18. Al-Kahf Page 300 وَ لَقَدْ And certainly صَرَّفْنَا We have explained فِیْ in هٰذَا this الْقُرْاٰنِ the Quran لِلنَّاسِ for mankind مِنْ of كُلِّ every مَثَلٍ ؕ example وَ كَانَ But is الْاِنْسَانُ the man اَكْثَرَ (in) most شَیْءٍ things جَدَلًا quarrelsome وَ مَا And nothing مَنَعَ prevents النَّاسَ men اَنْ that یُّؤْمِنُوْۤا they believe اِذْ when جَآءَهُمُ has come to them الْهُدٰی the guidance وَ یَسْتَغْفِرُوْا and they ask forgiveness رَبَّهُمْ (of) their Lord اِلَّاۤ except اَنْ that تَاْتِیَهُمْ comes to them سُنَّةُ (the) way الْاَوَّلِیْنَ (of) the former (people) اَوْ or یَاْتِیَهُمُ comes to them الْعَذَابُ the punishment قُبُلًا before (them) وَ مَا And not نُرْسِلُ We send الْمُرْسَلِیْنَ the Messengers اِلَّا except مُبَشِّرِیْنَ (as) bearers of glad tidings وَ مُنْذِرِیْنَ ۚ and (as) warners وَ یُجَادِلُ And dispute الَّذِیْنَ those who كَفَرُوْا disbelieve بِالْبَاطِلِ with falsehood لِیُدْحِضُوْا to refute بِهِ thereby الْحَقَّ the truth وَ اتَّخَذُوْۤا And they take اٰیٰتِیْ My Verses وَ مَاۤ and what اُنْذِرُوْا they are warned هُزُوًا (in) ridicule وَ مَنْ And who اَظْلَمُ (is) more wrong مِمَّنْ than (he) who ذُكِّرَ is reminded بِاٰیٰتِ of the Verses رَبِّهٖ (of) his Lord فَاَعْرَضَ but turns away عَنْهَا from them وَ نَسِیَ and forgets مَا what قَدَّمَتْ have sent forth یَدٰهُ ؕ his hands اِنَّا Indeed We جَعَلْنَا [We] have placed عَلٰی over قُلُوْبِهِمْ their hearts اَكِنَّةً coverings اَنْ lest یَّفْقَهُوْهُ they understand it وَ فِیْۤ and in اٰذَانِهِمْ their ears وَقْرًا ؕ (is) deafness وَ اِنْ And if تَدْعُهُمْ you call them اِلَی to الْهُدٰی the guidance فَلَنْ then never یَّهْتَدُوْۤا they will be guided اِذًا then اَبَدًا ever وَ رَبُّكَ And your Lord الْغَفُوْرُ (is) the Most Forgiving ذُو Owner الرَّحْمَةِ ؕ (of) the Mercy لَوْ If یُؤَاخِذُهُمْ He were to seize them بِمَا for what كَسَبُوْا they have earned لَعَجَّلَ surely, He (would) have hastened لَهُمُ for them الْعَذَابَ ؕ the punishment بَلْ But لَّهُمْ for them مَّوْعِدٌ (is) an appointment لَّنْ never یَّجِدُوْا they will find مِنْ other than it دُوْنِهٖ other than it مَوْىِٕلًا an escape وَ تِلْكَ And these الْقُرٰۤی [the] towns اَهْلَكْنٰهُمْ We destroyed them لَمَّا when ظَلَمُوْا they wronged وَ جَعَلْنَا and We made لِمَهْلِكِهِمْ for their destruction مَّوْعِدًا۠ an appointed time
(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.
52. The Qur’an has advanced all kinds of arguments and has marshalled all kinds of evidence to illuminate the truth it expounds. It has spared no device in making an appeal to peoples’ hearts and minds. Since all available measures had been exhausted, it was not clear what prevented people from embracing the truth. Were people waiting to be seized by God’s scourge? Would they only accept the truth the hard way?
53. This verse also has two possible meanings, both of which seem valid. In one sense, the verse means that the Messengers are sent by God for no other purpose than to apprise people of the good consequences of obeying God and the evil consequences of disobeying Him. It is tragic that foolish people have often failed to pay heed to these warnings and seem to be bent upon inviting God’s scourge upon themselves while the Messengers of God try hard to avert this.
The other meaning of the verse is that if the unbelievers wanted to witness God’s scourge, they need not ask the Messenger (peace be on him) to bring it forth. For the Messengers are not sent to bring about God’s scourge; they are rather raised to warn people about it.
54. If someone resorts to sheer irrationality when confronted with arguments and sincere counsel, and pits falsehood, fraud and deception against truth and evinces no readiness in recognizing that his misdeeds will have evil consequences, then God seals his heart and mind. As a result, such people become deaf to all voices calling them to truth and sanity. Instead of taking heed of sincere counsel, they obstinately continue towards self-destruction.
They do not. acknowledge that they are rushing towards the abyss of destruction until they find themselves helplessly in it.
55. God does not punish the guilty instantly. Out of infinite mercy, He grants such criminals a reasonable period of respite that they may mend themselves. Out of utter folly and ignorance, many people totally misunderstand this respite they receive from God. They tend to believe that regardless of what they do, they will not be held to account — a belief which, of course, is totally erroneous.
56. This refers to the ruins and desolation of the lands of the people of Saba, Thamud, Midian and Lot which lay on the trade routes of the Quraysh. All these were also well known to the other tribes of Arabia.