Tafsir of Surah Al-Kahf - Verse 6

Do not feel sorry because the Idolators do not believe Allah consoles His Messenger for his sorrow

فَلاَ تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَرَتٍ

(So destroy not yourself in sorrow for them.) 35:8

وَلاَ تَحْزَنْ عَلَيْهِمْ

(And grieve not over them.) 16:127

لَعَلَّكَ بَـخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ أَلاَّ يَكُونُواْ مُؤْمِنِينَ

(It may be that you are going to kill yourself with grief, that they do not become believers.) 26:3 meaning, maybe you will destroy yourself with your grief over them. Allah says:

فَلَعَلَّكَ بَـخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ عَلَى ءَاثَـرِهِمْ إِن لَّمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهَـذَا الْحَدِيثِ

(Perhaps, you would kill yourself in grief, over their footsteps, because they believe not in this narration.) meaning the Qur'an.

أَسَفاً

(in grief) Allah is saying, `do not destroy yourself with regret.' Qatadah said: "killing yourself with anger and grief over them." Mujahid said: "with anxiety." These are synonymous, so the meaning is: `Do not feel sorry for them, just convey the Message of Allah to them. Whoever goes the right way, then he goes the right way only for the benefit of himself. And whoever goes astray, then he strays at his own loss, so do not destroy yourself in sorrow for them.'

This World is the Place of Trial Then Allah tells us that He has made this world a temporary abode, adorned with transient beauty, andHe made it a place of trial, not a place of settlement. So He says

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى الاٌّرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُم أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً

(Verily, we have made that which is on earth an adornment for it, in order that We may test which of them are best in deeds.) Abu Maslamah narrated from Abu Nadrah from Abu Sa`id that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِنَّ الدُّنْيَا حُلْوَةٌ خَضِرَةٌ، وَإِنَّ اللهَ مُسْتَخْلِفُكُمْ فِيهَا فَنَاظِرٌ مَاذَا تَعْمَلُونَ، فَاتَّقُوا الدُّنْيَا، وَاتَّقُوا النِّسَاءَ، فَإِنَّ أَوَّلَ فِتْنَةِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ كَانَتْ فِي النِّسَاء»

(This world is sweet and green, and Allah makes you generations succeeding one another, so He is watching what you will do. Beware of (the beguilements of) this world and beware of women, for the first affliction that Children of Israel suffered from was that of women.) Then Allah tells us that this world will pass away and come to an end, as He says:

وَإِنَّا لَجَاعِلُونَ مَا عَلَيْهَا صَعِيداً جُرُزاً

(And verily, We shall make all that is on it bare, dry soil.) means, `after having adorned it, We will destroy it and make everything on it bare and dry, with no vegetation or any other benefit.' Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas that this means everything on it would be wiped out and destroyed. Mujahid said: "a dry and barren plain." Qatadah said, "A plain on which there are no trees or vegetation."

The properties and merits of Surah al-Kahf

According to a narration of Sayyidna Abu al-Darda' ؓ appearing in Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i and the Musnad of Ahmad, one who has memorized the first ten verses of Surah al-Kahf will remain protected from the ill effects of Dajjal (imposter). In another report in the same books and from the same authority, the same thing has been said about having memorized the last ten verses of Surah al-Kahf.

And it has been reported in the Musnad of Ahmad on the authority of Sayyidna Sahl ibn Mu` adh ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "One who recites the first and the last verses of Surah al-Kahf, for him there is light from his feet up to his head. And the one who were to recite the whole Surah, then, for him there is light from the earth up to the sky."

And it appears in some narratives that a person who recites Surah al-Kahf on the day of Jumu'ah will have light from his feet up to the sky. This light will serve him well on the day of Qiyamah, and every sin committed by him between the past and the present Jumu'ah will be forgiven." (Imam Ibn Kathir has declared this report to be mawquf (a Hadith the narration of which stops at a Sahabi and does not ascend to the Holy Prophet ﷺ).

And Hafiz Zya' al-Maqdisi, in his book Al-Mukhtarah, has reported on the authority of Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "One who recites Surah al-Kahf on the day of Jumu'ah will remain protected from every fitnah. And if Dajjal appears, he will stay safe against the trying challenges released by him as well." (All these narrative reports have been taken from Tafsir ibn Kathir)

According to a report from Dailami on the authority of Sayyidna Anas ؓ appearing in Ruh al-Ma’ ani, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "The entire Surah al-Kahf was revealed at one time and seventy thousand angels came with it" - which shows its majesty.

The cause of revelation

Imam ibn Jarir al-Tabari has reported from Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ عنہما that the Quraysh of Makkah (disturbed by the rising influence of the Holy Prophet ﷺ as a prophet) sent two of their men, Nadr ibn Harith and 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu` ayt, to the Jewish scholars of Madinah. Their mission was to find out what they said about him as they were learned in past scriptures of the Torah and Injil. The Jewish scholars told them, "put three questions before him. If he answers these correctly, you should know that he is a Prophet and Messenger of Allah ﷺ ، and if he fails to do that, you should know that he is a pretender and not a messenger. Firstly, ask him about the young men who had left their city in the distant past and what had happened to them, for this is a unique event. Secondly, ask him about the person who had traveled through the East and West of the Earth and what had happened to him. Thirdly, ask him about the Ruh (soul, spirit) as to what it was?"

That is, he gives the answer he should give (and his correct answer to the question about 'Rte' will be that Allah Ta` ala knows its reality best). So, this report which appears in Tafsir al-Tabari, p. 191, v. 15 is not contrary to the report which has appeared on pages 544-47 of this volume under the commentary on verse 85 of Surah Banff Isra'il - Muhammad Taqi Usmani.

The two Quraysh emissaries returned to Makkah al-Mukarramah, informed their tribesmen that they had come back with a decisive plan of action and told them all about their encounter with the Jewish scholars of Madinah. Then, these people took these questions to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He heard the questions and said that he will answer them tomorrow. But, he forgot to say 'insha Allah' at that time. These people went back and the Holy Prophet ﷺ kept waiting for the Divine revelation in the hope that he will be told about answers to these questions through wahy. But, no wahy came until the next day as promised. In fact, fifteen days went by and things stood as they were, neither did Sayyidna Jibra'il come nor did the revelation. The Quraysh of Makkah started throwing taunts which caused real pain to the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

After fifteen days, came angel Jibra'il with Surah al-Kahf (wherein the delay caused has also been explained by saying that one should say 'insha Allah' when promising to do something in the future. Since, this was not done in the event concerned, therefore, revelation was delayed as a measure of reminder. In this Surah, verses relating to this matter such as: وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّـهُ (18:23, 24) will be appearing later). Also related in this Surah there was the event about the young men known as Ashab al-Kahf or the People of the Cave, and the event concerning the travel of Dhul-Qarnain from the East to the West. Also included therein was the answer to the question asked about 'Ruh' (Qurtubi and Mazhari with reference to Ibn Jarir). But, answering the question about Ruh (soul, spirit) briefly was as dictated by wisdom. This was taken up separately at the end of Surah Bani Isra'il (17:85) and this is the reason why Surah al-Kahf has been placed after Surah Bani Isra'il [ al-Isra'] - as mentioned by Al-Suyuti.

Commentary

The word: عوج ('iwaj) in: وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُ عِوَجًا (and allowed no crookedness in it - 1) means crookedness of any kind, or inclination towards one side or deviation from the norms of rectitude. The Holy Qur'an remains pure and free of all that in terms of the perfection of its words and meanings. It simply admits of no distortion anywhere, either in eloquence or in knowledge and wisdom. The sense which has been conveyed in a negative or eliminative form through: ` وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُ عِوَجًا (and allowed no crookedness in it) has been fortified positively through the word: قَيِّمًا (qayyima) which follows immediately for emphasis. The reason is that this word carries the sense of: مُستَقِیمَا (mustaqima) and that which is: مُستَقِیم (mustaqim: straightforward, straight, upright) will not have the least crookedness or tilt towards any side. However, قَیَّم (qayyim) can also have another sense, that of caretaker, custodian and protector. Given this probability, the sense of the expression would be that the Qur’ an, while perfect in itself as free from all kinds of excess, deficiency and crookedness, keeps others upright, firm and unflinching and protects the inter-ests and advantages of all servants of Allah. Thus the gist of the two expressions would be that the Holy Qur'an stands perfect in itself and has the ability to make men and women created by Allah become equally perfect. (Mazhari)

‘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.