ashshams

Ash-shams is the Arabic definite form of the noun shams, meaning "the sun." It is written الشمس in Arabic and transliterated as ash-shams; the definite article al- assimilates before the sun letter ش (sh), producing the pronunciation "ash-shams."

Etymology and usage: Root sh-m-s; part of the Semitic family; used in Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. The word functions as the ordinary term for the Sun in texts and speech, and appears in many phrases and compound forms such as solar-related terms (shamsi or shamsiya). In poetry, the sun is a common symbol for light and life.

Names and culture: "Shams" is also used as a given name and surname in Arabic- and Persian-speaking communities, often meaning "sun." Notable figures include Shams of Tabriz, a 13th-century Sufi mystic associated with Rumi; the name Shams appears in many literary and religious contexts; the sun provides metaphorical imagery in Sufi poetry.

Science and history: Historically, Arabic-speaking astronomers used the term ash-shams in observations and writings about the Sun and solar phenomena. In modern science, the Sun is a G-type main-sequence star that lies at the center of the Solar System; the Arabic term remains in use in everyday language and in academic contexts in the Arab world and in Islamic scholarly tradition.

See also: Arabic language; Shams (disambiguation); Shams (name).