Surah Ash-Shams 91:14
سُورَةُ الشَّمۡسِ · Meccan · Verse 14 of 15
فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُم بِذَنۢبِهِمْ فَسَوَّىٰهَا
Translation
but they called him a liar and hamstrung her. Their Lord destroyed them for their crime and levelled them.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
Wording
This verse recounts the devastating end of the people of Thamud, a stark reminder of the consequences for those who reject divine guidance. The precise words chosen by Allah powerfully convey the nature of their transgression and their ultimate destruction.
The Unfolding of Disobedience
The verse begins with فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَعَقَرُوهَا (So they denied him, and they hamstrung her). The Arabic letter "fa" (فَ) functions like "so" or "then," indicating a swift, unbroken chain of events. As al-Jadwal notes, this shows how their denial of Prophet Salih immediately led to their transgression against Allah's sign, the she-camel. Al-Razi explains that even if a single person was directly responsible for hamstringing the camel, the entire community is held accountable because they supported and consented to the act.
Overwhelming Punishment
Next, the ayah describes the divine response: فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَبُّهُم بِذَنۢبِهِمْ (So their Lord crushed them for their sin). The word دَمْدَمَ (damdama) is particularly vivid. Scholars like al-Zamakhshari and al-Jalalayn explain it as Allah "unleashing the punishment upon them" or "covering them" with it completely, suggesting an inescapable calamity. Al-Razi provides further depth, defining *damdama* as covering someone entirely with punishment, like something sealed off, or leveling the earth over them, as in burying. Ibn Ashur connects it to a "cry of anger," perhaps a thunderbolt or earthquake, signifying a complete and decisive action. The phrase بِذَنۢبِهِمْ (bi-dhanbihim), using the "ba" for causality, emphasizes that this crushing judgment was a direct result of their own sin and rebellion.
Complete Annihilation
The verse concludes with فَسَوَّىٰهَا (So He leveled it). This final word underlines the completeness of their destruction. Scholars offer two main interpretations, both conveying the same finality. Al-Zamakhshari and al-Jalalayn suggest the "ha" pronoun refers to the *damdamah* (the punishment), meaning Allah made the punishment equal for all of them, so that no one, whether young or old, escaped. Al-Razi and Ibn Ashur propose that if *damdama* implies covering them with earth, then *fasawwaha* means Allah leveled the earth over them, wiping away their physical presence, leaving no trace of their bodies or towns. Ibn Ashur also notes a subtle rhetorical connection, a perfect wordplay (jinās tāmm) with وَمَا سَوَّاها (and He proportioned it) in an earlier verse (91:7), contrasting the act of flawless creation with the act of complete destruction. The progression from denial to hamstringing, then to divine crushing and leveling, paints a powerful picture of swift, inescapable justice.
Sources: al-Zamakhshari (al-Kashshaf), al-Razi (Mafatih al-Ghayb), Ibn Ashur (al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir), al-Jalalayn, al-Jadwal fi I'rab al-Quran (Mahmud Safi)
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Ash-Shams 91:14 is discussed in 7 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Ash-Shams 91:14 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.