Read the Quran Chapter 18 English

CHAPTER 18
The Cave (Al-Kahf)

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
  1. Praise be to God who has sent down to His servant—the Book, which is free from any ambiguity
  2. and which rightly directs, to give warning of stern punishment from Him, and to proclaim to the believers who do righteous deeds that they shall have an excellent recompense,
  3. wherein they will remain [in a state of bliss] forever.
  4. And to warn those who say, ‘God has taken to Himself a son.’
  5. They have no knowledge of this, nor did their forefathers have any either. What they say is monstrous: they are merely uttering falsehoods!
    6.  
  6. Perhaps you may destroy yourself with grief if they do not believe in this message.
  7. We have adorned the earth with attractive things, so that We may test mankind as to which one is best in conduct,
  8. but We shall reduce all this to barren waste.
    9.  
  9. Do you think that the Men of the Cave and the Inscription were one of Our wondrous signs?
  10. When the young men sought refuge in the cave, they said, ‘Our Lord, grant us Your special mercy and give us right guidance in our affair.’
  11. Then We caused them to fall into a deep sleep for many years inside the cave.
  12. Then We woke them up again so that We might see which of the two groups would better calculate the time they had stayed there.
    13.  
  13. We shall tell you their story as it really was. They were young men who believed in their Lord, and on whom We bestowed further guidance.
  14. We strengthened their hearts, when they rose up and declared, ‘Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Never shall we call upon any deity other than Him: for that would be an outrageous thing to do.
  15. These people of ours have taken deities other than Him. Why do they not produce clear evidence about them? Who is more wicked than the man who invents a falsehood against God?
    16.  
  16. ‘Now that you have withdrawn from them and from all that they worship instead of God, take refuge in that cave; your Lord will extend His mercy to you and will make fitting provision for you in your situation.’
    17.  
  17. The sun could be observed to incline away from their cave on the right, as it rose, and to turn away from them on the left, when it set, while they lay in the wide space inside the cave. This is one of the signs of God. He whom God guides is rightly guided; but for him whom He lets go astray, you will find no helper or guide.
    18.  
  18. You would have thought they were awake, though they lay asleep. We turned them over, to the right and the left, while their dog lay at the cave’s entrance with legs outstretched. Had you looked down and seen them, you would have surely turned your back and fled in terror.
    19.  
  19. In the course of time, We raised them up again so that they might question one another. One of them asked, ‘How long have you stayed [here]?’ They said, ‘We have stayed a day, or part of a day.’ But others said, ‘Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed here. Let one of you go then with these silver coins to the town, and let him find out what food is purest there, and bring you back a supply of it. Let him conduct himself with caution and not disclose your whereabouts to anyone:
  20. for if they find you out, they will stone you to death, or force you back into their faith. In that case you would never prosper.’
    21.  
  21. Thus We disclosed things to them so that they might know that God’s promise was true and there was no doubt about the Hour [Judgement Day]. The people argued about them among themselves. They said, ‘Build a monument over them. Their Lord knows best concerning them.’ Those who prevailed in their affair said, ‘Let us surely build a place of worship over them.’
    22.  
  22. Some will say, ‘They were three, the fourth was their dog,’ and others will say, ‘They were five, the sixth was their dog,’ guessing at random. And yet others say, ‘They were seven, the eighth was their dog.’ Say, ‘My Lord knows best their number.’ Only a few know anything about them. Therefore, do not enter into controversies over them, nor seek information about them from any of them;
  23. never say of anything, ‘I shall certainly do this tomorrow,’
  24. without [adding], “if God so wills.” Remember your Lord whenever you might forget and say, ‘I trust my Lord will guide me to that which is even nearer to the right path than this.’
    25.  
  25. [Some say], ‘They stayed in their cave three hundred years,’ and to that some have added another nine years.
  26. Say, ‘God knows best how long they stayed in it.’ Only God has knowledge of the unseen in the heavens and on the earth. How well He sees and how well He hears! Man has no other guardian besides Him. He allows none to share His sovereignty.
    27.  
  27. Proclaim what has been revealed to you from your Lord’s Book. None can change His words. You shall find no refuge besides Him.
  28. Keep yourself attached to those who call on their Lord, morning and evening, seeking His pleasure; and do not let your eyes turn away from them, desiring the attraction of worldly life; and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, one who pursues his own whims and becomes dissolute.
    29.  
  29. Say, ‘This is the truth from your Lord. Let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it.’ For the wrongdoers We have prepared a Fire which will cover them like a canopy, and if they beg for water, they will be given water as hot as molten lead, which will scald their faces: how dreadful a drink, and how evil a resting place!
    30.  
  30. As for those who believe and do good deeds—We do not let the reward of anyone who does a good deed go to waste—
  31. they shall dwell in the Gardens of eternity where rivers flow at their feet. Reclining upon raised couches, they will be adorned with bracelets of gold, and will wear green robes of fine silk and heavy brocade. An excellent reward and an excellent resting place!
    32.  
  32. Recite to them the parable of two men! One of them We provided with two vineyards which We surrounded with date-palms, and placed a field of grain in between;
  33. each garden produced its fruit and did not fail to yield its best; We even caused a river to gush forth in the midst of them,
  34. and so he had fruit in abundance. While conversing with his companion, he said, ‘I am wealthier than you are, and have a bigger following!’
  35. Having thus harmed his own soul, he entered his garden saying, ‘I do not think this will ever perish,
  36. and I do not believe that the Hour will ever come. Even if I am returned to my Lord, I shall surely find a better place than this.’
    37.  
  37. His companion replied, in the course of their discussion, ‘Do you deny Him who created you from dust, from a small drop of fluid, then formed you into a man?
  38. But as far as I am concerned, God alone is my Lord and I set up no partners with Him.
  39. When you entered your garden, why did you not say, “That which God wills [will surely come to pass], there is no power save with God?” Although you see I have less wealth and offspring than you,
  40. my Lord may well give me a garden better than yours and send down thunderbolts from heaven upon your vineyard, turning it into a barren waste;
  41. or its water may sink into the earth, so that you will never be able to find it again!’
    42.  
  42. So it was, and all his fruit was destroyed. The vines had all fallen down on their trellises, and their owner wrung his hands, bewailing all that he had spent on his garden. He said, ‘Would that I had not associated anyone with my Lord!’
  43. He had no party to help him against God, nor was he able to defend himself.
  44. The only support is from God, the True God. He is the best in rewarding and the best in respect of the final outcome.
    45.  
  45. Give them an example about worldly life. It is like the vegetation of the earth that thrives when watered by the rain, which We send down from the sky, and then it all becomes stubble which the wind blows away. God has power over all things.
  46. Wealth and children are an ornament of the life of this world. But deeds of lasting merit are better rewarded by your Lord and a far better source of hope.
    47.  
  47. The Day We shall make the mountains move and you will see the earth laid bare, and We shall gather all mankind together and shall not leave any one of them behind.
  48. They will be ranged before your Lord, standing in rows and He will say to them, ‘Now you have come to Us as We created you at first. But you supposed that We would not appoint the time for the fulfillment of Our promise to you.’
    49.  
  49. The Book [of deeds] will be placed before them and you will see the guilty apprehensive about its contents. They will say, ‘Woe to us! What a record this is! It does not leave any deed, small or large, unaccounted for!’ They will find everything they ever did laid in front of them: your Lord will not be unjust to anyone.
    50.  
  50. When We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ all prostrated themselves except Satan. He was one of the jinn and he disobeyed his Lord’s command. Do you then take him and his offspring as protectors instead of Me, despite their enmity towards you? This is an evil exchange for the wrongdoers!
    51.  
  51. I did not call them to witness at the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor at their own creation; I do not take as My helpers those who lead others astray.
    52.  
  52. On that Day He will say to them, ‘Call on those whom you thought to be My partners.’ And they will call on them, but their prayer will not be heard; and We shall place a barrier [of enmity] between them.
  53. The guilty shall see the Fire and realize that they are going to fall into it: they shall find no way of escape from it.
    54.  
  54. We have explained in various ways in this Quran, for the benefit of mankind, all kinds of examples, but man is most contentious.
  55. Nothing prevents people from believing when they are given guidance or from asking forgiveness of their Lord, but the fact that the fate of the previous peoples should befall them or to have the punishment come upon them face to face.
    56.  
  56. We only send the messengers to bring good news and to give warning. Those who deny use fallacious arguments to nullify the truth, treating My revelations and My warnings as a jest.
  57. Who is more wicked than he who has been reminded of the revelations of his Lord, then turns away from them and forgets what his own hands have done? We have cast veils over their hearts lest they understand Our words, and made them hard of hearing. Call them as you may to the right path, they shall never be guided.
    58.  
  58. Your Lord is the Forgiving One, the possessor of mercy. If He had to take them to task for the wrongs they have done, He would have hastened their punishment. They have an appointed time beyond which there will be no escape for them.
  59. We destroyed these communities when they went on doing wrong, and We appointed a time for their destruction.
    60.  
  60. Recall how Moses said to his servant, ‘I shall not give up until I reach the place where both seas meet, even if it takes me years!’
  61. But when at last they came to the land where the two seas met, they forgot their fish and it swiftly made its way into the sea.
  62. After they had passed the place, Moses said to his young companion, ‘Bring us our morning meal; we have indeed been fatigued by this journey.’
    63.  
  63. He replied, ‘Did you see when we were resting by the rock, that I forgot the fish? Satan made me forget it, so I did not mention it. It made its way to the sea in a miraculous way!’
  64. Moses said, ‘That is just what we were looking for.’ So they went back the way they had come,
  65. and they found one of Our servants to whom We had granted Our mercy and had given a knowledge from Ourself.
    66.  
  66. Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you, so that you may guide me by what you have been taught?’
  67. He replied, ‘You will not be able to bear with me patiently.
  68. How could you be patient in matters beyond your knowledge?’
  69. Moses said, ‘God willing, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you in any thing.’
  70. He said, ‘Well then, if you would follow me, do not ask me about anything till I speak of it to you.’
    71.  
  71. So they set out, but, when they got into a boat, the man made a hole in it. Moses exclaimed, ‘Have you made a hole in the boat to drown the people in it? You have indeed done a dreadful thing!’
  72. He replied, ‘Did I not tell you that you would never be able to bear with me patiently?’
  73. He said, ‘Do not take me to task for what I have forgotten, and do not be hard on me on account of what I have done!’
  74. So they travelled on. Then they met a young boy and the man killed him. Moses said, ‘Have you slain an innocent person without his having slain anyone? Indeed, you have done a terrible thing!’
    75.  
  75. The man said, ‘Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have any patience with me?’
  76. Moses replied, ‘If I ever ask you about anything after this, do not let me accompany you. I will have given you sufficient excuse.’
  77. So they went on until they came to a town. They asked its people for food, but were refused hospitality. They found a wall in the town which was about to fall down. His companion buttressed it and Moses said, ‘Had you wished, you could have demanded payment for your labours.’
  78. He answered, ‘This is where you and I must part company. But first I will tell you the meaning of the things you could not bear with patiently.
    79.  
  79. ‘The boat belonged to some poor people who made their living from the sea. I wanted to damage it because there was a king coming behind them who was seizing every boat by force.
    80.  
  80. As for the youth, his parents were believers and we feared that he would trouble them by rebellion and denial of truth.
  81. We wanted their Lord to replace him with someone purer than him and more compassionate.
    82.  
  82. ‘The wall belonged to two young orphans in the town whose father had been a righteous man, and a treasure of theirs lay underneath it. So your Lord wanted them to come of age and then to dig up their treasure as a mercy from Him. I did not do [it] of my own accord. That is the explanation of the things about which you were not able to restrain yourself.’
    83.  
  83. They will ask you about Dhu’l-Qarnayn. Say, ‘I will give you an account of him.’
  84. We established him in the land, and gave him the means to achieve all things.
    85.  
  85. He travelled on a certain road;
  86. until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a spring of murky water and near it he found some people. We said, ‘Dhu’l-Qarnayn! You can either punish them or else you can treat them with gentleness.’
  87. He said, ‘We shall certainly punish him who does wrong; then he shall be brought back to his Lord who will punish him with a grievous punishment,
  88. but whoever believes and does good works shall have a good reward and We shall facilitate his matter by Our command.’
    89.  
  89. Then he followed yet another path,
  90. until he came to the rising-place of the sun, where he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.
  91. Thus indeed it was. We had full knowledge of him.
    92.  
  92. Then he followed still another path,
  93. until he came between two mountains. He found beside them a people who could scarcely understand a word [of his language].
  94. They said, ‘O Dhu’l-Qarnayn! Gog and Magog are causing corruption in the land, so may we pay you tribute on condition that you set a barrier between us and them?’
    95.  
  95. He said, ‘What My Lord has given me is better [than any tribute]. Help me with a force of labourers and I will erect a barrier between you and them:
  96. bring me blocks of iron.’ Then, when he had filled the gap between the mountain sides [he said], ‘Now blow on the fire with your bellows.’ When the iron blocks were red with heat, he said, ‘Bring me molten brass to pour on them.’
  97. So they [Gog and Magog] were not able to scale it, nor were they able to bore through it,
  98. and he said, ‘This is a mercy from my Lord. But when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will level it to dust. My Lord’s promise is ever true!’
    99.  
  99. On that Day, We shall let them surge against each other like waves and then the Trumpet will be blown and We shall gather them all together.
  100. On that Day We shall lay Hell bare before those who deny the truth,
  101. who have turned a blind eye to My reminder and a deaf ear to My warning.
    102.  
  102. Do those who deny the truth, think that they can make My servants patrons instead of Me? We have reserved Hell as a lodging for those who deny the truth.
    103.  
  103. Say, ‘Shall I tell you of those who will lose the most through their actions?
  104. They are those whose efforts have been wasted in the life of the world while they thought they were doing good.
  105. They are those who deny their Lord’s signs and the meeting with Him.’ So their works are in vain, and We shall give them no weight on the Day of Resurrection.
  106. Hell will be their reward, because they denied the truth, and made a jest of My signs and My messengers.
    107.  
  107. Those who believe and do good works shall have the gardens of Paradise for their abode.
  108. They shall forever dwell in the Gardens of Paradise, desiring no change.
    109.  
  109. Tell them, ‘If the ocean became ink for writing the words of my Lord, surely the ocean would be exhausted before the words of my Lord came to an end—even if We were to add another ocean to it.’
    110.  
  110. Say, ‘I am only a human being like yourselves. It is revealed to me that your God is One God. So let him who hopes to meet his Lord do good deeds and let him associate no one else in the worship of his Lord.’

18:1-5
The Quran is the corrected edition of previous divine scriptures. In the case of previous scriptures, successive generations made the divine teachings complicated by indulging in hair-splitting. Furthermore, the original teachings were subjected to distortion by means of interpolation, and in this way the very direction of these teachings was deflected. The Quran is free of both these types of human interference. On the one hand, it contains religion in its natural, pure and simple form, and on the other, its direction is unwaveringly towards God, as in fact it should be. Why is it that God has arranged for the revelation of scriptures to the people of the world? The purpose of this is to acquaint them with His divine scheme. God has created man in this world for the purpose of trial. Thereafter, He will take a reckoning of everybody, and according to his deeds, will send him to hell or settle him in the eternal gardens of heaven. God wants everybody to be aware of this before death, so that nobody should have any excuse for wrongdoing. One cause of man’s going astray in this world is his taking someone other than God as his supporter. This deviance is at its worst when someone is believed to be the son of God. All such beliefs are false, because there is nobody on earth or in heaven who wields any power or authority except God.

18:6-8
‘Perhaps you may destroy yourself’—this statement shows what condition a preacher of truth is driven into by the intensity of his feelings, if he is serious and sincere in his mission. The call of truth which is very clear in reasoning, and which is made by one whose sincerity has reached such a pitch as to spark off serious discussion among the people. If, in spite of this, people do not accept it, then what is the reason for their rejection? The reason is the enticements of this world. The present world is so attractive that a man finds it difficult to rise above it. Therefore, he cannot grasp the importance of the call for truth, which seeks to wrest his attention from the glamour of this world and divert it towards a world whose glamour is not immediately visible. But, the attractions of this world are purely temporary. They exist till the period fixed for man’s trial is over. Thereafter, the glamour of the earth will be taken away, so much so that it will be reduced to the condition of a barren desert.
18:9
The incident of the Men of the Cave shows symbolically the stages through which true believers have to pass in their lives and the hurdles which they have to surmount. We learn from this incident that true believers sometimes, by force of circumstances, are compelled to take refuge in a ‘cave’. But, from this cave which, to all appearances, was a grave for them, emerged a flood of life and vitality. Where their opponents had planned to end the lives of these young men, a new history began for them from that very same place. If the Men of the Cave are the same individuals known as the Seven Sleepers in Christian history, the story relates to the city of Ephesus. This once famous city, dating back to ancient times, was situated on the west coast of Turkey, where its majestic ruins can still be seen today. During the period 249 to 251 A.D., this area was under the rule of a Roman ruler, Desius. Polytheism was prevalent here and the moon was treated as a god and worshipped. During this period, the message of the Unity of God (monotheism) reached this area through the early followers of Jesus Christ and started spreading. The Roman ruler of this place, who was a pagan, could not tolerate the spread of this monotheistic religion and started persecuting the followers of Jesus Christ. The aforesaid ‘Men of the Cave’ were seven young men from noble families of Ephesus, who embraced the monotheistic religion probably in the year 250 A.D. and who became preachers of that religion. When they were harassed by the authorities, they fled the city and took refuge in a big cave on the side of a nearby mountain.

18:10-15
‘Why do they not produce clear evidence?’ This question indicates that after embracing the new faith, there were prolonged discussions between these young men and the leaders of their community. But the statements made by these leaders in the course of discussions did not contain any convincing arguments in favour of polytheism (shirk). Therefore, they (the Men of the Cave) found it impossible to give up a faith whose merits stood proved for the sake of a belief which had no such advantage. On being opposed as above, had they given importance to the ‘greatness’ of the leaders of their community, they would have fallen a prey to hesitancy and doubt. But, when they gave more weight to sound reasoning and convincing arguments, it enhanced their faith. For, in respect of reasoning and arguments, these ‘great men’ appeared small to them. In spite of their outward greatness, they were found to be standing on false grounds and not on the grounds of truth.
18:16
When a man, on account of his devotion to truth, becomes isolated from his fellow-beings, he comes closer to God. He comes so close to his Lord that he can converse with God. He talks with his Lord and receives a response from Him. The new faith of the ‘Men of the Cave,’ their fearless preaching, their willingness to forego everything rather than to forego the right path, had all bestowed upon them the high status of nearness to God. Whatever they had apparently lost was nothing compared to what they had gained. It was this sense of achievement which enabled them to tolerate the loss of all else but the truth. They reconciled themselves to the position that they were living in a cave, renouncing the comforts of their homes and their town, while still entertaining the hope that God would help them and ameliorate their condition. Ibn Jarir has quoted ‘Ata as saying that they were seven in number. While in the cave, they used to pray to God, used to cry and seek His help. (Tafsir ibn Kathir). Finally God made them fall into a long deep slumber.
18:17
In the days when the Men of the Cave were propagating their faith, the struggle between them and their countrymen increased. During this period, probably in anticipation of the possible danger, they had selected a particular cave, which was spacious enough to accommodate seven men. Moreover, it seemed to have been north-south oriented so that the sun’s rays never entered it either in the morning or in the afternoon, with the result that no passer-by could detect that some human beings were living in it. If a man remains uncompromising in matters of truth and righteousness, even in the most difficult circumstances, and he turns to God with patience and gratitude, then God guides him and leads him along a path where his faith will remain secure and where, at the same time, his missionary efforts will not be adversely affected. This kind of divine help was fully available to the Men of the Cave in view of their special circumstances. Furthermore, God had chosen them for His special plan. The spiritual heights that they had attained had entitled them, in the eyes of God, to be seen as tangible evidence of life after death. The Men of the Cave sleeping for such a long period of time, and their awakening at the end of this period serves as a proof of life after death.
18:18
God had arranged a long period of unbroken sleep for the Men of the Cave and had taken different measures for their safety. For example, they used to turn on their sides regularly, as otherwise, in the words of Ibn ‘Abbas, the earth would have eaten up their bodies, as happens with dead bodies. At the mouth of the cave, a dog was constantly keeping watch. This was perhaps to prevent the entry of any man or animal. In addition to this, the atmosphere inside was made so terrifying by God that, if an intruder had tried to peep in, he would have become terrified at the very first glimpse and would have run away.

18:19-20
When the Men of the Cave woke up from their sleep, they naturally started discussing the duration of their sleep. But, time had stopped for them by God’s order and as such the period which was spread over centuries for others appeared to be just one day for the Men of the Cave. After getting up they felt hungry. Still having some silver coins in their possession, they sent one of their number out with a coin. They insisted on his searching for clean food thinking that perhaps ‘halal’ food would be available in the Christian localities of the city. Moreover, they advised the concerned person to handle the matter cautiously and wisely, because, on the basis of past experience, they were afraid that if their opponents came to know of their existence, they would try to persuade them to return to polytheism and, on their refusal, they would kill them.
18:21
The span of a man’s life in this world is hardly a hundred years or even much less than that. After he dies, to all appearances it seems that he is finished once and for all, but the fact is that he exists even after death and rises again in a new world where he receives perpetual comfort or perpetual punishment. This is a very serious human problem and has always been the subject of discussion. In view of its importance, God arranged for tangible evidence in addition to logical arguments so that there should be no scope for doubt about ‘life after death’. Such tangible evidence has been presented in different forms in different periods. In the fifth century A.D., the emergence of ‘the Men of the Cave’ from the cave after ‘death’ is an extraordinary incident of this kind. In the present age, the researches of meta-science have uncovered instances of a similar nature which establish the veracity of the theory of life after death. When the Men of the Cave emerged from their cave, the condition of their city had completely changed. It has been estimated that it was in the year 250 A.D. that they left their city of Ephesus and went into hiding in the cave. At that time a pagan ruler Desius was ruling in that area. In the meantime, due to the efforts of the Christian missionaries, the Roman King, Constantine, embraced Christianity, and thereafter, Christianity spread over the entire Roman domain. The Men of the Cave returned to their city in the year 447 A.D., at which time Christianity had become the dominant religion in their city. When the seven young men came out of the cave and it was confirmed by means of slabs kept in the Royal Treasury and by other means, that these were the very individuals who had had to leave their city on account of their Christian beliefs, paganism being prevalent there, they immediately became the centre of the people’s devotion. The new Roman Ruler, Theodosus, himself went on foot to see them and seek their blessings. When they died, a place of worship was built at their cave as a memorial.
18:22
Some of the citizens indulged in unnecessary arguments about the Men of the Cave. Some people said that they were three in number and the fourth was their dog. Some said that they were five and their dog was the sixth, while some maintained that they were seven and the dog was the eighth. But such discussions indicate an unsound approach. When the spirit of religion is alive, the entire emphasis is laid on the essence of the matter. When a nation or community is on the decline, the real spirit is neglected while outward formalities become the subject of heated discussions. A true God-worshipper should not indulge in such discussions and, even if another raises such questions, he should evade the issue by giving a brief reply.
18:23
The Quraysh of Makkah sent Nadar ibn Harith and ‘Uqbah ibn Mu‘it to Madinah to meet the Jewish scholars and ask for information about the Prophet Muhammad, because the Jews had knowledge about prophets. The Jews advised these emissaries to ask the Prophet Muhammad about three things, adding that if he could give information about these things, then he was the Prophet; otherwise he was merely a glib talker. Of these questions, one was about the young ‘Men of the Cave’, the second related to ‘Dhul Qarnayn’ and the third was about the spirit. Before the age of the press the common people did not know about the ‘Men of the Cave.’ This story was recorded in certain Syrian manuscripts, a fact known only to particular scholars. When this question was put to the Prophet Muhammad, he said that he would give the required information the next day, in the hope that Gabriel would appear the next day and give him the necessary information, which he would then pass on to the questioners. But, Gabriel’s arrival was delayed. He took fifteen days to bring the chapter entitled ‘The Cave’ (al-Kahf). Due to this delay in revelation, The Prophet Muhammad’s Makkan antagonists had a good opportunity to malign his name on this issue. God said, ‘On the pretext of a small, ordinary incident, you are trying to make people doubtful about the truthfulness of a person whose truthfulness is going to be vouchsafed by far better and much more convincing arguments.’ (Tafsir al-Mazhari, vol. 6, p. 27). Now that so many arguments have accumulated to substantiate the truthfulness of the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad, no sensible person could deny it. Today, his prophethood is a well established fact and not merely a claim.

18:24-26
According to the respective Quranic commentaries of Qatada and Mutrif ibn ‘Abdullah, the mention here of 300 years, or 309 years, is only a report of what people said and not information from God. On the basis of unauthentic stories, the people of the Book of those days used to believe that the period of stay of the ‘Men of the Cave’ in the cave was 300 years, according to the solar calendar, or 309 years according to the lunar calendar. (Tafsir ibn Kathir, vol. 3, p. 79). The Quran has merely reported this popular view, but at the same time has rejected it as baseless, saying, ‘God knows best how long they stayed in it.’ The researchers of the present age have discovered that, according to the solar calendar, this period was of 196 years. This discovery proves that the Quran is the book revealed by God, who is aware of all past and future happenings, and that because of this knowledge He did not accept the aforesaid belief. Had the Quran been the product of human effort, it would have adopted the most popular belief prevalent at that time, which would have ultimately clashed with the findings of subsequent research.

18:27-28
In ancient Makkah, for those who supported the Prophet Muhammad and who had embraced a religion free from any human interpolation, it was not an easy task. This amounted to renouncing a system which served their interests and accept a belief which appeared to be quite the reverse. The believers had almost become strangers in the society, while those who denied the truth drew strength from the firm ground of the established order of the day. The believers’ thinking is God-oriented, the importance of which would be known only in the Hereafter. As opposed to this those who deny the truth have a worldly approach. Their concern is this world, not the Hereafter. As such they are more successful than the believers in this present life. They are surrounded with worldly glory. But a preacher of truth should not be impressed by the worldly glamour of these people. A dayee is not allowed to compromise on the matter of truth at any cost. If he does so, he will be deprived of God’s succour. In God’s world he will be so isolated that no tree will give him shade, and no water will quench his thirst. Ibn Jarir, commenting on this verse, writes, ‘God says, O Muhammad, if you do not recite (or convey) the Quran to the people, then you will have no refuge against God.’
18:29
The truth which comes from God is the absolute truth. It cannot, therefore, be altered to suit personal vagaries. The amendment of God’s truth amounts to changing those standards on the basis of which tests will be undertaken and every person’s position will be determined. Those who want God’s truth to be altered with a view to legitimizing their behaviour, are actually adding insolence to misbehaviour. Such people should expect nothing but the severest punishment.

18:30-31
The condition of those who are free from pride, consideration of self-interest and love of outward show is such that when God’s Truth appears before them, they immediately recognise it, even though such Truth might have come through the medium of a human being like themselves. They prostrate themselves before the Truth, and begin to mould their lives in submission to the Truth instead of attempting to mould the Truth to fit their lives. Those who prove to be worshippers of Truth in this manner are God’s near and dear ones. They will be showered with splendid rewards in the life hereafter.

18:32-36
Take the example of a lush green garden which, due to a sudden natural calamity, is completely destroyed. This, figuratively speaking, will be the fate of one who achieves wealth and position in this world and becomes proud as a result. Whatever share of wealth and position a man receives in this world is, in fact, a test from God. But an unjust and transgressing man takes it to be the result of his own efforts. Consequently he develops an attitude of arrogance. He looks down upon a person whose share of wealth and position in this world is comparatively inferior. He develops a certain type of mindset by which he thinks that his world will never come to an end, and that even if this world ends and another world comes into existence, there is no reason why he should not enjoy the same comfortable conditions as he is enjoying here. He fails to differentiate between the world of trial and the world of reward.

18:37-41
If God showers His blessings on a man, he should always remain grateful to Him. But, if he does not possess the right mentality, prosperity becomes the cause of arrogance and vanity developing in him. On the contrary, one who possesses the right mentality does not forget God, even in poverty. He is content with whatever he has, while entertaining the hope that God will give him more. A man who lives in this world with open eyes will never indulge in impudence or arrogance. Man is brought up as a humble creature. He is subject to accidents, disease and old age. Neither the water nor the other things with the help of which he cultivates his ‘Garden’ in this world personally belong to him. All this is in order to ensure that man should live in this world with humility and modesty. But the transgressor does not learn any lesson from any of these things. He does not come to his senses until he loses everything and only after being deprived of everything does he come to realise—after seeing it with his own eyes—that he possessed nothing but total helplessness.

18:42-44
An individual may invest his money in a venture and also apply his talents to it, hoping that his investment and his talents will lead to a successful result and will bring him good returns. But, different types of untoward incidents occur and his hopes are dashed to pieces. No human device or human talent is able to save him. In this world, time and time again God creates such situations, so that people should learn a lesson from them and should not commit the mistake of giving importance to anything except God.

18:45-46
Things in this present world make the world hereafter understandable to us. When the earth, after getting water, becomes fresh and green, it appears as if it will remain like this for ever. But thereafter the weather changes and all the greenery dries up and withers away. The glamour of this world is no different. The charms of the world attract a man, but they are all quite ephemeral. Doomsday (the Day of Judgement) will soon destroy them in such a manner that it will appear as if they never existed. The attraction of the world will not last, but here there is one thing that is going to endure forever and that is the good and pious deeds of a man. Just as plants in the garden grow by seeds being sown in the earth, so also there is a garden which flourishes by God being remembered and obeyed. This garden never has a winter season. Unlike the garden of the world, this garden grows in the life hereafter but it will be available there only to the sower of seeds.

18:47-48
The conditions made available by God in the present world exist merely for the purpose of trying and testing mankind. The moment the period fixed for this trial is over, these conditions will not remain as they are. After this, all the life-giving properties of the earth will be taken away. It will become so barren and lifeless that it will have nothing for anyone to boast about or be proud of. The freedom man enjoys in this world is given to him due to the conditions of trial. But, Doomsday will suddenly bring all this favourable environment to an end. On that Day, in a state of helplessness, people will be gathered before their Lord. All of them will stand before Him to hear His Judgement. God will have with Him a complete record of the life of every person, according to which He will reward some, and punish others. In the present world, there are two aspects of man’s life. In one he is free, while in another he is helpless. If a man were to look at the helpless and humble side of his life, he would turn towards God and develop in himself feelings of devotion towards Him. But, in reality, he looks only at his freedom, and the result is that he becomes negligent towards God and develops an arrogant attitude.
18:49
Whatever a man does is put on record by God’s arrangement. Man’s intentions, his sayings and his deeds are all imprinted on the screen of the universe. Today this arrangement or system is not visible, but on the Day of Judgement a curtain will be raised. At that time man will be terrified to see that whatever he had been doing in the world under the impression that nobody knew about it, is so clearly recorded here that neither the smallest nor the greatest thing has been left out. On the Day of Judgement, the treatment meted out to a man by God will be based on thoroughly established facts, so much so that on that Day when he receives his reward or punishment for his deeds, he will know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that he is getting what he really deserves—nothing more and nothing less.
18:50
By tradition, Satan (Iblis) was a God-worshipping jinn. Apparently he posed as being pious. But when God commanded him to kneel before Adam, he was not prepared to do so because of his vanity or pride. Now, those who under the influence of false pride refuse to kneel before ‘Reality’ or ‘Truth’, are all kith and kin of Satan, though they apparently seem to be God-worshipping people. To kneel before God is, in fact, admitting one’s own humbleness. If somebody is a kneeler before God in the real sense, then whenever he comes face to face with the Truth, he will immediately kneel down. Unlike him is the person who is only outwardly pious, because at the same time he nurses a sense of pride or egoism within himself. Such a person will readily kneel down on the occasions when his ego is not hurt. But, where his kneeling down is at the cost of surrendering his ego, he will suddenly become arrogant and refuse to kneel. When the call of Truth is given and certain people, under the influence of Satan and his kin, do not respond to that call, they are in fact substituting Satan and his kin for God. When they are required to bow before the Truth for fear of God, they refuse to bow for fear of false gods. Such people are the worst transgressors. Soon they will come to know that those other than God on whom they relied will not be of any avail to them.
18:51
Those who are regarded as powerful and as objects of worship by men, are in fact so powerless that they have no say either in the creation of the universe or in their own creation. Further, by playing the role of the one who misleads people (‘mudil’), they prove themselves absolutely unworthy of trust. In a world where Truth reigns supreme, how can such personalities hold sway when their only goal is to dissuade the people from Truth?

18:52-53
The leaders on whose backing man denies the Truth in this world will not be helpful to him on Doomsday. Today, they are each other’s companions, but when realities are revealed, they will start hating each other. It will appear as if a deadly barrier has come between them. In the present world they consider themselves safe and secure, but on Doomsday they are fated to find themselves standing on the threshold of Hell, unable to find an escape from it.

18:54-55
In the present world, the freedom given for the purposes of human trial allows man to find some excuse or the other for not admitting the Truth. He will find some word or the other to reject any proposition put to him. Sometimes it happens that an individual will try to counter convincing arguments by meaningless pleadings. At other times he simply ignores the argument given and demands something entirely different which, for some reason, has not so far been presented. An extreme example of this is the Prophet presenting his message supported by clear arguments to his audience, their not paying any attention to it and, completely ignoring it, saying, ‘Where is the punishment—in case of our refusal— about which you informed us? Bring it on us and let us see it.’

18:56-57
God’s words are supported by sound arguments, that is why those who do not want to accept this truth cannot find any real counter arguments. They entertain baseless notions by which they make unsuccessful attempts to suppress the Truth. They counter solid arguments with false objections, so that serious matters may be lost in ridicule. The propaganda is aimed at discrediting the preacher in the eyes of the people. But they are oblivious of the fact that it is they themselves who are discredited in the eyes of God by such a campaign. Man has been endowed with the capacity to think, so that he should be able to distinguish between Truth and falsehood. But, when he uses his thinking capacity in the wrong direction, it becomes impossible for him to see a thing in its right perspective and to grasp its true significance. He becomes ‘eyeless’, though having eyes and ‘earless’, though having ears.

18:58-59
When a man flouts the Truth, but does not immediately receive the punishment for this, it makes him arrogant. The fact of his going scot free is only due to the latitude given to him during the period of trial, and not because of any real freedom. If the individual is keen to learn a lesson, he must consider the fate of his predecessors, from which he may learn how to conduct his present life. On the face of this earth, different nations and different cultures have risen from time to time and have subsequently been destroyed. When earlier generations were punished for their disobedience, why should later generations not meet the same fate?

18:60-62
God continuously manages the affairs of this world through His angels. Since this system is not visible to man, he does not fully grasp its secrets. He harbours different types of doubts due to his deficient knowledge. To remedy this, God has given the opportunity for indirect observation to certain of His selected subjects. He has arranged for them to observe His invisible world, so that they should see with their own eyes its wisdom and make others aware of it. Here, the incident relating to Moses is a similar type of exceptional event, by means of which he was given a glimpse of God’s invisible system. Moses is said to have undertaken this journey between Egypt and Sudan along with one young disciple Yusha‘ bin Nun (Joshua). By way of a sign, God had asked him to proceed on his journey until he reached a place where two seas came together. He was told that there he would find somebody (perhaps an angel in the shape of a human being), whom he was asked to accompany.

18:63-70
Moses was told about a further sign, i.e. that when he reached the required destination, the fish kept for eating would go down into the water in a peculiar manner. And at a certain place this was exactly what happened. But the fish was with the disciple and he could not for some reason inform Moses about this incident. After proceeding a little further, Moses came to know of this incident. He immediately returned to that place and found Khidr there, the person for whom he had undertaken such a long journey. God had bestowed on this servant, Khidr, special knowledge and powers, so that he could bring certain extraordinary influence to bear upon the affairs of this world. In view of this knowledge, he used to act against the customary norms. That is why, on Moses request to be allowed to accompany him, he said that he Moses would not be able to bear it.

18:71-74
Damaging a good boat and killing a child do not appear to be good deeds. But, as the ensuing verses show, a profound sagacity was hidden in them. These apparently wrong deeds were in reality correct and useful acts. This also provides an answer to what is known as the ‘problem of evil’. In this world of human beings, there are many things which at first sight appear to be evils in the system. Yet, they are based on deep wisdom. It is true that in the present world this wisdom is hidden behind a veil. But, in the life hereafter, this veil will not be there. At that time, man will come to know that whatever happened was done according to the highest standards of justice.

18:75-78
The Prophet Moses and Khidr, God’s favoured servants, who were very near to Him, wanted the local people of a place they had reached to treat them as guests and feed them. But they refused to do so. This shows that it is not enough for one simply to be in oneself righteous and truthful and to be in God’s favour, in order to have a place in others’ esteem. Had the people of that place recognized them, they would have certainly made them their guests and obtained their blessings. But due to their ordinary outward appearance, they ignored them. They could not see them in the light of their inner reality. In spite of this inhospitable treatment, Khidr repaired a crumbling wall belonging to the local people. The behaviour of God’s true and pious subjects with others is not retaliatory, but is always in accordance with the norms of justice and righteousness.
18:79
Khidr had not rendered the boat completely useless; he had only made it defective for the time being. The wisdom behind it was that, farther up the river where the boat was going, there was a king who, perhaps in connection with a war campaign, was forcibly confiscating good boats. So, the boat was made defective so that when the king’s agents saw it, they should treat is as undeserving of attention and leave it. This teaches us that a man should not lose heart if he has to face some untoward incident. He should reconcile with it, hoping that there should be some advantage hidden in whatever God has done, though man is not at that time fully aware of it.

18:80-81
This incident of the child indicates the different ways in which God helps his subjects. He even helps them in matters of which they are not even aware and, not being aware of them, cannot pray to their Lord seeking a solution. Man should always demonstrate patience and gratitude to God. He should always hope for good from God in all circumstances. God is all-knowing and that is why He knows best. God knows better what is good for his subject while the subject himself cannot be aware of this due to his limited knowledge.
18:82
It may be gathered from these examples that God is always actively taking care of this world. On the grounds of this world being for the purpose of trial or test, He has kept the system of this world functioning on the basis of ‘cause and effect’, yet He intervenes in this system again and again. God sometimes adopts a constructive method and sometimes a seemingly destructive method. But, on every occasion, from the point of view of broad inner wisdom, it is all attributable to His graciousness, and it is meant to ensure that in the course of the free play of cause and effect, the real purposes behind creation are not defeated.

18:83-84
The literal meaning of ‘Dhu’l Qarnayn’ is ‘possessor of two horns’ i.e. the king whose conquests encompass the further reaches of the world to the east and west. Here, Dhu’l Qarnayn is perhaps a reference to the ancient Iranian King Cyrus, or Khusro, who reigned during the 5th century B.C. He had conquered a major part of the known world of ancient times and was at last killed in a war. He was a just king.

18:85-88
Dhu’l-Qarnayn, in making his conquests, possibly proceeded in a westward direction from Iran, and thus reached Asia Minor, halting only when he came to the ‘black water’ of the Aegean Sea. If one stands on the sea-shore here and looks out over the sea in the evening, it will appear as if the sphere of the sun is sinking into the water and setting there. This is a figurative description of the furthermost point which Dhu’l-Qarnayn reached. Dhu’l-Qarnayn had reached this seashore not as a wayfarer but as a conqueror. Thus he gained full control over the people inhabiting that area and established his rule there. As a ruler he had full powers to deal with the inhabitants as he liked. But Dhu’l-Qarnayn was a just king. He was not cruel to anybody. He made the general announcement that he would deal severely only with anyone found indulging in evil deeds and that no excess would be perpetrated upon those who maintained peace and order.

18:89-91
Dhu’l-Qarnayn’s next expedition was towards the east of Iran. He reached a place where a most uncivilised people were living. The description that there was no barrier (shelter) between them and the sun means perhaps that they were nomads and were living on open ground instead of in properly constructed houses.

18:92-94
Probably Dhu’l-Qarnayn’s third campaign was in the north east, in the direction of Iran. He reached a place where savages were living. Because they could not have any interaction with any other community, they were hardly able to understand any other language but their own. The ‘two mountains’ probably lay between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Here savage tribes used to invade from other places and would then flee through mountain passes after indulging in plunder. Dhu’l-Qarnayn constructed an iron wall between the two mountains.

18:95-98
The high ranges of the Caucasus in what is now Russian territory running between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, serve as a natural dividing wall between Europe and Asia. In this mountainous region there were certain passes through which the savage Gog and Magog (Yajuj and Majuj) tribes from the south used to enter the northern part of Iran and plunder it. Here, till today, there are signs of an ancient wall. There is every probability that this was the very wall which was constructed by Dhu’l-Qarnayn for security purposes. To erect an ‘Iron Wall’ to ward off enemies is a feat which generally generates a sense of pride in people. But even after constructing such an invincible wall, Dhu’l- Qarnayn did not lose his modesty and humility. He had set his eyes not on his own creations but on God’s mighty powers, and a human being’s power is nothing as compared to God’s might.

18:99-101
At the onset of Doomsday, the present world will no longer be the same. It appears that the present boundaries between mountains and rivers will disappear and huge crowds of human beings will lap against one other like the waves of the ocean. Today, Hell is being shown to people through their ‘mental eyes’, but they fail to perceive it. On Doomsday, Hell will be shown to people through their physical eyes. At that time, everybody will see it. But this seeing will be of no avail except to one who had removed the veil from his eyes, having learned a lesson from divine advice in his pre-death life. The removal of veil on the Day of judgement, will be solely for the purpose of sending the arrogant and insolent disbelievers to their destined end in hell.
18:102
Acceptance of the Truth (Reality) is in fact acceptance of God, while denial of the truth is in fact denial of God. Whenever a person refuses to accept the Truth, he does so banking on the apparent strength of some thing or some personality. Such reliance is false, because in this world nobody has any power except God. On the Day of Judgement there will be nobody to save him, because God is the only saviour and such a person would already have lost His support due to his disobedience.

18:103-106
Man strives in this world and observes that, as a result, he gains wealth and honour. He does not see his work marred in any manner, therefore, he considers himself a successful man. But, this is highly irrational. In the plan of God, the criterion of a successful life is in terms of the life of the Hereafter. Therefore, to consider success in this worldly life as real success amounts to taking a view of life which omits the life hereafter altogether. This is tantamount to substituting our own plan in place of God’s plan and obviously those who do so can never be successful in the life hereafter. God reveals His signs. But these signs of the life hereafter have no effect on those whose minds are preoccupied with the thoughts of this world. God discloses His arguments, but the arguments of the life hereafter do not appeal to those who are lost in the affairs of this world. Such people fail to accept guidance, even though they may be standing next to a guide. If they do not give any weight to God’s word, how can they expect God to take their candidature into account for any divine consideration?

18:107-108
To lead a life of faith and piety in this world is to give proof of tremendous sacrifice. It amounts to renouncing an apparent and visible heaven for the sake of a hidden, invisible heaven. This also means succeeding in the most difficult of tests, i.e. when man recognises the Truth on the strength of abstract arguments and then he turns his life in that direction, though there is no pressure on him to do so. Those who exhibit such awareness (of truth) and perform such actions truly deserve to be admitted to gardens of eternal comfort and pleasure.
18:109
Those who do not accept God’s message are in fact denying the most established of all established facts. It is so established that pens made from all the trees would not be sufficient to write God’s words and the ocean turned into ink would become exhausted. But, what a pity that, in spite of all this, man fails to recognise the truth and does not mould his life in accordance with it.
18:110
The prophet is neither god nor angel. He is a human being just like any other human being. His only distinguishing feature is that he receives God’s revelation through invisible means. In other words, a prophet is an individual who, outwardly, is a human being but who inwardly is a representative of God. Because of this only those can recognize a prophet who can recognize his merit. Arriving at the Truth is possible only for one who can recognise reality in its essence, i.e. who is capable of recognising a ‘prophet’ at the level of a ‘human being.’

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