Tafseer of The Sun · Ash-Shams · 91:3
And [by] the day when it displays it
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
His statement: وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلاهَا ("and by the day when it reveals her"). He says: and by the day when it reveals her; he said: when it illuminates.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلاهَا ("and by the day when it reveals her"), he said: when the day covers her over. Some of the philologists explained that with the meaning: and by the day when it reveals the darkness, and they take the "hā" and the "alif" of "jallāhā" to be a reference to the darkness (al-ẓulma). They say: the reference to it is permissible, even though it was not previously mentioned explicitly, because its meaning is known, just as the meaning is known of the statement of one who says: "It became cold in the morning" (aṣbaḥat bārida), "It became cold in the evening" (amsat bārida), and "A north wind blew" (habbat shamālan). Thus one referred to feminine matters that had not been previously mentioned, because their meaning was known.
And the correct judgment concerning this, in our view, is: that which the people of knowledge whose statement we have transmitted have said, because they know that better, even though what the one among the philologists whose statement we have mentioned has said has a plausible basis.
