15. Surat al- Kahf, the Cave

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "15. Surat al- Kahf, the Cave"

Alexandra Lawrence
6 years ago
Views:

1 15. Surat al- Kahf, the Cave ﷺ This Makkan surah was revealed between the eighth and tenth year of Prophet s mission. Its central theme is the contrast between the spiritual and the material world. One is permanent, and the other is temporary, one is mysterious and hidden, while the other is manifest and superficial. Humanity is tempted by the attractions of the material world, and fails to recognise the importance of spiritual life. In this surah, these contrasts are exemplified by five moving stories, each one of them representing a feature of spiritual and material life. Each story is followed by a terse and helpful commentary, which instils the love, majesty and grandeur of Allah. The five stories are: 1. The story of the sleepers in the cave is about young men of faith, serious believers, unwilling to compromise their faith. They confronted society s evil, and abandoned their families to save their faith from an oppressive ruler. The story illustrates Allah s power of resurrection, bringing the dead to life. 2. The story of the poor and the rich man reveals the nature of greedy, selfcentered and insensitive rich man who is ready to pick a fight. 3. The Story of Adam عليه السالم and Satan provides a clue to understanding the cause of spiritual sickness. 4. The story of Musa عليه السالم and Khidr, the sage who explains the paradox of outward actions and inner meanings. What appears to be harmful turns out to be beneficial, and a loss becomes a gain. Mohammed Asad observes that in this episode, The theme of spiritual awakening is shifted to the plane of man s intellectual life and his search after ultimate truth. Outward appearance and inner reality are shown to be vastly different- so different that only mystic insight can reveal what is superficial and what is real. The lesson is that we should accept Allah s will, since His plan is mysterious and full of wisdom. 5. The story of Zulqarnayn, the mighty ruler challenges the view that the world must be abandoned for spiritual growth. It shows that s not necessary to gain Paradise. What is needed is Allah-consciousness always. 1

2 The Connection Between the Five Stories The thread of argument running through these stories deals with some major types of trials and temptations that individuals face: 1. Faith: the young men feared that the Emperor would forcefully convert them. Our faith is always being challenged by society. How well we face these trials determines its strength. The company of righteous people can help to develop a strong faith. 2. Wealth: humans are tempted by wealth, we love it, and when wealth opposes religious obligations, often we prefer wealth, unable to sacrifice it, and unable to spend it for others good. The solution; avoid attachment to the world. 3. Temptations of Satan: He tempted Adam and Eve. He tempts us all the time. How can we protect ourselves against these temptations? 4. Knowledge, competence and skills, often lead to arrogant behavior. Resistance against this is found in humility: in recognising one s weaknesses and frailties. The example of the humility of Musa عليه السالم is an excellent model for us. 5. Power can corrupt and lead people to commit atrocities and injustices. Protection against corruptive power can be found in being sincere and genuine in one s desire to serve others. In each story, the conflict between good and evil is clear. The five types of trials listed above act as a thread, binding these stories together. The surah also features much movement, plodding from place to place: the sleepers of the Cave climb to the top of a mountain; the rich man and poor man walk to an orchard; Musa عليه السالم travels by foot and boat, and the adventures of Zulqarnayn wandering from East to West with his army. Hinting: goodness is promised in movement and searching for Allah s gifts. 2

3 In the name of Allah, the Kind, the Caring. The Glorious Quran is a guidance 1 All praises are for Allah, Who sent down the Book to his servant. It does not bend the truth, 2 but is factual a, so that We may give warning of severe punishment and good news to the believers who do righteous deeds, they will have paradise, 3 where they will stay forever. 4 You must warn those who said Allah has taken offspring b ; 5 neither they nor their forefathers had any knowledge. It is an outrageous insult they spout with their mouths; they are lying. 6 So will you worry yourself to death over their actions, if they don t believe in this message? 7 We have made attractive what is on Earth, so that We may test which of them is best in deeds. 8 Eventually We will turn the Earth into a barren land. The story of the Sleepers of the Cave 9 Messenger, do you consider the People of the Cave and Al-Raqim c to be our amazing signs? 10 The young men took refuge in the cave and prayed, Our Lord be kind to us and guide us during our test. 11 While they were inside the cave for many years We blocked their ears, 12 then awakened them, to see which of the two groups was better in assessing length of their stay. The Sleepers of the Cave were men of strong faith 13 We will tell you their story exactly as it happened. They were young men who had faith in their Lord; We increased them in guidance, 14 and developed their confidence. They stood up boldly before their people and proclaimed, Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the Earth. We will never worship gods besides Him; that certainly would be an outrageous lie. 15 Our people have taken gods besides Him, without any clear evidence. Can anyone be more wrong than the one who makes up lies about Allah? 16 It was said, You have now separated yourselves from those people and what they worship besides Allah, so take refuge in the cave and your Lord will be kind to you, He relieves your sufferings. The miraculous deep sleep 17 Messenger, while they laid in the clear opening of the cave, you could see the sun as it rose then moved away from them, and turned to their left when it set. This was from a Qayyiman literally means straight, and implies the Quran is factual, as it presents reality. b Literally a son, since the people of Makkah believed in angels as daughters of Allah. Therefore, I have adopted this context-sensitive meaning. c Al-Raqim refers to either the name of the town, or the valley where the cave was located. Others think it means the written, referring to the brass tablet with the names inscribed (Zia ul-quran). 3

4 the signs of Allah. Anyone guided by Allah is truly guided, and who He lets go astray will not find a guide or a protector. 18 You might have thought they were awake, but they were asleep. We turned them from right to left. At the entrance of the cave lay their dog with its forelegs stretched out. Were you to stumble across them, you would be filled with fear, turn your back on them, and flee. Their awakening 19 Eventually We awakened them, and they questioned each other. One of them asked, How long did we stay here? They said, We stayed a day or a part of a day. Others said, Your Lord knows best how long you stayed, now send someone with your the silver coin to town to find pure food so he may bring it for you. They told him, Be polite and courteous, d and don t let anyone know who you are. 20 For if they find out who you are, they will torture you, or force you to return to their religion. Then you will never be successful. 21 In this way We brought them to people s attention, so they may know that Allah s promise is true, and there is no doubt about the Final Hour. The townspeople disputed about what to do with them. Some said, Erect a building over the cave; their Lord knows best about them. However, those who prevailed in their matter said, We ll build a Masjid over the cave. How many were they? 22 Some will say the People of the Cave were just three, and their dog was the fourth; others will say they were five and their dog was the sixth; these are mere guesses; some will say they were seven and their dog was the eighth. Say, My Lord knows best their number. Only a few have real knowledge of them. So, don t argue about them or ask anyone else about them, say only what is known clearly. When planning say, Allah willing 23 When you intend to do something don t say, I shall do it tomorrow. 24 Instead say, Allah willing I will do it. Remember your Lord whenever you forget Him, and say, I hope my Lord will guide me ever closer than this to the right path. e How long did they stay in the cave? 25 They stayed in their cave for three hundred years, plus nine more. 26 Say, Allah only knows best how long they stayed. He has the knowledge of the unseen in the heavens and the Earth. How wonderful is His Seeing and Hearing. They have no d Walyathalatuf means to be subtle, hidden, yet exert an influence. The middle letter Ta of this word is exactly the middle letter of the Quran. e The digression from the story is an explanation of the reason for the revelation of this story. When Makkans asked the Messenger ﷺ about the People of the Cave, he said, I will tell you tomorrow, but forgot to say Allah Willing. 4

5 helper besides Him, and He does not allow anyone to share His rule. 27 And recite what is revealed to you from your Lord s book; none can change His words, nor can you find besides Him a place of refuge. Keep company of good people 28 Keep yourself with those who worship their Lord morning and evening, longing for His pleasure. Don t turn your eyes away from them to seek the delights of worldly life. Neither follow him whose mind is forgetful of our remembrance, and follows his whims; his case is beyond limits. f The contrasting images of Heaven and Hell 29 Say, The truth is from Your Lord; so, whoever wants to believe, let him do so, and whoever wishes to deny, let him. We have prepared for the evil doers a fire; its walls will surround them. When they plead for water, they will be relieved with boiling water hotter than molten brass that will burn their faces a dreadful drink, and an unbearable place of rest. 30 On the other hand, those who believe and do righteous deeds shall be in Paradise. We will not waste the reward of the one who does good work; 31 they will have everlasting gardens with streams running beneath them. There, they will be wearing golden bracelets, green dresses with silk embroidery, and rich patterns. They will be sitting on couches. What a wonderful reward, an amazing resting place. Parable of the rich man 32 Tell them the parable of two men; We gave one of them two vineyards hedged by palm trees, with a cornfield lying in the middle. 33 Both vineyards had a stream running between them, so they produced abundant crop throughout the year, 34 he had plenty of agricultural produce. One day he said to his friend as they were arguing among themselves, I have more wealth and a larger family than you. 35 He entered his garden having wronged himself. He said, I don t think that these vineyards will ever perish, 36 nor do I think that Judgement Day will come. Even if I was returned to My Lord, I will certainly go to somewhere better than this. The wisdom of the humble man 37 His friend said to him as they argued, How can you deny the one who created you from dust and then from a drop of sperm? 38 For me, He is Allah, my Lord, and I do not associate anyone with my Lord. 39 When you entered your vineyard why didn t you say, There is no power except that of Allah. Even if you saw that I was less than f The wealthy Makkans told the Messenger ﷺ that they were embarrassed to sit with him, alongside the slaves and poor Muslim. This section was revealed to reject their reservations. 5

6 you in wealth and number of children, 40 I am hopeful that my Lord will give me better than your vineyards; He could send a thunderbolt from the sky on them and turn the land barren, 41 or make its water sink deep into the ground so that you wouldn t be able to reach it. The vineyards are devastated 42 So his fruits were destroyed. There he was, wringing his hands, regretting what he had spent on it. The trellises had fallen; he sobbed, I wish I never associated anyone with my Lord. 43 There was no army that could help him against Allah, nor could he defend himself. 44 This shows that power belongs to Allah, the Truth. To believe in Him produces the best reward and the best outcome. The parable of life and death 45 Tell them a parable of worldly life; it is like the rain We send down from the sky, the soil absorbs it then plants grow, but quickly all turns into dry straw scattered by the winds. Allah has power over all things. 46 Wealth and children are beautiful decorations of this life. However, good deeds will remain with your Lord, an excellent reward and hope. Opening of personal records on Judgement Day g 47 On the day when We clear away the mountains, you will see the Earth spread out as a vast plain, and We shall gather the dead; no one will be left out. 48 They will be presented before your Lord in rows, it will be said, You have come to Us as We created you the first time; you thought We would not fulfil our Promise. 49 When the record g will be laid out before them, the sinners will be frightened of what they see in it, and they will say, Woe to us, what kind of record is this that doesn t leave out anything small or big, records everything. They will find everything they had ever done in front of them. And your Lord is not unjust to anyone. Satan misleads 50 And remember when We said to the Angels, Prostrate to Adam, they prostrated except Satan. He was from the Jinns. He disobeyed his Lord s command. So, are you going to take him and his followers as your friends besides Me, yet they are your enemies? What a wretched alternative have the wrongdoers chosen! 51 I did not make them witnesses at the time of the creation of the heavens and Earth, nor in their own creation. I do not take as helpers those who misguide others. 52 On the Day He will say, Call g Personal record in the Book of Deeds 6

7 upon those who you thought were My partners, they will not answer them. We will place between them an unbridgeable gulf. h 53 When the sinners see the fire they will be convinced that they are falling into it, and they will find no other place to turn to. Humanity is quarrelsome 54 We have explained all kinds of lessons in this Quran for the benefit of people, but humans are most quarrelsome creatures. 55 What stops people from believing and seeking the forgiveness of their Lord when the guidance has come to them? Are they waiting for the same fate as that of the earlier generations? Or are they waiting for the punishment to be brought right in front of them? 56 The messengers were sent to give good news and warning; unfortunately, the disbelievers disputed with them using false arguments to weaken the truth, and they mocked My verses and warnings. The disbelievers minds are locked 57 Who can be more unjust than the one who is reminded of his Lord s verses and turns away from them, forgetting what he is sending ahead of him? We have locked their minds: they cannot understand. We made them hard of hearing, so when you call them to the guidance, they will never be guided. 58 Your Lord is most Forgiving, most Kind. If He were to punish them for what they have done, then their punishment would have come sooner, but for them is a fixed time from which they will find no escape. 59 These were the towns that We destroyed because they did wrong; We had fixed the time for their destruction. The story of Musa and Khidr 60 Remember when Musa said to his young servant, I will continue travelling until I reach the place where the two seas meet, even if I have to go on for years. 61 When they reached that place, they forgot about their fish, which made its way into the sea and swam away. 62 After travelling for some time, Musa said to his young servant, Bring our meal, the journey has worn us out! 63 He replied, Did you notice that when we rested at the rock I forgot the fish none but Satan made me forget it amazingly it made its way into the sea. 64 Musa said, That s the place we were looking for. So, they turned back carefully retracing their footsteps. 65 There, they found a servant of Ours that We had been particularly kind to We taught him Our special knowledge. Musa asks Khidr for permission to accompany him 66 Musa asked him, Can I follow you, so that you may teach me something of higher guidance that you have been taught? 67 He replied, You will not be able to have h Muabiqan, according to Ibn Abbas, is a valley in Hell. 7

8 patience with me; 68 how could you have patience about things that you don t fully know? 69 Musa said, Allah willing, you will find me patient and I will not disobey your orders. 70 The man said, If you must follow me then don t ask questions until I speak about it to you. Three bizarre events 71 So both travelled together on a boat, when they got off Khidr damaged it. Musa said, Have you damaged it to drown those in it? You have done something outlandish. 72 Khidr said, Did I not say that you will never be able to have patience with me? 73 Musa replied, Don t be harsh with me for forgetting; please don t make my task any more difficult. 74 So they travelled on until they met a boy; Khidr killed him, and Musa angrily said, You have killed an innocent person who hasn t done anything wrong; you ve done a dreadful thing. 75 He said, Didn t I tell you that you will never be able to have patience with me? 76 Musa said, If I ask anything after this then tell me to leave you. You will have a valid excuse from me. 77 So they continued travelling together until they came to a village where they asked the villagers for food, but they refused to take them as guests. They found a wall which was about to fall, so Khidr rebuilt it. Musa complained, If you wanted you could have asked for a payment. Khidr explains the three bizarre events 78 He replied, We must go our separate ways now! I shall tell you the explanation of what you were unable to bear patiently. 79 The boat belonged to poor fishermen, I damaged it because a king was coming after them to forcefully seize all sea-worthy boats. 80 The boy, his parents were believers, but we feared he would distress them by being disobedient and unthankful. 81 We hope their Lord will give them a righteous child in exchange, one who will be more caring. 82 The wall belonged to two orphan boys in the town; buried beneath it was their treasure their father was a righteous man. Your Lord wanted them to reach maturity, so they could dig up their treasure; this was your Lord s kindness. What I did, wasn t done by my will; these are the facts about those things you could not bear with patience. The story of Zul Qarnayn 83 They ask you about Zul Qarnayn. Say, I will tell you something from his story. 84 We established and gave him power on Earth, and gave him the resources to achieve great things. 85 So he set off on a certain course, 86 until he reached the place where the 8

9 sun sets; he found it setting in a spring of murky water. There, he found some people. We said, Zul Qarnayn, you can punish them or be kind to them. 87 He said, Who ever does wrong, soon we will punish him, but when he returns to his Lord, the punishment will be even more dreadful. 88 However, whoever believes and does good deeds will have a beautiful reward. And We will only tell him to carry out easy tasks. His journey to the East 89 So he again set off on a course, 90 until he reached the place of sunrise in the east. There he found people to whom We had not provided any means of shelter. 91 So it was; We knew all about him. Gog and Magog 92 Then he set off on another course, 93 until he reached an area between two mountains; here he found people who didn t fully understand him. 94 They said, O Zul Qarnayn, Gog and Magog are making trouble in the land; we shall pay you money if you can build a solid wall between us and them. 95 He replied, The power that my Lord has given me is far better than your money, so help me with manpower, so that I can make a strong barrier between you and them. 96 Bring me pieces of iron when he had filled up the gap between the two mountainsides, he said, Blow the bellows! And he made it glow like fire; he then said, Bring me molten brass to pour over it. 97 Now they will not be able to cross over it, nor will they be able to pierce it. 98 He told them, This is my Lord s kindness, so when my Lord s promise comes it will crumble to dust, and my Lord s promise is true. The terrible scenario of the Final Hour 99 That Day We shall let them surge like waves against each other, the Trumpet will be blown, and We shall gather them together. 100 That Day, We shall introduce Hell to the disbelievers 101 whose eyes were veiled from Our remembrance and they were not able to hear. 102 Do the disbelievers think they can take My servants as protectors besides me? We have prepared hospitality for the disbelievers. 103 Say, Shall We tell you who are the biggest losers with respect to deeds? 104 They are those whose efforts were misguided, yet they thought they were doing good work. 105 They are people who disbelieved in the signs and in their meeting with their Lord, so their deeds are worthless. Nor would We give them on the Day of Judgement any weight. 106 Hell, that is their reward, because they mocked My signs and My messengers. 107 Those who believed and did righteous deeds will have the hospitality of the Gardens of Paradise. 108 They will stay there forever, never wanting a change. 9

10 Allah s words are Infinite 109 Say, If the seas became ink for writing down the words of my Lord, the seas would soon run dry before My Lord s words are finished, even if We were to add sea upon sea to it. 110 Say, I am a human being like you. It has been revealed: your God is one God. Whoever is hopeful of meeting his Lord, let him do good deeds and not associate anyone with Him from His creation. 10

407 Our Signs? the cave, to the youths for us and facilitate Mercy, retreated Yourself When 9 from Grant us a wonder? Our Signs, Our Lord! and they sa

407 Our Signs? the cave, to the youths for us and facilitate Mercy, retreated Yourself When 9 from Grant us a wonder? Our Signs, Our Lord! and they sa In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 1. All Praise is for Allah, the One Who has revealed the Book to His slave and has not placed therein any crookedness. 2. (He has made it) straight,