Al-Kahf

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

1. Praise of the attributes of perfection and majesty and for the outer and inner favours is for Allah alone, who revealed the Qur’ān to His servant and Messenger, and did not put any crookedness or diversion from the truth in this Qur’ān.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

115 verses, revealed after surat al-Ghdshiya. In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful: [18:1] Praise — which is the attribution [to a person] of that which is beautiful — is established [as something that], belongs to God [alone], exalted be He. Now, is the intention here to point this out for the purpose of believing in it, or to praise [God] thereby, or both? All are possibilities, the most profitable of which is [to understand] the third [as being the intention behind this Statement]; Who has revealed to His servant, Muhammad (s), the Book, the Qur’an, and has not allowed f…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

2. But rather He made it straight without any contradiction or discrepancy in it, to frighten those who deny the truth of a severe punishment which awaits them from Allah, and to tell the believers who do good actions what will please them, namely that there is a good reward for them which no other reward compares with.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

nce [wa-lam yaj’al lahu ‘iwajan ] is a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-kitab, ‘the Book’); [18:2] [a Book] upright, (qayyiman is a second circumstantial qualifier for [added] emphasis) to warn of, to make, by this Book, the disbelievers fear, severe chastisement from Him, from God, and to bring to the believers who perform righteous deeds the good tidings that theirs will be a fair reward, [18:3] wherein they will abide forever, and this [reward] is Paradise; [18:4] and to warn those, from among the disbelievers, who say, ‘God has taken a son’.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

3. Living in this reward forever, without it being cut off from them.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

4. And it frightens the Jews, Christians and some of the idolaters who said: Allah has taken a son.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

is Paradise; [18:4] and to warn those, from among the disbelievers, who say, ‘God has taken a son’. [18:5] They do not have, in this, in this saying, any knowledge, nor did their fathers, before them, who [also] used to say this. Dreadful, grave, is the word that comes out of their mouths (kalimatan, ‘word’, is for Specification and it explains the unidentified [feminine] person [of the verb, kaburat, ‘dreadful’]; and that which is the object of censure has been omitted, and that is their above-mentioned saying [that God has taken a son]).…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

5. These fabricators have no knowledge of their claim that Allah has a son and nor did their fathers whom they followed in this regard have any knowledge. This statement which has escaped their mouths without any understanding is heinous. They only speak a lie which has no basis or support.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

and to warn those, from among the disbelievers, who say, ‘God has taken a son’. [18:5] They do not have, in this, in this saying, any knowledge, nor did their fathers, before them, who [also] used to say this. Dreadful, grave, is the word that comes out of their mouths (kalimatan, ‘word’, is for Specification and it explains the unidentified [feminine] person [of the verb, kaburat, ‘dreadful’]; and that which is the object of censure has been omitted, and that is their above-mentioned saying [that God has taken a son]). They Speak nothing, thereby, but, an utterance of, lies.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

6. Then perhaps, O Messenger, you will end up destroying yourself out of grief and remorse if they do not believe this Qur’ān. But do not do this, as giving them guidance is not your responsibility; you are only responsible for conveying.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

tioned saying [that God has taken a son]). They Speak nothing, thereby, but, an utterance of, lies. [18:6] Yet it may be that you will consume, destroy, yourself in their wake — following [your being with] them, that is, after they have left you — if they should not believe in this discourse, [in this] Qur’an, out of grief, out of rage and anguish on your part, because of your eagerness that they believe ( asafan, ‘out of grief’, is in the accusative because it functions as an objed denoting reason).

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

7. Surely, I have made the creation on the face of this earth an adornment for it, so I can test them to see which of them does the best actions which please Allah and which of them is worst in actions, so that I may reward everyone with what they deserve.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

e ( asafan, ‘out of grief’, is in the accusative because it functions as an objed denoting reason). [18:7] Truly We have made all that is on the earth, in the way of animals, plants, trees, rivers and so on, as an adornment for it, that We may try them, that We may ted mankind observing thereby, which of them is beSl in conduct, therein, that is, [to see which of them] is the mod abdemious of it. 1 [18:8] And indeed We shall turn all that is therein into barren shreds, that produce no plants.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

8. And I am going to turn the creation on the face of this earth into dust free from vegetation, and this will be after the lifespan of the creation on earth expires, so let them take heed from this.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

. 1 [18:8] And indeed We shall turn all that is therein into barren shreds, that produce no plants. [18:9] Or did you think, did you suppose, that the Companions of the Cave, the cavern in the mountain, and the Inscription, the tablet wherein their names and lineages had been inscribed — the Prophet (s) had been asked about their tale — were, with regard to their tale, a [unique] marvel from among, the entirety [of], Our signs? (‘ ajaban, ‘a marvel’ is the predicate of [the defective verb] kana [sc.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

9. Do not think, O Messenger, that the story of the people of the cave and the tablet on which their names were written are from our amazing signs. In fact, other signs such as creating the heavens and earth are more amazing.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

indeed We shall turn all that is therein into barren shreds, that produce no plants. [18:9] Or did you think, did you suppose, that the Companions of the Cave, the cavern in the mountain, and the Inscription, the tablet wherein their names and lineages had been inscribed — the Prophet (s) had been asked about their tale — were, with regard to their tale, a [unique] marvel from among, the entirety [of], Our signs? (‘ ajaban, ‘a marvel’ is the predicate of [the defective verb] kana [sc. kanu], the preceding [min dydtina, ‘from among Our signs’] being a circumdantial qualifier).…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

10. Remember, O Messenger, when the believing youngsters took refuge in the cave, fleeing with their religion. Then they said in their supplication to their Lord: Our Lord, give us mercy from Yourself, by forgiving our sins and saving us from our enemies, and grant us guidance towards the right path and correctness in the matter of migrating from the disbelievers and in faith.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

lusively from among all [Our] other signs, or that they were the mod marvellous among them? Not so. [18:10] Mention, when the youths took refuge in the Cave (fitya, ‘youths’, is the plural of fata, and de¬ notes a mature young man) fearing for their faith from their disbelieving people, they said, ‘Our Lord! Give us mercy from Yourself and remedy for us our affair through reditude’, [through Your] guidance. [18:11] So We smote their ears, that is, We made them sleep, in the Cave for several years, for a [fixed] number of years. In other words, the moSt abstemious of the adornment of the…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

11. Then after they went and took refuge in the cave, I put a barrier on their ears from hearing, and I put them to sleep for many years.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

12. Then after their lengthy sleep I woke them up to demonstrate which of the two groups disputing their duration of stay in the cave knows this duration best.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

for a [fixed] number of years. In other words, the moSt abstemious of the adornment of the earth. [18:12] Then We aroused them. We awakened them, that We might know, a knowledge of diredt vision, which of the two parties, the two groups in disagreement over the length of their day [in the cave], was better in calculating ( ahsa is [of the pattern] of afal, meaning ‘more precise’]) what they had tarried ( li-ma labithu is semantically connected to the following) in [terms of the] length of time (amadan, [in the accusative] denotes purpose). [18:13] We relate, recite, to you their Story w…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

13. I am informing you, O Messenger, of their affair, truthfully without any doubt. Surely, they were youngsters who believed in their Lord and obeyed Him, and I increased them in guidance and firmness on the truth.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

14. And I strengthened their hearts with faith and firmness on it, and to be patient in leaving one’s homeland for its sake, when they stood to proclaim their faith in Allah alone in front of the disbelieving king, and they said: The Lord I believe in and worship is the Lord of the heavens and earth. I will never worship the gods you have falsely claimed besides Him. I will have said an unjust and far-off statement if I worship others besides Him.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

truthfully. They were indeed youths who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance. [18:14] And We Strengthened their hearts, to [enable them to] ,<]ieak the truth, when they Stood up, before their king, who had commanded them to prodrate to idols, and said, ‘Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

15. Then they turned to each other saying: These are our people who have taken deities which they worship besides Allah. They do not have any clear proof for worshipping them, so there is no greater oppressor than one who falsely attributes a partner to Allah.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

hatat, meaning one of extreme disbelief, were we, hypothetically, to call on any god other than God. [18:15] These (haula is the subject [of the sentence]) our people (qawmuna is an explicative supplement [to the subjed]) have taken gods besides Him. Why [if what they claim is true] do they not bring some clear warrant, some manifed argument, regarding them? regarding worship of these [idols]. And who does greater wrong — in other words, no one does greater wrong — than he who invents a lie againSt God?, by ascribing partners to Him, exalted be He. Some among the youths said to the others:

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

16. Now that you have moved away from your people, and have left what they worship instead of Allah, and you have worshipped Allah alone, then take refuge in the cave fleeing to protect your religion. Allah, may He be glorified, will shower His mercy on you to protect you from your enemies, and will make for you an easy means of livelihood that you could benefit from in place of the life that you had when living amongst your people.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

gainSt God?, by ascribing partners to Him, exalted be He. Some among the youths said to the others: [18:16] And when you withdraw from them and from that which they worship except God, then take refuge in the Cave. Your Lord will reveal for you something of His mercy and prepare for you in your affair some comfort’ (read mirfaqan or marfiqan), that is to say, something for you to find comfort in, in the way of lunch or supper.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

17. They thus fulfilled the instruction and Allah put them to sleep and protected them from their enemy. You - O one who looks at them - will see the sun when it rises from the east inclining away from their cave to the right of one entering it; and at the time of sunset it moves away from the cave towards the left but does not strike it directly. They are therefore in perpetual shade unaffected by the heat of the sun. They are in a wide space within the cave where the air they require reaches them. The abovementioned occurrences viz.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

or marfiqan), that is to say, something for you to find comfort in, in the way of lunch or supper. [18:17] And you might have seen the sun, when it rose, inclining (read tazzawaru or tazdwaru ) 2 away from their Cave towards the right, side of it, and, when it set, go paSt them on the left, avoid them and pass over them, so that it does not fall on them at all, while they were in a cavern therein, in an ample ,<]iace inside the Cave where the coolness and the gentle breeze of the winds reached them. That, which is mentioned, was [one] of God’s signs, [one of] the proofs of His power.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

18. You - O one who looks at them - will think they are awake, because their eyes are open, though in actual fact they are asleep. I turn them over in their sleep, sometimes to the right and sometimes to the left, so that the earth does not consume their bodies. Their dog that accompanied them stretches out its forelegs at the entrance of the cave. If you had come across them and seen them, you would have turned and run away being afraid of them, and your soul would have been filled with fear of them.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

indeed is rightly guided, and whomever He leads aStray, you will not find for him a guiding friend. [18:18] And you would have supposed them — had you seen them — awake, that is, conscious, because their eyes were open ( ayqaz., ‘awake’, is the plural of yaqiz), though they were asleep ( ruqud is the plural of rdqid ).…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

19. Just as I did to them the wondrous acts that I have mentioned, I awakened them after a long period of time and they began to ask one another about the period that they had spent asleep. One of them responded: I remained asleep for one day or part of one day. One of them, to whom it was not clear how long they had spent asleep, responded: Your Lord knows best about the period you had remained asleep, so entrust the knowledge of that to Him and get busy with what concerns you.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ru’uban, ‘awe’): [it was] through this awe that God protected them from anyone entering upon them. [18:19] And so, jud as We did with them that which We have mentioned, it was that We aroused them. We awakened them, that they might question one another, concerning their date and the length of their day [in the cave]. One of them said, ‘How long have you tarried?’ They said, ‘We have tarried a day, or part of a day’: [he said this] because they had entered the cave at sunrise and were awakened at sunset, and so they thought that it was [the time of] sunset on the day of their entry.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

20. If your people discover you and find out where your whereabouts, they will kill you by stoning you, or they will force you to return to their deviated creed that you used to follow before Allah favoured you by guiding you to the true religion. If you return to that you will never succeed - not in this world nor in the Hearafter. Instead, you will suffer a great loss in both places on account of your leaving the true religion to which Allah had guided you and your returning to that deviated creed.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

21. Just as I did those wondrous acts, of putting them to sleep and awakening them after many years, indicating My Power, I caused them to be discovered by the people of their city, so that those people would know that the promise of Allah to help the believers and of resurrection is true, and that the rising is coming without doubt.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

make you return to their creed, and then, if you do return to their creed, you will never prosper’. [18:21] And so, juff as We aroused them, it was that We disclosed them, [to] their people and the believ¬ ers, that they, that is, their people, might know that God’s promise, of resurrection, is true: by virtue of the facft that One Who has the power to make them sleep for [such] a long period of time, or sustain them in that .hate without nourishment, also has the power to resurred the dead; and that, as for the Hour, there is no doubt, no uncertainty, concerning it.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

22. Some of those who delve into their incident will say about their number: They were three and their dog was the fourth amongst them. Others will say: They were five and their dog was the sixth amongst them. Both groups only said this as a guess without any proof. Some of them will say: They were seven and their dog was the eighth amongst them. Say, O Messenger: Your Lord knows best about their number. No one knows their number except for a few people whom Allah has informed about their number.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ip’, for prayers to be performed therein. 4 And this indeed took place at the entrance of the cave. [18:22] I 7 i ey will say, that is, [some of] those diluting the number of the youths [of the cave] at the time of the Prophet (s), in other words, some of these will say that they [the youths] were: ‘Three; their dog the fourth of them’; and they, some [others] among them, will say, ‘Five; their dog the sixth of them’ — both of these sayings were those of the Christians of Najran — guessing at random, in other words, out of sup¬ position, not having been present with them [at the time], an…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

23. Do not say - O Prophet - about anything that you want to do tomorrow: “I am going to do this tomorrow,” because you do not know whether you will do it or you will be prevented from doing so? This is a directive for every Muslim.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

but without adding [the words], ‘If God wills’ (insha a’ Llahu) and so the following was revealed: [18:23] And never say regarding something, that is, for the purpose of [doing] something, ‘I will indeed do that tomorrow’, in other words, [I will do something] at some future [point] in time,

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

24. Unless you suspend doing so on Allah’s will by saying: I will do it - if Allah wills - tomorrow. Remember your Lord by saying: “If Allah wills” - if you forget to say it - and say: I have hope that my Lord will guide me to something closer than this in guidance and success.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ill indeed do that tomorrow’, in other words, [I will do something] at some future [point] in time, [18:24] without [adding], ‘If God will’, in other words, unless [firmly] adhering to the will of God, exalted be He, by saying, ‘If God will’ (insha a’Llah). And remember your Lord, that is, [remember] His will, making [things] conditional on it, if you forget, to make [things] conditional on it: mentioning it after forgetting [it] is the equal [in validity] to mentioning it at the time of the statement — as al-Hasan [al-Basrl] and others have said — as long as the person is 3 till in the […

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

25. The people of the cave remained in their cave for three hundred and nine years.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

Cave, as an indication of [the truth of] my prophethood, by way of guidance, and God indeed did so. [18:25] And they tarried in the Cave three hundred (read [with tanwin ] thalathami’atin ) years (sinin is an explicative supplement to thalathami’atin, ‘three hundred’): these three hundred years in the case of the People of the Cave were solar years; but for [the number of] lunar ones, the Arabs add nine years 3 The expression lutf commonly denotes ‘gentleness’ hence the usual English translations of this verse as ‘let him be courteous’ (cf.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

26. Say - O Messenger: Allah knows best about how long they remained in the cave and He has told us about the period they remained there. No statement can be considered after Allah’s, may He be glorified. To Him alone, may He be glorified, belongs everything hidden in the heavens and on earth. He created and knows all of it. How well He sees! May He be glorified! He sees everything. How well He hears! He hears everything. They have no one to take charge of their matter besides Him. He does not share His rule with anyone. He alone passes judgement.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

s, nine years; in other words three hun¬ dred solar years, while three hundred and nine lunar ones. [18:26] Say: ‘God is more knowledgeable of how long they tarried, [more knowledgeable] than those contending over this [issue] — and this [facft] has already been mentioned [above, verse 19]. To Him belongs the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, that is, [to Him belongs] the knowledge thereof. How well He sees!, namely, God — this form 5 is for [expressing] amazement [at something]. How well He hears!, likewise [for expressing amazement].…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

27. Read - O Messenger - and practice the Qur’ān that Allah has revealed to you. Nothing can change His words, because they are completely true and just. You will not find any refuge to resort to or place of protection to take cover in besides Him.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

des Him, and He makes none to share in His rule’, for He is Independent, without need of a partner. [18:27] And recite that which has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is none who can change His words. And you will not find, besides Him, any refuge.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

28. Remain and be close with your poor companions who sincerely call on their Lord in worship and supplication at the beginning and at the end of the day. Do not let your eyes overlook them intending to sit with people of affluence and prestige. Do not follow the one whose heart I have made neglectful of Our remembrance by sealing it and who instructed you to remove the poor from your gathering giving preference to following his desire over following His Lord. His actions and deeds are thus foolish, excessive and in vain.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

your Lord. There is none who can change His words. And you will not find, besides Him, any refuge. [18:28] And restrain yourself, detain [yourself], along with those who call upon their Lord at morning and evening, desiring, through their worship, His Countenance, exalted be He, and not any of the tran¬ sient things of this world — and these are the poor; and do not let your eyes overlook, turn away [from], them — these [the eyes] are being used to refer to the person [addressed] — desiring the glitter of the life of this world.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

29. Say - O Messenger: to those who neglect Allah’s remembrance due to the heedlessness of their hearts: What I have brought to you is the truth. It is from Allah and not from me. I cannot accede to your request to chase away the believers. Whoever amongst you wishes to have faith in this truth then let him do so for he will be pleased by the reward. Whoever amongst you wants to reject it let him do so, for he will be grieved by the punishment that awaits him.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ws his own whim, by attributing partners [to God], and whose conduct is [mere] prodigality, excess. [18:29] And say, to him and to his companions that this Qur’an is, ‘The truth [that comes] from your Lord; so whoever will, let him believe, and whoever will, let him disbelieve’ — this is [meant as] a threat to them. Indeed We have prepared for the wrongdoers, that is, the disbelievers, a Fire, and they will be surrounded by its pavilion, [by] that which encloses [the Fire itself].…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

30. Those who have faith in Allah and do righteous actions have done Ill and they will receive a huge reward. I do not let the reward of those who do Ill go to waste. Instead, I give them their reward in full without any reduction.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

w fair a reSling-place [below, verse 31]. For, indeed, what resting-place can there be in the Fire? [18:30] Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds — indeed We do not leave the reward of those of good deeds to go to waSle (this [laSt] sentence is the predicate of the [previous] inna’lladhina, ‘truly those who’, and in it an overt identification [of the recipients of the reward] has replaced the [would- be] pronominalisation, 8 in other words, it is ‘their reward’ [which shall not be left to go to waSte], and We will reward them with what it [the reward of good-doers] comprises…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

31. Those who are described as having faith and doing righteous actions will receive gardens to reside in, with the sweet rivers of paradise flowing beneath their homes. They will be adorned with bracelets of gold and they will wear green garments of fine and thick silk. They will recline on couches decorated with beautiful coverings. Theirs will be an excellent reward and paradise will be an excellent home and place for them to reside in.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

e left to go to waSte], and We will reward them with what it [the reward of good-doers] comprises). [18:31] Those, for them there shall be Gardens of Eden, as a [place of] residence, underneath which riv¬ ers flow; therein they shall be adorned with bracelets of gold ( min asdwir: it is said that min here is either extra or partitive; it [asdwir] is the plural of aswira — similar [in pattern] to ahmira [for himdr ] — which is the plural of siwdr ) and they shall wear green garments of fine silk ( sundus ) and [heavy] silk brocade (iSlabraq is that [silk] which is coarse: [God says] in the…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

32. Strike - O Messenger - an example of two men: a disbeliever and a believer. I gave the disbeliever two gardens, which I surrounded with date-palms; and in the vacant land I grew crops.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

rtains for a bride). How excellent a reward, a requital, is Paradise, and how fair a reSling-place! [18:32] And Strike, coin, for them, for the disbelievers together with the believers, a similitude: two men (rajulayn is a substitute [for mathalan, ‘a similitude’] and constitutes, together with what follows, an ex- 5 In other words, the form ( slgha ) following the pattern afil, hence absir and asmi'. 6 The commentators gloss that these two expressions mean ma absarahu and ma asmaahu, respectively, have already been ac¬ knowledged in the English translation of the Qur’anic verse. 7 Liter…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

33. Each garden produced its fruit of dates, grapes and crops and did not fall short thereof in anything, but bore it in full. I caused a river to flow between the two gardens so that they could be irrigated easily.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

date-palms and had set between them [ afield of] crops, from which he acquired [his] food supplies. [18:33] Each of the two gardens (kilta, ‘each [of the two]’ is a singular [noun] that indicates a dual [number]; and [the entire clause] is the subjedt) yielded ( dtat is the predicate thereof) its produce, its fruit, without Stinting, diminishing, any thing thereof And We caused a Stream to gush forth therein, to run through them.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

34. The owner of the two gardens had other wealth and fruit and he said to his friend, as he spoke to him in conceit to make an impact on him, “I have more wealth than you, more support and a stronger family.”

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

, diminishing, any thing thereof And We caused a Stream to gush forth therein, to run through them. [18:34] And he had, together with his two gardens, fruit (read thamar, thumur, or thumr, [all of which constitute] the plural of thamra, [sing.] ‘a fruit’, similar [in pattern] to shajara [pi.] shajar, khashaba [pi] khushb, or badana [pi.] budn) and he said to his companion, the believer, as he conversed with him, boaSting before him: ‘I have more wealth than you and am Stronger in reSpeSl of men’, in reSJied of clansmen.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

35. The disbeliever entered his garden along with the believer to show it to him, whilst he was wronging himself by his disbelief and conceit. The disbeliever said: I do not think that this garden that you see will ever perish, because I have taken all measures for its survival.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

efore him: ‘I have more wealth than you and am Stronger in reSpeSl of men’, in reSJied of clansmen. [18:35] And he entered his garden, [taking] with him his companion, accompanying him all around it, showing him its fruits — God does not say [here] his ‘two gardens’, because what is meant is the beauti¬ ful [part of the] garden ( rawda ); or because [to mention juSt] one suffices — having wronged himself, through [his] disbelief.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

36. I also do not think that the rising will occur. Life will simply continue. If it does occur and I happened to be resurrected and be returned to my Lord, then I will find that what I will go back to after resurrection will be better than this garden of mine. My being rich in this world means that I will be rich after resurrection as well.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

37. His believing friend said to him whilst having this conversation: Do you reject the One Who created your father, Adam, from dust. Then He created you from sperm. Then He made you into a male human being and proportioned your limbs making you complete? The One who has power to do all of that is able to resurrect you.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

according to your claim, I shall surely find better than this as a resort’, as a [place of] return. [18:37] His companion said to him, as he conversed with him, responding to him: ‘Doyou disbelieve in Him Who created you ofduSt — as Adam was created of it — then of a drop of fluid, [of] semen, then fashioned you, made you upright and gave you the form of, a man?

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

38. But I do not profess this statement of yours. I simply say: He, Allah, may He be glorified, is my Lord, who has showered us with His blessings, and I do not associate anyone with Him in worship.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

a drop of fluid, [of] semen, then fashioned you, made you upright and gave you the form of, a man? [18:38] But lo (Idkinnd is actually [made up of] lakin ana,' but I ... (where the hamza vowel has [either] been transferred onto the nun [of lakin], or omitted [altogether] with the nun assimilated with the like of it) 9 He [is] (huwa, this is the pronoun of the [subjedt] matter [to be Stated] and is clarified by the sentence that follows it: the meaning [in other words] is ‘[But, it is that] I say that [He is]’) God, my Lord, and I do not ascribe any partner to my Lord.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

39. If only, when you entered your garden, you had said: As Allah wills. No one has any power except through Allah. He is the One Who does as He pleases and He is the One of strength- if you regard me as someone poorer than you and one with less children.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

‘[But, it is that] I say that [He is]’) God, my Lord, and I do not ascribe any partner to my Lord. [18:39] And if only when you entered your garden, you had said, upon admiring it, ‘This is “What God has willed. There is no power except in God”. In a hadith [it is Stated that]: ‘Whoever is given some¬ thing good in the way of family or wealth and upon receiving it says, “What God wills [comes to pass]; there is no power except in God” ( ma shaa’Llah la quwwata ilia bi’Llah), he will never experience any ill therefrom’.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

40. I anticipate that Allah will give me something better than your garden and that He will send on your garden a punishment from the sky, making it a barren piece of land on which feet will slip due to its being so smooth.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

u see me ( and is a pronoun separating two diredt objedts) as less than you in wealth and children, [18:40] maybe my Lord will give me [something] better than your garden (this is the response to the conditional clause [beginning with lawla, ‘and if only’]) and unleash upon it bolts ( husban is the plural of husbana ), that is to say, thunderbolts, from the heaven so that it becomes a bare plain, a [piece of] smooth ground upon which no foot can Stand firm;

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

41. Or its water may sink so deep into the ground that you will never be able to reach it again in any way. Once the water sinks deep, the garden will not survive.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

aven so that it becomes a bare plain, a [piece of] smooth ground upon which no foot can Stand firm; [18:41] or [maybe] its water will sink [deep] down (ghawran fundtions in meaning like ghairan, and it constitutes a supplement to yursila, ‘He [will] unleash’, but not [a supplement] to tusbiha, ‘it becomes’, because the sinking of water [deep into the earth] does not [necessarily] result from thunderbolts) so that you have no means of acquiring it’, no possible way of reaching it.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

42. What the believer anticipated occurred. Destruction engulfed the fruit of the disbeliever’s garden and the disbeliever began wringing his hands on account of extreme regret and remorse over the money that he had spent on its maintenance and upkeep, whilst the garden had fallen over the supports on which the grapevines are spread out and he was saying: I wish I had believed in my Lord alone, and I had not associated anyone with Him in worship.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

sult from thunderbolts) so that you have no means of acquiring it’, no possible way of reaching it. [18:42] And his fruit was beset, through the curbing measures mentioned above, [it was beset] together with his garden by deStrudtion and were thus ruined, and so he began to wring his hands, out of regret and anguish, because of what he had fpent on it, on the cultivation of his garden, as it lay fallen, [hav¬ ing] collapsed, on its trellises, those supporting the vines, so that [first] these collapsed and then the 9 In other words, the nun of and has been assimilated with the nun of lakin…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

43. This disbeliever had no group to protect him from the punishment that fell on him, whereas he was the one who used to boast about his group. He himself too could not stop Allah from destroying his garden.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

[after them], saying, ‘O (yd is for exclamation) I wish I had not ascribed any partner to my Lord!’ [18:43] But there was no (read takun or yakun) party, [no] persons, to help him, besides God, at the mo¬ ment of its destruction, nor could he help himself, at the moment of its destruction, [all by] himself.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

44. In that situation, victory is for Allah alone. He, may He be glorified, is best in rewarding His friends who have faith, as He multiplies the reward for them, and He is best in outcome for them.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

t of its destruction, nor could he help himself, at the moment of its destruction, [all by] himself. [18:44] There, that is, [on] the Day of Resurrection, [all] protedion (walaya ; if read wilaya, then [it means] ‘sovereignty’) belongs to God, the True (if read as al-haqqu then it is as an adjective qualifying walaya [or wilaya ], 10 or [if] read as al-haqqi, then it is an attribute of [God’s] MajeSty).…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

45. Strike - O Messenger - an example for those who are deceived by the world. In its temporality and fleeting existence it is similar to rain water that I sent down from the sky. On account of this water the vegetation of the earth grew and ripened. Then this vegetation is broken down into pieces and the wind carries it away to far-lying places and the earth once again becomes as it was previously. Allah has full power over all of that. Nothing is outside His ability. He gives life to whatever He wishes and causes whatever He wishes to perish.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

‘rewarding’, and ‘uqban, ‘consequence’] are in the accusative for [the purpose of] Specification). [18:45] And strike, draw, for them, your people, the similitude of the life of this world ( mathala’l-haydti’l- dunya constitutes the firSt direCt objeCt) as water (ka-ma’in, the second direCt objeCt) which We send down out from the heaven, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it, [the vegetation] multiplies by the sending down of the water; or it is that the water mixes with the vegetation such that it is nour¬ ished and flourishes; and it then becomes, the vegetation becomes, chaff…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

46. Wealth and children are things of adornment in this worldly life. Wealth will only be of benefit in the afterlife if it is spent on that which pleases Allah. Actions and statements that are pleasing to Allah are better in reward than all the beauty in the world. That is the best thing a person can have hope in, because the beauty of the world will perish while the reward for actions and statements that are pleasing to Allah will last.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

(a variant reading [for riyah, ‘winds’] has rih). And God is Omnipotent, Powerful, over all things. [18:46] Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world, [adornment] with which one arrays oneself therein. But the enduring things, the righteous deeds — and these are: ‘Glory be to God’ ( subhdna’Llah ), ‘Praise be to God’ ( al-hamdu li’Llah), ‘There is no god but God (Id ilaha illd’Llah ), ‘God is Great’ ( Alldhu akbar); some add [the following] ‘There is no power or Strength except in God’ (Id hawla wa-la quwwata ilia bi’Lldh) — [these] are better with your Lord for rewar…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

47. Remember the day when I will remove the mountains from their places, and you will see the earth as an open plain as all the mountains, trees and buildings on it will be gone. I will gather all created things together and resurrect them, leaving no one.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

r words, [they are better] in terms of what a person hopes for and desires from God, exalted be He. [18:47] And, mention, the day when the mountains shall be set in motion — they shall be removed from the face of the earth and become ‘[as] scattered duSt’ [Q. 56:6] (a variant reading [for tusayyaru’l-jibdlu ] has nusayyiru’l-jibdla, ‘We shall set the mountains in motion) and you will see the earth exposed, mani¬ fest [in full view], with no mountain or anything else on top of it. And We shall gather them, believers and disbelievers, such that We will not leave out anyone of them.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

48. People will be presented to your Lord in rows and He will take them to account. It will be said to them: Now you have come to Us individually, barefoot and naked as I created you the first time. Although you claimed that you will never be resurrected and that I will not set for you a time and place in which I will recompense you for your actions.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

d We shall gather them, believers and disbelievers, such that We will not leave out anyone of them. [18:48] And they shall be presented before your Lord in ranks (saffan is a circumstantial qualifier) in other words, ranged so that every community is in a row [on its own], and it shall be said to them: ‘Ver¬ ily you have come to Us juft as We created you thefird time, that is to say, individually, barefoot, naked and uncircumcised; and it shall be said to the deniers of the Resurrection: rather you claimed that (a [of allan] is an, softened in place of the hardened one, in other words [it…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

49. The book of deeds will be placed. Some people will take the book in their right hands and some will take it in their left hands. You - O man - will see the disbelievers fearful of its contents, because they are aware of the disbelief and sins that they sent forward. They will say: May we be destroyed! What is with this book that leaves no action of ours, small or big, but it has recorded and enumerated it? They will find all the sins they had done in their worldly life written and recorded. Your Lord - O Messenger - does not wrong anyone.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ords [it is to be understood as] annahu ) We would not appoint for you a try it’, for resurrection. [18:49] And the Book shall be set in place, the Book of every man — in his right hand, if [he is from] among the believers, and in his left hand, if [he is from] among the disbelievers. And you will see the guilty, the disbelievers, apprehensive, fearful, of what is in it, and they will say, when they observe the evil deeds [recorded] in it: ‘O (yd is for exclamation) woe to us!, [O this is] our destruction! (this [form waylatand] is a verbal noun, but in this form it cannot be [conjugated…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

50. Remember - O Messenger - when I said to the angels: Prostrate to Adam as a salutation. So all of them prostrated to him in fulfilment of the instruction of their Lord besides Iblis. He was one of the Jinn and was not an angel. He refused and was too proud to prostrate. Thus he went against following His Lord.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

anything of] the reward 10 In other words, ‘there, true protection [or sovereignty] belongs to God’. [18:50] And when ( idh is dependent because it is governed by [an implicit] udhkur, ‘mention [when]’) We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam’, a prostration involving a bow, not placing one’s forehead down [to the ground], as a greeting to him; and so they prostrated, [all] except Iblis.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

51. These whom you have taken as friends instead of me are all servants like you. I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth when I created them. In fact, they were not even existent then. I did not make some of them witness the creation of others. I am alone in creation and planning. I would not take those human and jinn satans who lead others astray as my assistants as I am in no need of any assistants.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

evildoers is that substitute!, of Iblis and his offspring, in obeying them instead of obeying God. [18:51] I did not make them a witness, that is, Iblis and his offspring, to the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor to their own creation, that is to say, I did not make any of them present at the [moment of the] creation of the other. Nor do I take misleaders, devils, as [My] support, as assistants in [the process of] creation, so why do you obey them?

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

52. Mention to them - O Messenger - the Day of Judgement, when Allah will say to those who had associated partners with Him in the world: Call My partners whom you claimed were partners to me so that they can help you. They will call them, but they will not answer their call and they will not come to their assistance. I will place between the worshippers and those whom they worshipped a pit of destruction, which will be for both groups, and this is the fire of Hell.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ders, devils, as [My] support, as assistants in [the process of] creation, so why do you obey them? [18:52] And the day (yawma is in the accusative because it is governed by [the implicit] udhkur, ‘men¬ tion’) when He will say ( yaqul, or [it may be] read as naqiil, ‘We will say’), ‘Call those partners of Mine, [those] graven images, as you used to claim’, let them intercede for you in the way you used to claim; and then they will call them, but they will not respond to their call, they will not answer them, and We shall set between them, between the graven images and those who worship th…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

53. The idolaters will see the fire and they will be completely certain that they are going to fall into it. They will not find any place to escape to from it.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

destroyed (the term [ mawbiq ] derives from [the verb] wabaqa meaning halaka, ‘he was destroyed’). [18:53] And the criminals will behold the Fire and realise that, are certain that, they are about to fall into it. And they will find no means of avoiding it, of circumventing [it]. [18:54] And verily We have dispensed. We have explained, for mankind in this Qur’an [an example] of every kind of similitude ( min kulli mathalin is an adjedtive qualifying an omitted clause, in other words,

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

54. I have explained in different ways, in this Qur’ān that was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him), many types of examples so that they will take a lesson and pay heed. But the thing that is most apparent in man - especially the disbeliever - is to wrongfully argue.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

55. Nothing prevented the obstinate disbelievers from having faith in what Muhammad (peace be upon him) brought from his Lord. Lack of explanation did not prevent them from seeking Allah’s forgiveness for their sins, for many examples were given to them in the Qur’ān and clear proofs came to them. The only thing that prevented them was their stubborn request for the punishment of the previous communities to be imposed on them and for them to see the punishment that they were promised.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

in other words, the meaning is that the disputatious¬ ness of man is what can be found in him moSt. [18:55] And nothing prevented people, that is, the disbelievers of Mecca, from believing (an yu’minu is [after al-nasa, ‘people’] constitutes the second direcft objecft clause) when the guidance, the Qur’an, came to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, without that there should come upon them the prec¬ edent of the ancients (sunnatu’l-awwalin constitutes the subject of the verb) that is to say, Our precedent of dealing with them, which is the destruction decreed for them, or tha…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

56. I do not send any of Our Messengers except to give good news to the people of faith and obedience and to warn the people of disbelief and disobedience. They do not have the authority to make hearts accept the guidance. Those who disbelieved in Allah dispute with the Messengers despite their having clear proof, in an attempt to use their falsehood to remove the truth that was sent down to Muhammad (peace be upon him). They made the Qur’ān and what they were warned of a joke and mockery.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

] has qubulan, which [in the accusative] is the plural of qabilin, meaning, ‘of various kinds’). 13 [18:56] And We do not send messengers except as bearers of good tidings, to believers, and as warners, as threateners to disbelievers. But those who disbelieve dispute with falsehood, when they say that, ‘Has God sent a human as a messenger [from Him]?’ [Q. 17:94] and the like of such [Statements], that they may refute thereby, that by way of their disputing they may invalidate, the truth, the Qur’an. And they 11 See remainder of this verse, Q.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

57. There is no one more oppressive that the person who was reminded of the verses of his Lord, but he did not pay any attention to the threat of punishment contained therein and he turned away from taking a lesson, forgetting the disbelief and sins he had done in his worldly life without repenting. I have placed on the hearts of people with this description covers that prevent them from understanding the Qur’ān, and in their ears deafness so that they cannot listen to it acceptingly.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

the Qur’an, and that whereof they have been warned, in the way of the Fire, derisively, in mockery. [18:57] And who does greater wrong than he who has been reminded of the signs of his Lord, yet turns away from them and forgets what his hands have sent ahead?, what he has committed in the way of disbelief and acfts of disobedience.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

58. In order for the Prophet (peace be upon him) not to look forward to a hasty punishment for those who rejected him, Allah said to him: Your Lord - O Messenger - is One Who forgives the sins of those who repent, and One Whose Mercy encompasses everything. It is out of His mercy that he grants respite to sinners in order for them to repent to Him. If He was to punish these people who turn away, He would have hastened the punishment for them in the worldly life. But He is tolerant and merciful. He delayed the punishment so that they repent.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

nce, they will not be guided in that case, that is, given the casting [of veils] men¬ tioned, ever. [18:58] And your Lord is the Forgiver, Full of Mercy. Were He to take them to task, in this world, for what they have earned, He woidd have haftened for them the chaftisement, therein; but they have a try ft, which is the Day of Resurrection, from which they will not find any escape, any refuge. [18:59] And those towns, that is to say, the inhabitants of those [towns], such as ‘Ad and Thamud, as well as others, We deftroyed them when they did evil, [when] they disbelieved, and We appointed…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

59. Those disbelieving towns close to you such as the towns of the people of Hud, Salih and Shuayb —I destroyed them when they wronged themselves by disbelief and sins, and I set for their destruction an appointed time.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

60. Remember - O Messenger - when Moses (peace be upon him) said to his servant, Joshua the son of Nun: I will continue travelling until I reach the place where the two seas meet, or I will travel until such time that I meet the righteous servant and I learn from him.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

We appointed for their deftrudion (a variant reading [for mahlikihim] has muhlakihim) 1 * a try ft. [18:60] And, mention, when Moses, son of Amram (‘Imran), said to his lad, Joshua son of Nun (Yusha bin Nun), who used to follow him around, serve him and acquire knowledge from him, ‘I will not give up, I will not ,<ftop journeying, until I have reached the juncture of the two seas — the point where the Byzantine sea and the Persian sea meet, beyond the cash, 15 — though I march on for ages’, for a very long time before reaching it, if it be far.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

61. So they both travelled and when they reached the place where the two seas meet, they forgot the fish that they had carried as provision. Allah gave life to that fish and it made a pathway in the sea like a tunnel, with which the water did not come together.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

the cash, 15 — though I march on for ages’, for a very long time before reaching it, if it be far. [18:61] So when they reached a juncture between the two, between the two seas, they forgot their fish — Joshua forgot his luggage [leaving it behind] at the moment of departure, and Moses forgot to remind him — and so it, the fish, made its way into the sea, that is, it formed it — through God’s forming it — by burrowing, that is, like [through] a burrow, which is a passage that is long and enclosed; this was [so] because God, exalted be He, held back the flow of the water [preventing it] fr…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

62. When they passed that place, Moses (peace be upon him) said to his servant: Bring us our lunch, we have experienced extreme tiredness in this journey.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

] and remained thus like a cleft without closing, and what was beneath it [the cleft] 3 food £till. [18:62] And when they had made the traverse, of that location, having journeyed until the morning of the following day, he, Moses, said to his lad, ‘Bring us our breakfaft, (ghada ) that [meal] which is con¬ sumed at the beginning of the day. We have certainly encountered on this journey of ours much fatigue’, exhaustion, which took its effecft [on them] after the traverse.

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

63. The boy said: Do you remember what happened when we rested by the rock? I forgot to tell you about the fish. It was only Satan who made me forget to mention it to you. The fish came to life and it amazingly found its way into the sea.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

his journey of ours much fatigue’, exhaustion, which took its effecft [on them] after the traverse. [18:63] He said, ‘Do you see? — in other words, remember, when we sheltered at the rock, in that loca¬ tion, indeed I forgot the fish — and none but Satan made me forget (al-shaytan, ‘Satan, substitutes for the [suffixed pronoun] ha [of ansani-hu]) to mention it (an adhkurahu, an inclusive substitution, in other words [it should be understood as] ansani dhikrahu, ‘he [Satan] made me forget the mentioning of if) — and it, the fish, made its way into the sea in an amazing manner’ (‘ajaban con…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

64. Moses (peace be upon him) said to his servant: That is what we were looking for, for that is the sign of the place of the righteous servant. So they turned back retracing their steps, so that they do not lose the way until they reached the rock and from there the entry point of the fish.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

say, Moses and his lad were amazed by it, because of what has already been explained concerning it. [18:64] Said he, Moses, ‘That, namely, our losing the fish, is what we have been seeking!’, what we have been after, for it is a sign for us of the presence of the one whom we seek. So they turned back, retracing their footfteps, until they reached the rock. 14 Cf. Ibn Mujahid ( Qiraat , 393).…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

65. When they reached the place at which the fish was lost, they found there one of My righteous servants (who was Khidr peace be upon him), to whom I had given mercy, and to whom I had taught knowledge that people were not aware of, which is what is contained in this story.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

jma' baynihima which suggests a juncture that brings the two seas together such as a traCt of land. [18:65] So [there] they found one of Our servants, namely, al-Khidr, to whom We had given mercy from Us — according to one opinion this [mercy] was prophethood; according to another it was authority, and this [latter] is the opinion of the majority of scholars — and We had taught him knowledge from Us (‘ilman is the second direct object), in other words, some knowledge of unseen things; al-Bukharl reports the [following] hadith: ‘Moses was delivering a sermon among the Children of Israel an…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

66. Moses humbly and politely said to him: May I follow you so that you can teach me some of the knowledge that Allah has taught you which constitutes guidance to the truth?

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

his lad it [this way] was ‘amazing’ (‘ ajaban ) ...’ [and so on] to the end [of Bukhari’s report]. [18:66] Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you for the purpose that you teach me of what you have been taught [ in the way] of probity?’, namely, [something] of right conduct through which I might be rightly- guided (a variant reading [for rashadan] has rushdan, ‘probity’); he asked him this because to increase [one’s] knowledge is [something which is] always sought. [18:67] Said he, ‘Truly you will not be able to bear with me.

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

67. Khidr said: You will not be able to bear patience over what you see of my knowledge, because it will not correspond with your knowledge.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

s [something which is] always sought. [18:67] Said he, ‘Truly you will not be able to bear with me. [18:68] And how can you bear with that whereof you have never been informed?’: in the above-men¬ tioned hadith [of Bukhari] after this verse [there is the following statement]: ‘O Moses, I possess knowl¬ edge which God has taught me and which you do not have, and [equally] you possess knowledge which God has taught you and which I do not have’.…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

68. How will you bear patience over the actions that you see for which you do not know the proper reason, because you judge them according to the limit of your knowledge?!

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

69. Moses said: You will find me, Allah willing, to be patient over those actions of yours that I see and committed to following you. I will not go against any instruction that you give me.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

you have never encompassed, in other words, the truth of which you have never been in¬ formed of.) [18:69] He said, ‘You will find me, God willing, patient, and I will not disobey, in other words, and [you will also find me] non-disobedient [towards], you in any matter’, with which you charge me. He [Moses] made this [Statement] conditional upon the Will [of God] because he was not confident of himself in what he had committed himself to. Indeed, this is the custom of prophets and saints, namely, that they do not put their truSt in themselves for a single moment.

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

70. Khidr said to Moses: If you follow me, then do not ask me about anything that you see me doing until I myself tell you the reason.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

of prophets and saints, namely, that they do not put their truSt in themselves for a single moment. [18:70] He said, ‘Ifyou follow me then do not question me (la tas’alni, a variant reading has la tas’alanni ) concerning anything, that you might find objectionable in what I do, according to your [limited] knowl¬ edge, and be patient, until I [myself] make mention of it to you’, in other words, [until] I mention it to you with [an explication of] the reason for it. Moses accepted his precondition bearing in mind the rested which a student should exercise in the presence of a teacher.

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

71. When they agreed to that, they set out to the seashore where they came across a ship, which they boarded for free as an honour to Khidr. Khidr then made a hole in the ship by removing one of its planks. Moses said to him: Did you make a hole in the ship whose owners let us board for free in the hope that they may drown. You have done something confusing and puzzling.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

econdition bearing in mind the rested which a student should exercise in the presence of a teacher. [18:71] So they setoff, making their way on foot along the coaSt of the sea, until, when they embarked on the ship, which was carrying them, he, al-Khidr, made a hole in it, by destroying a plank or two on the Starboard side with an axe after they had sailed into deep waters. Said he, Moses, to him, ‘Did you make a hole in it to drown its people? ( li-tughriqa ahlahd, ‘for you to drown its people’; a variant reading has li-yaghraqa ahluha, ‘so that its people might drown).…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

72. Khidr said to Moses: Did I not say: You will not be able to bear patience over what you see me doing?!

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

s, a grave and reprehensible thing — it is reported that the water did not [actually] penetrate it. [18:72] He said, ‘Did I not say [that] you would not be able to bear with me?’ [ 18:73] He said, ‘Do not take me to task on account of that which I forgot, that is, [on account of the facft that] I was not mindful of submitting to you [in the matter] and of refraining from showing disapproval of your actions, and do not exhaust me, [do not] charge me, in this affair of mine with difficulty’, [with] hardship during my companionship of you, in other words, treat me throughout it with forgiven…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

73. Moses (peace be upon him) said to Khidr: Do not take me to task on account of my breaking the pledge forgetfully and do not make it difficult and hard for me to accompany you.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

74. After they disembarked from the ship they set out walking along the seashore, when they saw a young boy who was still not an adult playing with the other boys. Khidr killed him and Moses said to him: Did you kill a pure soul that is still a minor for no sin? You have really done something evil!!

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ng my companionship of you, in other words, treat me throughout it with forgiveness and indulgence. [18:74] So they set off, after leaving the ship, making their way on foot, until, when they met a boy, who had not yet reached puberty, 16 playing with [other] boys, among whom his face was the fairest — and he, al-Khidr, slew him, by slitting his throat with a knife while he lay down, or by tearing his head off with his hand, or by smashing his head against a wall, all of which are [different] opinions (the coordinating fa ’ [oifa-qatalahu, ‘and he slew him ] is used here because [it indic…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

75. Khidr said to Moses (peace be upon him): “I had said To You: O Moses, you will never be able to bear the matter I will carry out”.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ly you have committed an dreadful thing’ (read nukran or nukuran ), that is to say, an abomination. [18:75] He said, ‘Did I not say to you that you would never be able to bear with me?’ (laka, ‘to you, has been added to that [same Statement] which was made before because this time there could not be any excuse [for Moses’s impatience]. [18:76] And for this reason, he said, ‘If I ask you about anything after this, after this instance, then do not keep me in your company, do not allow me to follow you, for truly you [will] have found from me (read ladunni or laduni), on my part, [sufficien…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

76. Moses (peace be upon him) said to Khidr: “Forgive me a second time. But if I ask you about anything after this time, then leave me, for you would have reached the limit, for which you can be excused for leaving my company, as I would have opposed your command three times”.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

77. They then walked until they came to the people of a village from whom they asked for food, but the people of the village refused to feed them and fulfil the right of hospitality towards them. Then they found a wall in the village which was tilting, and about to fall and break. So Khidr fixed it until it was straight, so Moses (peace be upon him) said to Khidr: “If you wanted to take a wage for fixing it, you could have, as we need it after they have refused to host us”.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

(read ladunni or laduni), on my part, [sufficient enough] excuse’, for you to part company with me. [18:77] So they setoff, until, when they came to the folk of a [certain] town, namely, Antioch ( Antakya ), they asked its folk for food, they asked them for food by way of hospitality, but they refused to extend them any hospitality. They then found in it a wall, one hundred cubits high, about to collapse, that is, it was close to falling down because of its tilt; so he, al-Khidr, Straightened it, with his [own] hands.…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

78. Khidr said to Moses: “This objection to my not taking a wage for erecting the wall is the point of separation between me and you. I shall inform you of the explanation of what you saw me doing but which you were unable to bear.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

t’, some [sort of] payment, since they did not extend us any hospitality deSpite our need for food. [18:78] Said he, al-Khidr, to him, ‘This is the parting, that is, the moment for parting, between me and you (bayni wa-baynika, here [the preposition] bayna has been annexed to a non-multiple [noun], but this is allowed [grammatically] because it is then repeated with [its other noun together with] the coor¬ dinating wdw ).' 7 1 will inform you, before I part company with you, the interpretation of that over which you were not able to maintain patience.

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

79. As for the ship which you criticised me for breaking, it belonged to some weak people who worked on the sea and who were unable to protect it. So I wanted to make it defective by what I did to it, so that it would not be taken by a king who was ahead of them and who would forcefully take possession of every good ship from its owners but leave every defective ship.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

art company with you, the interpretation of that over which you were not able to maintain patience. [18:79] As for the ship, it belonged to poor people, ten [in number], who earned a living on the sea, with it, leasing it [to others], as a way of gaining [a living]; and I wanted to make it defective, for behind them, whenever they returned — or [meaning] before them now — was a king, a disbeliever, seizing every ship, that was usable, by force ( ghasban, is in the accusative as a verbal noun containing an explanation of the nature of such ‘seizure’).

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

80. As for the boy you criticised me for killing, his parents were believers but he was an unbeliever according to Allah’s knowledge. So I feared that if he grew up, he would cause them to disbelieve in Allah out of their intense love for him or their intense need towards him.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

, is in the accusative as a verbal noun containing an explanation of the nature of such ‘seizure’). [18:80] And as for the boy, his parents were believers and We feared leSl he should overwhelm them with insolence and disbelief — for he is as [described] by the hadith of Muslim, ‘He was [incorrigibly] disposed to disbelief, and had he lived [longer] this [disposition of his] would have oppressed them, be¬ cause of their love for him, they would have followed him in such [a path of disbelief]’. 16 Literally, hinth is ‘sin’, in other words the age at which a persons deeds begin to be record…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

81. So I wanted Allah to replace them with a child better than him in religion, piety and purity from sins, and more merciful to his parents.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

case of two proper nouns, for example bayna’I-shajarati wa’l-haif, ‘between the tree and the wall’. [18:81] So We desired that their Lord should give them in exchange (read yubaddilahuma or yubdilahuma) one better than him in purity, that is, in righteousness and God-fearing, and closer, than him, to mercy (read ruhman or ruhuman, in other words [it is to be understood as] rahmatan, ‘by way of mercy’) namely, [closer to] dutifulness towards his parents.…

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82. As for the wall which I fixed but you criticised me for fixing, it belonged to two young boys in the town we went to and whose father had passed away. Beneath the wall some wealth of theirs was buried. And the father of these two boys was pious. So your Lord intended, O Moses, that they reach the age of discerning and grow up, and take out their wealth which was buried underneath it, because if the wall were to fall now, their wealth would become exposed and go to waste. And this plan was your Lord’s mercy on them. And I did not do this of my own judgment.…

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

erwards] married a prophet and gave birth to a prophet through whom God guided an entire community. [18:82] And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys [who lived] in the city, and beneath it there was a treasure, a buried trove of gold and silver, belonging to them. Their father had been a righteous man, and so because of his righteousness they were protected both in [terms of] their souls and their possessions, and your Lord desired that they should come of age, that is, [He desired for them] the at¬ tainment of maturity, and ex trail their treasure as a mercy from your Lord (ra…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

83. And the idolaters and Jews ask you to test you, O Messenger, regarding the one who had two horns (Dhu’l-Qarnayn). Say: I shall tell you some of his story which you can take lessons from and be reminded by.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

e use of fa-aradtu, ‘I desired’, fa-aradna, ‘We desired’, and fa-arada rabbuk, ‘Your Lord desired’). [18:83] And they, the Jews, question you concerning DhuT-Qarnayn, whose name was Alexander; he was not a prophet. Say: ‘I shall recite, relate, to you a mention, an account, of him’, of his affair. [18:84] Indeed We empowered him throughout the land, by facilitating [for him] the journeying therein, and We gave him to everything, of which one might have need, a way, a route to lead him to that which he sought. [18:85] And he followed a way, he took a route towards the weSt,

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84. I gave him position on earth and granted him of everything which is of relevance to his goals, a path by which he can reach his objective.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

85. So he took the means and paths leading to his objective that I had granted him, and then headed West.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

lead him to that which he sought. [18:85] And he followed a way, he took a route towards the weSt, [18:86] until, when he reached the setting of the sun, the place where it sets, he found it setting in a muddy spring (‘ayn hami’a: [a Spring] containing ham’a, which is black clay): its setting in a Spring is [described as seen] from the perspective of the eye, for otherwise it is far larger [in size] than this world; and he found by it, that is, [by] the Spring, a folk, of disbelievers.…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

86. And he travelled on earth until he reached the end of the land towards the setting place of the sun, seeing it as though it was setting in a hot spring of black clay. And he found an unbelieving people by the setting place of the sun. So I said to him, to test him: “O Dhu’l-Qarnayn, you can either punish these people by killing them or through other means, or you can be good to them”.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

87. Dhu’l-Qarnayn said: “As for the one who associates partners with Allah and persists in this, I shall punish him by killing him in this life, then he will return to his Lord on the Day of Judgment and He shall then punish him with a terrible punishment.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ther chastise, the folk, by slaying [them], or treat them kindly’, by [merely] taking them captive. [18:87] He said, As for him who does wrong, by way of [practising] idolatry, we shall chastise him. We shall slay him. Then he shall be returned to his Lord and He shall chadise him with an awful chastise¬ ment (read nukran or nukuran ), that is, a severe [one], in the Fire.

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

88. And as for the one who believes in Allah and does good deeds, for him is paradise, as a reward from your Lord for his faith and good deeds. And I shall say to him of my command that which contains ease and lenience”.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

e him with an awful chastise¬ ment (read nukran or nukuran ), that is, a severe [one], in the Fire. [18:88] But as for him who believes and ads righteously, he shall have the faired reward, namely, Para¬ dise (the annexation construction [jazau l-husnd, ‘the faireSt reward’] is explicative; a variant reading has jazaan al-husnd, ‘[he shall have] as a requital that which is faireSt’; al-Farra’ said that this accusative [reading of jaza an] is [intended] as an explanation [of the nature of the requital] by way of attribution [to ‘that which is faireSt’]; and we shall Speak to him mildly in…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

89. Then he took a path different to his first route, heading towards the direction of the sunrise.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ommand him with what he will find easy [to bear]. [18:89] Then he followed a way, towards the eaSt, [18:90] until, when he reached the rising of the sun, the place where it rises, he found it rising on a folk, namely, Negroes ( zanj),for whom We had not provided againd it, that is, [againSt] the sun, any [form of] cover, in the way of clothing or roofing, as their land could not support any Structures; they had un¬ derground tunnels into which they would disappear at the rising of the sun and out of which they would emerge when it was at its highest point [in the sky]. [18:91] So [it was…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

90. And he travelled until when he reached the place where the sun rises, he found it rising on a people I had not given any houses or the shade of trees to protect them from the sun.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

91. This is the matter of Dhu’l-Qarnayn, and My knowledge has encompassed the power and strength he had.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

92. Then he followed a path different to the first two, spreading between the East and West.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

93. And he travelled until he reached a gap between two mountains, and he found before them a people who could barely understand the speech of others.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

im, that is, what Dhu’l-Qarnayn possessed in the way of machinery, men and otherwise, in knowledge. [18:93] until, when he reached between the two barriers (read al-saddayn or al-suddayn here and [like¬ wise] further below [at verse 94, saddan or suddan ]) — [these were] two mountains [lying] in the remote regions beyond the land of the Turks; Alexander sealed the breach between the two, as will be described [below] — he found on this side of them, that is, in front of them, a folk that cotdd scarcely compre¬ hend speech, in other words, they could only understand it after much agonising…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

94. They said: “O Dhu’l-Qarnayn, Gog and Magog (meaning two great nations from the children of Adam) are causing corruption on earth by killing and so forth, so can we give you some wealth so you can make a barrier between us and them?”

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

much agonising (a variant reading [for yafqahuna, ‘comprehend’] has yufqihuna, ‘be understood’). 18 [18:94] They said, ‘O Dhu’l-Qarnayn, truly Gog and Magog (read Ya’juj wa-Ma’juj or Yajuj wa-Mdjiij: these two are non-Arabic names of two tribes and are therefore indeclinable) are causing corruption in the land, plundering and oppressing [us] when they come forth to attack us.…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

95. Dhu’l-Qarnayn said: “The kingdom and strength my Lord has given me is better than any wealth you can give me, so support me with men and tools. I shall make a barrier between you and them.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

ou build between us and them a barrier?, an obstruction, so that they will not be able to reach us. [18:95] He said, ‘That, wealth and so on, wherewith my Lord has empowered me ( makkanni, a variant reading has makkanam) is better, than the tribute that you offer me, and so I have no need for it. I shall build for you the barrier without [demanding] a fee; so help me with strength, in that which I [will] de¬ mand from you, and I will build between you and them a rampart, a fortified barricade.

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

96. Bring pieces of iron”. They brought them to him, so he began building with them between the two mountains, until when he had made them level with his building, he said to the workers: “Light these pieces”, until when the iron pieces turned red, he said: “Bring copper to pour on top of it”.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

I [will] de¬ mand from you, and I will build between you and them a rampart, a fortified barricade. [18:96] Bring me ingots of iron!’, namely, pieces thereof, as large as the [blocks of] Stone to be used in the construction; he used these [ingots] in his construction, placing between them firewood and coal.…

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Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

97. So Gog and Magog were unable to climb over it due to its height nor were they able to make a hole in it from beneath due to its hardness.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

the hot iron so that it penetrated between the [individual] ingots, making a [solid] single whole. [18:97] And so they, Gog and Magog, were not able to scale it, to climb up its length, because of its [great] height and smoothness, nor could they pierce it, because of its firmness and thickness. [18:98] Said he, Dhu’l-Qarnayn, ‘This, namely, the barrier, the ability to make it, is a mercy from my Lord, a grace [from Him], because it prevents them from coming forth.…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

98. Dhu’l-Qarnayn said: “This barrier is a mercy from my Lord. It will come between Gog and Magog and causing corruption on earth, and it will stop them from it. Then when the time which Allah has appointed for their release comes before the Final Hour, He will level it to the ground. And the promise of Allah to level it to the ground and to release Gog and Magog is established and will not be broken”.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

99. And I shall leave Gog and Magog to crowd and mix with one another on the day the barrier breaks, due to their large numbers. And the Trumpet will be blown a second time, then I shall bring them all back to life. I shall gather their bones and meat which had scattered, then I shall bring them to the gathering place.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

f their coming forth and [of] other things, is [always] true’, it will be. God, exalted be He says: [18:99] And on that day, the day of their coming forth, We shall let some of them surge againft others, mixing with one another, on account of their multitude, and the Trumpet, namely, the Horn signalling the Resurrection, shall be blown and We shall gather them, namely, creatures, in one place, on the Day of Resurrection, a [single] gathering. [ 18:100] And on that day We shall present. We shall bring close. Hell to the disbelievers, plain to view,

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

100. And I shall present Hellfire to the unbelievers without any confusion, so they can see it clearly.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

101. I shall present it to the disbelievers who were blind to the remembrance of Allah in the world, due to the veil which barred them from it, and they were unable to listen to and accept the verses of Allah.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

00] And on that day We shall present. We shall bring close. Hell to the disbelievers, plain to view, [18:101] those [disbelievers] whose eyes (alladhina kanat ayunuhum substitutes for al-kafirina, ‘the dis¬ believers’) were masked from My remembrance, namely, the Qur’an, such that they were blind, unable to be guided thereby, and who could not [bear to] hear, that is to say, they were unable to listen to what the Prophet used to recite to them, out of SJiite for him, and so they did not believe therein. 18 In other words, their Speech could scarcely be understood.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

102. So did those who disbelieved in Allah think to make My servants among the angels, messengers and satans, gods besides me? I have prepared Hellfire as a residing place for the disbelievers.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

103. Say - O Messenger: Shall we tell you, O people, which people are the biggest losers in their actions?

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

hospitality, in other words, it has been prepared for them jud as a house is prepared for a gues't. [18:103] Say: ‘Shall We inform you who will be the greatest losers in [regard to] their works? ( al- akhsarina a’malan, a Specification that happens to correspond to that which is Specifically meant); 19 and these [losers] are described in His words [as being]: [18:104] Those whose effort goes aStray in the life of this world, [those] whose deeds are invalid, while they reckon, they think, that they are doing good work, [good] deeds for which they will be rewarded.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

104. Those who will see on the Day of Judgment that the effort they used to make in the world has gone to waste, whilst they thought they were doing well in their effort and that they will benefit from their actions. The reality was the exact opposite.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

105. They are those who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord that prove His oneness and disbelieved in meeting Him, hence their actions became void due to their denial, and so they will not have any value with Allah on the Day of Judgment.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

hey reckon, they think, that they are doing good work, [good] deeds for which they will be rewarded. [18:105] Those are they who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord, in the proofs of His Oneness, [proofs] such as the Qur’an and otherwise, and the encounter with Him’, that is, and [who disbelieve] in resurrec¬ tion, reckoning, reward and punishment. So their works have failed, they are invalid, and on the Day of Resurrection We shall not assign any weight to them, in other words, We shall not accord them any value.

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

106. That recompense which is prepared for them is Hellfire, due to their denying Allah and making His revealed verses and His messengers a mockery.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

rrection We shall not assign any weight to them, in other words, We shall not accord them any value. [18:106] That, namely, the matter which I [God] have mentioned concerning the failure of their deeds and so on ( dhalika, ‘that’, constitutes the subject) is their requital — Hell — because they disbelieved and took My signs and My messengers in mockery, that is to say, [taking] both of them as something to be derided. [18:107] Truly those who believe and perform righteous deeds — theirs will be, according to God’s prescience, the gardens ofFirdaws, which are at the centre of Paradise 20 a…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

107. Those who have faith in Allah and do good actions will have the highest of gardens, as a place to honour them.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

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Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

108. Staying therein forever, they will not want to move from there, as no reward can come close to it.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

n thereto [of firdaws to jannat, gardens’] is explicative) as [a place of] hospitality, as an abode; [18:108] wherein they will abide, with no desire, demand, to be removed from them, to be transferred to some other [gardens].

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

109. Say - O Messenger: the words of my Lord are many. If the ocean were to be ink to write them with, the ocean water would finish before His words come to an end, and if I were to bring more oceans they would also finish.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

abide, with no desire, demand, to be removed from them, to be transferred to some other [gardens]. [18:109] Say: ‘If the sea, in other words, [if] its waters, were ink ( midad is what one writes with) for the Words of my Lord, [Words] that testify to His laws and His marvels, such that these [Words] are written with it, the sea would be Spent, in recording them, before the Words of my Lord were Spent (read as tan- fada or yanfada) even though We brought the like of it, namely, [the like of] the sea, as replenishment’, in order to add it to the other [sea], it would [also] be ^penfi while…

Al-Mukhtasar

Tafsīr Center for Qur'anic Studies · Contemporary

110. Say - O Messenger: I am only a human like you, to whom it is revealed that your true god is One God who has no partner, namely Allah. Whoever fears meeting his Lord should do actions which conform with the sacred law, being sincere to his Lord in them, and should not associate any partner to his Lord in worship.

Tafsir al-Jalalayn

al-Maḥallī & al-Suyūṭī · 864–911 AH / 1459–1505 CE

d not be exhausted ( madadan, ‘as replenishment’, in the accusative because it is a specification). [18:110] Say: ‘I am only a human being, a son of Adam, like you; it has been revealed to me that your God is only One God ( annama, the anna assimilated with the ma retains [its function of referring to] the verbal noun), in other words, the Oneness of the Divine is [what is being] revealed to me.…