Tafheem ul Quran
Surah 18 Al-Kahf, Ayat 54-59
وَلَقَدۡ صَرَّفۡنَا فِىۡ هٰذَا الۡقُرۡاٰنِ لِلنَّاسِ مِنۡ كُلِّ مَثَلٍ ؕ وَكَانَ الۡاِنۡسَانُ اَكۡثَرَ شَىۡءٍ جَدَلًا
﴿18:54﴾
وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ اَنۡ يُّؤۡمِنُوۡۤا اِذۡ جَآءَهُمُ الۡهُدٰى وَيَسۡتَغۡفِرُوۡا رَبَّهُمۡ اِلَّاۤ اَنۡ تَاۡتِيَهُمۡ سُنَّةُ الۡاَوَّلِيۡنَ اَوۡ يَاۡتِيَهُمُ الۡعَذَابُ قُبُلًا
﴿18:55﴾
وَمَا نُرۡسِلُ الۡمُرۡسَلِيۡنَ اِلَّا مُبَشِّرِيۡنَ وَمُنۡذِرِيۡنَ ۚ وَيُجَادِلُ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا بِالۡبَاطِلِ لِـيُدۡحِضُوۡا بِهِ الۡحَـقَّ وَاتَّخَذُوۡۤا اٰيٰتِىۡ وَمَاۤ اُنۡذِرُوۡا هُزُوًا
﴿18:56﴾
وَمَنۡ اَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنۡ ذُكِّرَ بِاٰيٰتِ رَبِّهٖ فَاَعۡرَضَ عَنۡهَا وَنَسِىَ مَا قَدَّمَتۡ يَدٰهُ ؕ اِنَّا جَعَلۡنَا عَلٰى قُلُوۡبِهِمۡ اَكِنَّةً اَنۡ يَّفۡقَهُوۡهُ وَفِىۡۤ اٰذَانِهِمۡ وَقۡرًا ؕ وَاِنۡ تَدۡعُهُمۡ اِلَى الۡهُدٰى فَلَنۡ يَّهۡتَدُوۡۤا اِذًا اَبَدًا
﴿18:57﴾
وَرَبُّكَ الۡغَفُوۡرُ ذُوۡ الرَّحۡمَةِ ؕ لَوۡ يُؤَاخِذُهُمۡ بِمَا كَسَبُوۡا لَعَجَّلَ لَهُمُ الۡعَذَابَ ؕ بَلْ لَّهُمۡ مَّوۡعِدٌ لَّنۡ يَّجِدُوۡا مِنۡ دُوۡنِهٖ مَوۡـئِلًا
﴿18:58﴾
وَتِلۡكَ الۡقُرٰٓى اَهۡلَكۡنٰهُمۡ لَمَّا ظَلَمُوۡا وَجَعَلۡنَا لِمَهۡلِكِهِمۡ مَّوۡعِدًا
﴿18:59﴾
(18:54) And surely We have explained matters to people in the Qur'an in diverse
ways, using all manner of parables. But man is exceedingly contentious. (18:55) What is it that prevented mankind from believing when the guidance
came to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, except that they would
like to be treated as the nations of yore, or that they would like to see the
scourge come upon them face to face?52 (18:56) We raise Messengers only to give good news and to warn.53
But the unbelievers resort to falsehood in order to rebut the truth with it,
and scoff at My revelations and My warnings. (18:57) Who is more wicked than the man who, when he is reminded by the revelations
of his Lord, turns away from them and forgets (the consequence of) the deeds
wrought by his own hands? We have laid veils over their hearts lest they understand
the message of the Qur'an, and We have caused heaviness in their ears. Call
them as you may to the Right Path, they will not be ever guided aright.54
(18:58) Your Lord is All-Forgiving, full of mercy. Had He wished to take
them to task for their doings, He would have hastened in sending His scourge
upon them. But He has set for them a time-limit which they cannot evade.55
(18:59) All the townships afflicted with scourge are before your eyes.56
When they committed wrong, We destroyed them. For the destruction of each We
had set a definite term.
Notes
52. This is to warn the people that the Quran has left no stone unturned in
making the truth plain. It has employed all kinds of arguments, parables, similitude
and used all the possible effective ways to appeal to the heart and the mind
of man, and adopted the best possible style. If, in spite of this, they do not
accept the truth, it is obvious that they are waiting for God’s scourge like
the one that visited the former communities to make them realize their error.
53. This verse has two meanings.
(1) We send Our Messengers to forewarn the people before the coming of the
judgment of the good results of obedience and the evil consequences of disobedience.
But these foolish people are not taking advantage of these forewarnings and
insist on seeing the same evil end from which the Messengers desire to save
them.
(2) If they insist on meeting with the scourge, they should not demand this
from the Messenger because the Messenger is sent not to bring a scourge but
to warn the people beforehand to escape from it.
54. Allah puts a covering over the heart of a person and makes his ears hard
of hearing the truth when he adopts the attitude of contention, dispute, wrangling
and argumentation towards the admonition of a well wisher and tries to defeat
the truth with the weapons of falsehood and cunning. Naturally this attitude
produces in him obduracy and obstinacy so that he turns a deaf ear towards guidance,
and is unwilling to realize his error before seeing his evil end. For such people
pay no heed to admonition and warning and insist on falling into the abyss of
perdition: then and then alone they are convinced that it was perdition towards
which they were rushing headlong.
55. This is to warn the foolish people that they should not be deluded by
the respite that is given to them and presume that they will never be taken
to task whatever they may go on doing. They forget that Allah gives them respite
because He is Forgiving and Forbearing and does not punish the evil doers on
the spot, for His Mercy demands that the evil doers should be given respite
so that they may mend their ways.
56. The ruined habitations were of Saba, Thamud, Midian and the people of
Prophet Lot, which were visited by the Quraish during their trade journeys,
and which were quite well known to other Arabs also.