sun. And Ibni Abbas said: It (the moon) follows daylight. And Qatadah states: When the moon follows the sun during the beginning of the lunar month, because when the sun sets the crescent can then be sighted. And Ibni Zaid says: The moon follows the sun during the first half of the lunar month. Thereafter, the sun follows the moon for the second half of the month, while the latter remains in front of the former.

“By the day when it displays the sun’s brightness” - Mujahid says: It projects the Sun’s light. And Qatadah says: (This is found) when the daylight spreads around the Sun.

Some have interpreted this to mean: “By the day when it dispels darkness”, since the wordings indicate such a meaning. I (i.e. the author, Ibni Katheer): say: It would be preferable for the subscriber to this view to interpret the verse to mean: “By the day when it lights up the earth”. Then his interpretation in the following verse: “By the night when it blankets the sun” (meaning the night that envelopes the earth) would be correct and far more sound. Allah knows best. For this reason Mujahid stated: The statement of Almighty Allah “By the day when it lights up…” is exactly like the other statement of Allah “By the day when it shines” (Surah Al-Layl, verse 2) Ibni Jareer though has opted to refer the pronoun in all these verses to the sun, since its mention is continuous throughout.

“And he has indeed failed who corrupts it” - This corruption means spoiling the soul so that it becomes addicted to sin and abandons the obedience of Allah. Another possible meaning is: “Successful indeed is he whom Allah has purified.” “And he has indeed failed whom Allah has corrupted”; such is the view of Ibni Abbas.

Ibni Abi Haatim narrates from Abu Huraira, who says: “I heard the Messenger of Allah recite the verse: “And he inspired it with its good and bad”. Then he said: “O Allah! Grant my soul its piety, and purify it, for You are the Best to purify it. You are its Guardian and Master.” In another narration from Ayesha, it is reported that one night she woke to find the Messenger of Allah not in his bed. She groped around for him in the dark until her hand touched him while he was in prostration. He was saying: “O My Lord! Grant my soul its piety and purify it, for You are the best to purify it, You are its Guardian and Master.”

Another tradition: Imam Ahmad narrates from Zad bin Arqam who says: “The Messenger of Allah used to say: ‘O Allah! I seek protection in you from weakness, indolence, senility, cowardice, niggardliness, and from the punishment of the grave. O Allah! Grant my soul its piety, and purify it, for You are the Best to purify it. You are its Guardian and Master. O Allah! I seek your protection from a heart that has no fear, from a soul that gets no satisfaction, from knowledge that does not benefit, and from prayers that go unanswered.’ Zaid says: “The Messenger of Allah would teach us this prayer, and we are now teaching it to you.”

Part Two

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Seven Earths: Scientific Proofs of Quranic Wonders

Allah Ta’ala states in Surah Talaaq (Chapter 65) verse 12: Allah is The One Who created the seven heavens, and of the earth the like thereof; His orders descend between them (the heavens and the earths).
This Quranic verse tells us that Almighty God created seven heavens, as well as seven earths. The hadith (sayings of The Messenger Muhammad – salutations be upon him) also make mention of seven earths. In Bukhari Shareef, a compilation of hadith written over 1200 years ago, the following statement of Allah’s Messenger appears: “He who usurps a hand-span of land, that amount (of land) from the seven earths will be thrown around his neck (on the Day of Judgment).” “He who unjustly claims a portion of land will be swallowed by that portion down to the seven earths.” Both these quotations appear in the Book on Oppression and Usurpation of Saheeh Al-Bukhari.


Imam Fakhrud-Deen Razi, the great philosophy and jurist of Islam, who died in 1210 of the Christian era (about 800 years ago) wrote in his wonderful Commentary of the Holy Quran At TafSeerul Kabeer: ‘The seven earths are similar to the seven heavens for they are like stratum, one layer on top of the other, each layer being adjacent to the other. It is also not a far-fetched theory that seven earths may mean seven planets similar to those that are in space. These are possibilities that the intellect cannot refute or reject.’

Science in its history has never ever even entertained the idea of their being more than one earth. However, recent discoveries have proven the accuracy of both theories mentioned by Imam Razi. There are two logical possibilities for the existence of seven earths. One is that the earth consists of seven layers, as Imam Razi surmised. Based on this theory, it would not be inconsistent with science to term the seven layers of earth as “seven earths” when considering that the Arabic term for earth, ardh, is used for any mass or tract of land. Recent studies in geology have proven that the earth is composed of seven zones, identified from the inner to the outer layers as follows:
1) The Solid Inner Core of Earth: depth of 5,150 - 6,370 kilometers (3,219 - 3,981 miles)
(2) The Liquid Outer core: depth of 2,890 - 5,150 kilometers (1,806 - 3,219 miles)
(3) The “D” Layer: depth of 2,700 - 2,890 kilometers (1,688 - 1,806 miles) This layer is 200 to 300 kilometers (125 to 188 miles) thick
(4) Lower Mantle: depth of 650 - 2,890 kilometers (406 -1,806 miles)
(5) Middle Mantle (Transition region): depth of 400 - 650 kilometers (250-406 miles)
(6) Upper Mantle: depth of 10 - 400 kilometers (6 - 250 miles)
(7) Lithosphere Oceanic crust: depth of 0-10 kilometers (0 - 6 miles)
It must be remembered that according to science all these layers are made of different substances and material; hence the Holy Quran expression of seven earths must be considered in this context, since these are seven different parts of the earth. As stated earlier, the word ardh (earth) refers to a ‘tract of land’. The second logical possibility is that six other planets like our own earth do really exist. This, too, has recently been proven by science exploration of the universe.

On October 31, 2007 the Daily Telegraph reported in its online edition, Telegraph.co.uk:
“Britain's leading team of planet-hunters says it has found three new alien worlds that lie beyond our solar system, boosting confidence that Earth-like worlds are waiting to be discovered. The discovery of the planets will be announced by the Wide Area Search for Planets (WASP) project this week at an international conference in Suzhou, China, and have been called WASP-3, WASP-4 and WASP-5.”

The Daily Mail online newspaper reported on April 26, 2007 what is possibly the most extraordinary world to have been discovered by astronomers: the first truly Earth-like planet to have been found outside our Solar System. The discovery was announced today by a team of European astronomers, using a telescope in La Silla in the Chilean Andes. The Earth-like planet could be covered in oceans and may support life. This remarkable discovery appears to confirm the suspicions of most astronomers that the universe is swarming with Earth-like worlds.

CNN.com reported the following on August 24, 2004: In a discovery that has left one expert stunned, European astronomers have found one of the smallest planets known outside our solar system, a world about 14 times the mass of our own around a star much like the sun. It could be a rocky planet with a thin atmosphere, a sort of ‘super Earth’, the researchers said today. (All emphasis by the editor)

These few reports of recent discoveries made by modern science prove that there are planets out their in the universe that resemble our own earth. Scientists have in recent years discovered hundreds of planets in the solar system, and believe that there are still many more. They have discovered at least four planets that resemble our earth, and the Holy Quran has mentioned seven. It is, therefore, not far-fetched to believe that in years to come they may discover a few more, to confirm and corroborate with The Quran has said.

The striking question that emanates from this is: How could a man who was not schooled in reading or writing or any scientific skill make mention of scientific matters that researchers, using the most powerful, sophisticated, and expensive equipment, took years to discover? The irrefutable answer to this is that Muhammad was inspired by a Divine Force, who revealed The Holy Quran, for the guidance of mankind. Indeed, in this is a clear sign for those who ponder (Al-Quran)

(For more details of this and other scientific miracles of The Holy Quran, log on to: www.islam-guide.com)

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