Tafsir of Surah Al-Kahf - Verse 29

The Truth is from Allah, and the Punishment of Those Who do not believe in it

Allah says to His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ: "Say to the people, `What I have brought to you from your Lord is the truth, in which there is no confusion or doubt."'

فَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ

(Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.) This is a type of threat and stern warning, after which Allah says,

إِنَّآ أَعْتَدْنَا

(Verily, We have prepared), meaning made ready,

لِّلظَّـلِمِينَ

(for the wrongdoers,) meaning those who disbelieve in Allah, His Messenger and His Book,

نَارًا أَحَاطَ بِهِمْ سُرَادِقُهَا

(a Fire whose walls will be surrounding them.) Ibn Jurayj said that Ibn `Abbas said,

أَحَاطَ بِهِمْ سُرَادِقُهَا

(a Fire whose walls will be surrounding them.) "A wall of fire."

وَإِن يَسْتَغِيثُواْ يُغَاثُواْ بِمَآءٍ كَالْمُهْلِ يَشْوِى الْوجُوهَ

(And if they ask for drink, they will be granted water like Al-Muhl, that will scald their faces.) Ibn `Abbas said; "Al-Muhl is thick water which is similar to the sediment in oil." Mujahid said, "It is like blood and pus." `Ikrimah said, "It is the thing that is heated to the ultimate temperature." Others said: "It is everything that is melted." Qatadah said, "Ibn Mas`ud melted some gold in a grove, and when it became liquid and foam rose to the top, he said, this is the thing that is most like Al-Muhl." Ad-Dahhak said: "The water of Hell is black, and it itself is black and its people are black." There is nothing contradictory in these comments, for Al-Muhl includes all of these unpleasant characteristics, it is black, evil-smelling, thick and hot, as Allah said,

يَشْوِى الْوجُوهَ

(it will scald their faces.) meaning because of its heat. When the disbeliever wants to drink it and brings it close to his face, it will scald it so that the skin of his face falls off into it. Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "When the people of Hell get hungry, they will ask for relief from it, and they will be given the tree of Zaqqum from which they will eat. The tree will tear off the skin of their faces, and if anyone who knew them were to pass by, he would recognize the skin of their faces in the tree. Then they will feel thirsty, so they will ask for drink, and they will be granted water like Al-Muhl, that is what has been heated to the ultimate temperature. When it is brought near their mouths, the flesh of their faces from which the skin has been torn off will be baked." After describing this drink in these horrifying qualities, Allah says:

بِئْسَ الشَّرَابُ

(Terrible is the drink,) meaning, how awful this drink is. Similarly, He says in another Ayah:

وَسُقُواْ مَآءً حَمِيماً فَقَطَّعَ أَمْعَآءَهُمْ

(and be given to drink boiling water so that it cuts up their bowels.) 47:15

تُسْقَى مِنْ عَيْنٍ ءَانِيَةٍ

(They will be given to drink from a boiling spring.) 88:5

وَبَيْنَ حَمِيمٍ ءَانٍ

(They will go between it (Hell) and the fierce boiling water.) 55:44

وَسَآءَتْ مُرْتَفَقًا

(and an evil Murtafaq!) means, how evil a place is the Fire to dwell and rest and gather. As Allah says elsewhere:

إِنَّهَا سَآءَتْ مُسْتَقَرّاً وَمُقَاماً

(Evil indeed it (Hell) is as an abode and as a place to rest in.) 25:66

Commentary

Da'wah and Tabligh admit of no discrimination

Some events have been mentioned in the background of the revelation of the verse: وَاصْبِرْ‌ نَفْسَكَ (And keep yourself content - 28). It is possible that all of them became the cause of this instruction. Al-Baghawi reports that ` Uyainah ibn Hisn al-Fazari, the chief of Makkah paid a visit to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Sitting there with him was Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi ؓ who was one of the poor Sahabah. His dress was tattered and his looks, that of a derwish. Then, there were some other poor and humble people like him sitting within the gathering. ` Uyainah said, 'these are the people who stop us from coming to you and listening to you. We cannot sit with such broken-down people. You should remove them from your gathering, or you should, at the least, have one separate gathering for us and another, for them.'

Ibn Marduwayh reports on the authority of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ that Umaiyyah ibn Khalaf al-jumahi advised the Holy Prophet ﷺ that he should not have poor and broken-down Muslims as those close to him. Instead of that, he should prefer to have the chiefs of Makkah and the Quraysh tribe with him. If these people embraced the religion brought by him, it will advance the cause of religion.

Pursuant to events of this nature, came the Divine instruction that firmly stopped him from accepting their advice. Not only that he should not remove them from his company, in fact, the command given reads: وَاصْبِرْ‌ نَفْسَكَ (wasbir nafsak: translated as 'and keep yourself content' ). If translated literally, it could mean 'keep yourself tied with them,' not in the sense of not leaving them anytime, but meaning that he should attend to and relate to these very people, seeking their advice in essential matters and working in association with them alone. Why should he do that and what was the wisdom behind it? The words that follow spell the reason out. They call their Lord morning and evening, remembering Him under all conditions. And what they do is exclusively for the good pleasure of Allah. All these conditions around them are conditions that at-tract the help and support of Allah Ta` ala. And such are the people to whom comes the help of Allah. So, let them not worry about the loss of worldly support for the final victory shall be theirs.

The reason why he was prevented from accepting the advice of the Quraysh chiefs has been given towards the end of the verse. It was said that their hearts were heedless of the remembrance of Allah, everything they did was subservient to their physical desires and these conditions guaranteed that they would stand alienated far from the mercy and support of Allah Ta` ala.

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.