(1) 1. I (Allah) swear by the sun and its brightness,
(2) 2. And (by) the moon when it follows it (reflecting the sun’s light),
(3) 3. And (by) the day when it unfolds its glory,
(4) 4. And (by) the night when it draws a veil (of darkness) over it (the earth),
(5) 5. And (by) the sky and He (Allah) Who made it,
(6) 6. And (by) the earth and He (Allah) Who spread it,
(7) 7. And (by) the soul and He (Allah) Who perfected it,
(8) 8. Then He inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it;
(9) 9. Indeed he has prospered who purifies his own self (from sin, by following the true Faith of Islâmic Monotheism).
(10) 10. And he has failed who corrupts it (by committing sins against his own self).
(11) 11. (The tribe of) Thamud denied (the Truth) through their transgression,
(12) 12. When the most unfortunate of them was sent forth,
(13) 13. So Allah’s Messenger (Salih) said to them: It is a she-camel of Allah, so leave it (to) drink (on its day and do not harm it).
(14) 14. But they denied him, and hamstrung her, therefore their Lord (Allah) crushed them for their sin and leveled them (to the ground or made it equal upon all of them).
(15) 15. And He fears not the consequences thereof. Note: Allah (God) swearing by His creation is indirect swearing by His own Holy Self for He is the Lord of all that exists. So, when Allah takes an oath of some of the created things he is drawing our attention to the great importance of the matter he is speaking about, and the importance of what he is swearing by. Allah’s swearing by the creation is simply taking an oath of Himself, His Perfectness, and His own Greatness. Allah mentions some of His created things as evidence of His existence and emphasizes to the readers of the Divine Revelation to ponder over His Signs. While Allah can swear by what He wills, yet for mankind it is unlawful for them to swear by other than Allah. It is a great sin to swear by prophet Muhammad or Jesus Christ or other prophet or angel or righteous person, or the ka’aba, or someone’s life or honor. The prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: «Whoever swears by anything other than Allah is guilty of disbelief or polytheism». He also said: «Do not swear by idols, nor by your fathers.»