The Holy Quran br 91. Surah Ash-Shams (The Sun) br Arabic and English translation and transliteration br br Period of Revelation br Mecca br br Introduction br The surah opens with a series of solemn oaths sworn on various astronomical phenomena, the first of which, "by the sun", gives the surah its name, then on the human soul itself. br It then describes the fate of Thamud, a formerly prosperous extinct Arab tribe. The prophet Saleh urged them to worship God alone, and commanded them in God's name to preserve a certain she-camel; they disobeyed and continued to reject his message, and God destroyed them all except those who had followed Prophet Saleh.