Surah Al-Kahf 18:1-12 - Quran Translation Commentary

(18:2) (A writ) setting right,³ that it may warn of a severe chastisement from Him, and give good tidings unto the faithful who work righteous deeds, that theirs will be a goodly reward.

(18:3) Remaining therein forever.

(18:4) And to warn those who say, ‘God has taken an offspring.’⁴

(18:5) They have no knowledge of it (whatsoever), nor had their fathers; a monstrous word issuing forth of their mouths. They utter not but a lie.

(18:6) Perhaps you will, (O Muhammad), destroy yourself⁵ in grief over them if they do not believe in this (new) discourse.⁶

(18:7) We have indeed placed all that there is on the earth a glittering show for it,⁷ in order that We may try as to which of them is the best in conduct.⁸

(18:8) We shall indeed reduce all that is thereon to barren dust.⁹

(18:9) Or, do you think that the Companions of the Cave¹⁰ and the Inscription¹¹ were among Our signs a wonder?¹²

(18:10) When the youths retreated to the Cave saying, ‘Our Lord! Bestow on us mercy from Yourself, and prepare for us a way (out) of our affair.

(18:11) So We cast (a cover of sleep) over their ears¹³ in the Cave for a (good) number of years.

(18:12) Then We roused them that We might know which of the two parties kept the record of the period they tarried.¹⁴

Commentary

2. That is, there is neither any contradiction within it, nor anything that does not agree with what is sound and reasonable (Zamakhshari, Razi). In Asad’s words, “The above phrase is meant to establish the direct, unambiguous character of the Qur’an and to stress its freedom from obscurities and internal contradictions..”

Yusuf Ali has an improved comment: “Some people’s idea of a Sacred Book is that it should be full of mysteries - dark corners, ambiguous expressions, words so far removed from human speech that they cover anything or nothing. Pagan oracles were couched in language which suggested one meaning to the hearer and claimed to have the very opposite meaning in the light of events which actually happened subsequently. They were distinctly crooked, not straight.”

3. That is, one that straightens up others; in other words, one that leads to the straight path of Divine guidance (Razi). That it is a guardian over other revealed scriptures, is another possible connotation (Zamakhshari, Qurtubi).

Thus, the lack of “`iwaj” speaks of its internal perfection, while “qayyim” speaks of its quality of perfecting others, or straightening them up - Razi.

Ibn ‘Abbas (Ibn Jarir) however gave the meaning as reflected in the present translation.

4. All three classes of people contemporary to the Prophet had attributed progenies to their Lord: Jews, who said, God had taken Ezra as His son; Christians, who declared Jesus as His son; and pagans, who said angels were Allah’s daughters (Razi, Qurtubi).

Majid adds: “The reference is .. especially to the Adoptionists, ‘who held that Christ was a mere man miraculously conceived indeed, but adopted as the Son of God only by the supreme degree in which he had been filled with the divine wisdom and power’ (EMK, IV, p. 1998).”

5. The textual word “bakhi`” has, according to the experts such as Akhfash and Farra’, the sense of doing one’s utmost for a task. Hence ‘A’ishi’s words about ‘Umar

“He did his utmost to wrest control of the lands (from the former rulers)” - Razi.

6. This refers to the Prophet’s inner condition at the time of the revelation. He was fearful that the Makkan rejection would cause Divine wrath to descend on them (Au.).

Asad expounds: “The rhetorical question is addressed, in the first instance, to the Prophet, who was deeply distressed by the hostility which his message aroused among the pagan Meccans, and suffered agonies of apprehension regarding their spiritual fate. Beyond that, however, it applies to everyone who, having become convinced of the truth of an ethical proposition, is dismayed at the indifference with which his social environment reacts to it.”

Although the following hadith of Muslim quoted by Mawdudi was perhaps uttered during the Madinan era, it reflects the Prophet’s great concern of the Ummah. He said, “The analogy of me and of the people is something like this: a man lit a fire which illuminated the area around him, but this caused moths and other insects which (are inclined to) fall into fire to fall into it. The man tries to somehow pull them away (from the fire), but they overpower him and plunge into the fire. My position is that I seek to restrain you from the fire but you plunge into it.”

7. Ibn ‘Abbas has said in reference to the textual “zinatan” that the scholars are the ornaments of the earth. Hasan (al-Busri) has identified them as those who spend their time in obedience of Allah (Qurtubi, Shawkani).

Asad comments: “.. this passage implies that the real motive underlying men’s refusal to believe in God’s spiritual message (see preceding verse) is almost always their excessive, blind attachment to the goods of this world, combined with a false pride in what they regard as their own achievements.”

8. The trial is not for Allah’s knowledge, who has foreknowledge of all things anyway, but in order that everyone learns about himself as to where he himself stands (Shawkani).

The Prophet has also warned us against falling prey to the world’s glitter. Said he,

إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا حُلْوَةٌ خَضِرَةٌ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ مُسْتَخْلِفُكُمْ فِيهَا فَيَنْظُرُ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُونَ فَاتَّقُوا الدُّنْيَا وَاتَّقُوا النِّسَاءَ

“The world is green, sweet. Allah will surely give you sway thereover and see how you behave. Therefore, fear Allah and fear (falling into the trial involving) women” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi).

The report is in Muslim (H. bin Ibrahim).

9. That is, without any vegetation, grass or plant, devoid of anything supportive of any kind of biological life (Au.).

While the word “sa`id” has the sense of a flat infertile land, “juruz”, gives the sense of a barren patch (Razi, Qurtubi).

10. An ordinary cave is “ghar” in Arabic, while “kahf” is used for a large one (Razi).

11. In explanation of “Raqim” various opinions have been expressed by the Salaf: the name of a valley, a village to which the youths belonged, the mountain range in which the cave was located, a book, the dog that followed them, etc. Ibn Jarir adopts “inscription” or, “a tablet with a writing on it” as the most likely intended meaning which was the opinion of Sa`id b. Jubayr and Mujahid. It draws its support from the Qur’an (83: 9) which used the word “marqum” for a written record. It is said, adds Imam Razi, that the tablet had the story of the young men inscribed on it. But, (according to a report in Ibn al-Mundhir: Shawkani) Ibn Jurayj’s opinion was that the tablet had dates inscribed on it of the young men falling into sleep and rising from it (Qurtubi).

12. That is, do you think the episode was a great wonder when there are so many other greater wonders in the heavens and the earth? (Ibn Jarir and others).

13. That is, He cast a heavy sleep on them, of a kind in which the sleeper hears nothing of the sounds around (Kashshaf).

14. Although one or two of the old experts have accepted the superlative meaning, Zamakhshari - the Arabic language expert - does not believe that the textual “ahsa” is in the sense expressing comparative or superlative degrees. (That is, it does not mean: “which of the two groups kept the record better, [or best]”). He thinks it is a (quadrilateral: Qurtubi) word, on the pattern of “a`da” or “aflasa” (meaning: “he understood” or “comprehended”). Most commentators with a penchant for language have agreed with him and our translation reflects this understanding.