* | quran | * | 18. al-kahf. the cave      <   > 

malik
 
1.  *     Praise be to Allah Who has revealed the Book to His servant and did not make it  complicated.[1]
 
2.  *     It is straightforward so that He may warn about the terrible  punishment for the unbelievers from Him and give good news to the believers who do  good deeds that they shall have a goodly reward,[2]
 
3.  *     which they will enjoy forever.[3]
 
4.  *     Further to warn those who say "Allah has begotten a son."[4]
 
5.  *     They have no  knowledge about it, nor did their forefathers, this is a monstrous word that comes  from their mouths. They speak nothing but a lie.[5]
 
6.  *     O Muhammad! You probably will  kill yourself in grief over them, if they do not believe in this Message (The Qur'an).[6]
 
7.  *     We have decked the earth with all kinds of ornaments to test the people and to see  which of them do the best deeds.[7]
 
8.  *     In the end We shall reduce all that is on it to a  barren wasteland.[8]
 
9.  *     Do you think that the Companions of the Cave and of Ar- Raqeem (this may refer to the name of their dog, or the tablet on which their names  were inscribed or the mountain in which the cave is situated) were among Our  wonderful signs?[9]
 
10.  *     When those young men took refuge in the cave, they said "Our  Lord! Have mercy on us from Yourself and guide us out of our ordeal."[10]
 
11.  *     So We put  upon their ears a cover (put them into a deep sleep) for a number of years in the  cave,[11]
 
12.  *     and then awakened them to find out which of the two parties (believers and  nonbelievers who were arguing about the fact of life after death) could best tell the  length of their stay.[12]
 
13.  *     Now We tell you their real story. They were young men who believed in their Lord,  and on them We had bestowed Our guidance.[13]
 
14.  *     We put courage in their hearts  when they stood up and declared: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the  earth, we shall never appeal to any other deity except Him, for if we do, we shall be  saying something improper.[14]
 
15.  *     These people of ours have taken for worship other  gods besides Him; if they are right, why do they not bring forth any convincing proof  of their divinity? Who is more wicked than the one who invents a lie about Allah?"[15]
 
16.  *     Then in their mutual consultation they said: Now that we have withdrawn from them  and denounced those deities whom they worship beside Allah, let us take refuge in  some cave; our Lord will extend to us His mercy and facilitate us in disposing of our  affairs."[16]
 
17.  *     If you could look at them in the cave, it would appear to you that the  rising sun declines to the right of their cavern, and as it sets, passes them on the left,  while they lay in an open space in between. This is from the signs of Allah. He whom  Allah guides is rightly guided; but he whom He lets go astray, you will find no  guardian to lead him to the Right Way.[17]
 
18.  *     If you could see them, you might have thought them awake, though they were  asleep. We turned them about to their right and left sides, while their dog lay  stretched out with his forepaws at the entrance. Had you looked at them you would  have certainly turned your back and their sight would have made you flee in  terror.[18]
 
19.  *     In the same miraculous way We woke them up from sleep so that they  could question one another. One of them asked: "How long have you been here?"  The others answered: "Maybe we have been here for a day or part of a day." Finally  they concluded: "Our Lord knows best how long we have stayed here. Anyhow let  one of us go to the city with this silver coin, and let him find who has the purest food  and bring us something to eat. Let him behave with caution and let him not disclose  our whereabouts.[19]
 
20.  *     For if they find you out, they will stone you to death, or force  you back into their faith and in that case you will never attain felicity."[20]
 
21.  *     Thus did We reveal their secret to the people so that they might know that the  promise of Allah is true and that there is no doubt about the coming of the Hour of  Judgment. (But what a pity that instead of considering the Hour of Judgment) they  started arguing among themselves about the companions of the cave. Some said:  "Erect an edifice over their remains." Their Lord is quite aware of them. Those who  finally prevailed over their matter said: "Let us erect a place of worship over  them."[21]
 
22.  *     Now some will soon say: "They were three and their dog was the fourth."  The others will guess: "They were five and their dog was the sixth," and there are still  others who will say: "They were seven and their dog was the eighth." Say: "My Lord  Alone knows their number. None but a few really know their correct number."  Therefore, do not enter into discussion with them about their number except in a  cursory way, nor ask anyone about the companions of the cave.[22]
 
23.  *     Never say of anything "I will certainly do it tomorrow"[23]
 
24.  *     without adding: "If Allah  wills!" And if you forget to say this, then call your Lord to mind and say: "I hope that  my Lord shall guide me and bring me ever closer than this to the Right Way."[24]
 
25.  *     Some say they stayed in their cave three hundred years and some add another  nine.[25]
 
26.  *     O Prophet, say: "Allah knows best how long they stayed; He is the One  Who knows the secrets of the heavens and the earth; sharp is His sight and keen His  hearing! They have no protector besides Him and He does not let anyone share in  His command.[26]
 
27.  *     O Prophet! Recite what has been revealed to you from the Book of your Lord: no one  is authorized to change His Words and if you dare to make any change, you will find  no refuge to protect you from Him.[27]
 
28.  *     Keep yourself content with those who call on  their Lord morning and evening seeking His good pleasure; and let not your eyes turn  away from them desiring the attraction of Worldly Life; nor obey the one whose heart  We have permitted to neglect Our remembrance, who follows his own desires and  goes to extremes in the conduct of his affairs.[28]
 
29.  *     O Prophet proclaim: "This is the  Truth from your Lord. Now let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it." As  for those who reject it, for such wrongdoers We have prepared a Fire whose flames  will hem them in like the walls of a tent. When they cry for help, they will be showered  with water as hot as molten brass, which will scald their faces. What a dreadful drink  and what a horrible residence![29]
 
30.  *     As for those who believe and do good deeds, rest  assured that We do not waste the reward of him who does a good work.[30]
 
31.  *     They  are the ones for whom there will be the Gardens of Eden, beneath which rivers flow;  they will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold; they will wear green garments of  fine silk and rich brocade and they will recline on soft couches. What an excellent  reward and what a beautiful residence![31]
 
32.  *     O Prophet! Give them this parable. Once there were two men. To one of them We  had given two gardens of grapevines surrounded with palm-trees and put between  them land for cultivation.[32]
 
33.  *     Both of those gardens yielded abundant produce and  did not fail to yield its best. We had even caused a river to flow between the two  gardens.[33]
 
34.  *     He had abundant produce, he said to his companion while conversing  with him: "I am richer than you and my clan is mightier than yours."[34]
 
35.  *     When, having  thus wronged his soul, he entered his garden and said: "I do not think that this  garden will ever perish![35]
 
36.  *     Nor do I believe that the Hour of Judgment will ever  come. Even if I am returned to my Lord, I will surely find even a better place than  this."[36]
 
37.  *     His companion replied while still conversing with him: "Do you disbelieve in  Him Who created you from dust, from a drop of semen, and fashioned you into a  perfect man?[37]
 
38.  *     As for myself, Allah is the One Who is my Lord and I do not  associate anyone with Him.[38]
 
39.  *     When you entered your garden why did you not say:  'It is as Allah pleased; no one has power except Allah!' Though you see me poorer  than yourself in wealth and children,[39]
 
40.  *     yet my Lord may give me a garden better  than yours, and may send down thunderbolts from sky upon your garden, turning it  into a barren wasteland.[40]
 
41.  *     Or its water may dry out and you may never be able to  find it."[41]
 
42.  *     It so happened that all his fruit produce was destroyed and the vines  tumbled down upon their trellises, so he wrung his hands with grief for all that he had  spent on it. He cried: "I wish I had not associated anyone with my Lord!"[42]
 
43.  *     He was  so helpless that he could neither find anyone to help him besides Allah, nor could he  himself avert that catastrophe[43]
 
44.  *     - it was then that he realized that the real  protection comes only from Allah. His is the best reward and His is the best  requital.[44]
 
45.  *     O Prophet! Give them the similitude of the life of this world. It is like the vegetation of  the earth that flourishes with the rain from the sky, but afterwards the same  vegetation turns into dry stubble which is blown away by the winds. Allah is the One  Who has power over everything.[45]
 
46.  *     Likewise, wealth and children are an attraction  of this worldly life; yet honorable deeds that last forever are better rewarded by your  Lord and hold for you a better hope of salvation.[46]
 
47.  *     You should prepare for that Day  when We will set the mountains in motion and you will see the earth as a barren  waste; when We shall assemble mankind all together, leaving not even a single soul  behind.[47]
 
48.  *     They all will be brought before your Lord standing in rows and Allah will  say: "Well! You see that you have returned to Us as We created you at first: even  though you claimed that We had not fixed any time for the fulfillment of this promise  of meeting with Us!"[48]
 
49.  *     Then the book of their deeds will be placed before them. At  that time you will see the sinners in great terror because of what is recorded therein.  They will say: "Woe to us! What kind of a book is this? It leaves out nothing small or  large: all is noted down!" They will find all that they did recorded therein. Your Lord  will not be unjust to anyone in the least.[49]
 
50.  *     When We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourself before Adam," all prostrated  themselves except Iblees (Satan), who was one of the Jinns and chose to disobey  the command of his Lord. Would you then take him and his children as your  protectors rather than Me, even though they are your enemies? What a bad  substitute the wrongdoers have chosen![50]
 
51.  *     I did not call them to witness the  creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation, nor do I take those who  lead mankind astray as My supporters.[51]
 
52.  *     On the Day of Judgment Allah will say to  them: "Call on those whom you thought to be My partners." They will call them but  will receive no answer; and We shall cause animosity between them.[52]
 
53.  *     The  criminals will see the fire and realize that they are going to fall into it; but will find no  place to escape.[53]
 
54.  *     We have given all kinds of examples in this Qur’an to make the people understand  this Message, but man is exceedingly contentious.[54]
 
55.  *     Nothing can prevent men  from believing and seeking the forgiveness of their Lord now that Guidance has  come to them, unless they are waiting for the fate of former peoples to overtake them  or the scourge to be brought to them face to face.[55]
 
56.  *     We send the Messengers only  to proclaim good news and to give warnings but with false arguments the unbelievers  seek to defeat the Truth, through mocking at My revelations and My warnings.[56]
 
57.  *     Who is more unjust than the one who, when reminded of the revelations of his Lord,  turns away from them and forgets what his own hands have done? In regards to such  people, We have cast veils over their hearts, so they do not understand this Qur’an,  and have become hard of hearing. Call them as you may towards the guidance, they  will never be guided.[57]
 
58.  *     Your Lord is Most Forgiving, the Lord of Mercy. Had it been  His Will to seize them for their sins, He would have hastened their punishment, but  for that there is an appointed time, after which they will not find any refuge.[58]
 
59.  *     All  those nations whom We destroyed for their wrongdoings were given respite and an  appointed time for their destruction.[59]
 
60.  *     Now tell them about the story of Khizr to whom Allah has given special knowledge.  The Prophet Moses was asked to go to him and learn from him. When Moses set out  to meet him at an appointed place, he said to his young servant: "I will not give up my  journey until I reach the junction of the two rivers, even if I have to spend ages in  travel."[60]
 
61.  *     It so happened that when at last they reached the junction of the two  rivers they forgot about the fish they were carrying, which made its way into the river,  and disappeared.[61]
 
62.  *     When they had passed on some distance, Moses asked his  young servant: "Let us have our breakfast, really we are worn out with this  travelling."[62]
 
63.  *     He replied: "You know! I forgot to tell you about the fish, which made  its way miraculously into the river, when we were resting beside that rock. It was  Satan who made me forget to mention this incident to you."[63]
 
64.  *     Moses said: "That is  the place we were looking for," so they went back retracing their footsteps.[64]
 
65.  *     There  they found one of Our servants (Khizr) whom We had blessed with special favor from  Ourselves and whom We had given special knowledge of Our own.[65]
 
66.  *     Moses  requested of him: "May I follow you so that you may teach me from that True  Knowledge which you have been taught?"[66]
 
67.  *     He answered: "Surely you will not be  able to bear with me,[67]
 
68.  *     for how can you have patience about that which is beyond  your knowledge?"[68]
 
69.  *     Moses said: "If Allah wills, you shall find me patient and I shall  not disobey you in any way."[69]
 
70.  *     He said: "If you want to follow me, then do not  question me about anything until I tell you about it myself."[70]
 
71.  *     So they set forth, but when they embarked in a boat to cross the river, Khizr made a  hole in it. Moses cried out: "Did you make a hole in it to drown its passengers? You  have done a weird thing!"[71]
 
72.  *     He said: "Didn’t I say that you would not manage to  have patience with me?"[72]
 
73.  *     Moses said: "Pardon my forgetfulness, do not be angry  with me on account of this mistake." [73]
 
74.  *     So they journeyed on until they met a boy,  and Khizr slew him. Moses said: "You have killed an innocent person though he had  killed nobody. Surely you have done a horrible deed!"[74]
 
75.  *     Khizr said: "Did I not tell you that you will not be able to bear with me?"[75]
 
76.  *     Moses  replied: "If ever I ask you about anything after this, you may not keep me in your  company; for then I should deserve it because you will have an excuse in my  case."[76]
 
77.  *     They travelled on until they came to the people of a town. They asked  them for some food, but they refused to receive them as their guests. There they  found a wall on the point of falling down, so he restored it. Moses said: "If you wanted  you could have demanded some payment for it!"[77]
 
78.  *     Khizr replied: "That's it, this is  the parting between you and me. But first I will explain to you those acts of mine  which you could not bear to watch with patience.[78]
 
79.  *     As for the boat, it belonged to  some poor fishermen who toiled on the river. I intended to damage it because in their  rear there was a king who was seizing every boat by force.[79]
 
80.  *     As for the youth, his  parents are true believers, and we feared lest he would grieve them with his rebellion  and unbelief.[80]
 
81.  *     It was our wish that our Lord should grant them another in his  place, a son more righteous and better in affection.[81]
 
82.  *     As for the wall, it belonged to  two orphan boys in the city and beneath it their treasure was buried. Since their  father was a righteous man, your Lord desired that these children should attain their  maturity and take out their treasure. All this was done as a mercy from your Lord.  What I did was not done by my own will. That is the interpretation of those actions  which you could not bear to watch with patience."[82]
 
83.  *     O Muhammad, they ask you about Zul-Qarnain. Say "I will recite to you some of his  story."[83]
 
84.  *     Indeed We established his power in the land and We gave him all kinds of  ways and means.[84]
 
85.  *     So one time he followed a certain expedition towards the West  and he marched on[85]
 
86.  *     till he reached the end of the land and the start of an ocean,  where the Sun was setting, he noted that it was setting in a mucky spring and found  by it a people. We said: "O Zul-Qarnain! You have the option to either punish them or  to show them kindness."[86]
 
87.  *     He said: "Anyone Who will do wrong shall be punished;  then will he return to his Lord and be sternly punished by Him.[87]
 
88.  *     As for him who  believes and does good deeds, he will have a good reward and will be assigned an  easy task by our command."[88]
 
89.  *     Then he set out on another expedition towards the  East and marched on[89]
 
90.  *     till he came to the rising of the Sun, he noted it rising on a  people for whom We had not provided any shelter from it (they were so backward  that they did not even know how to make houses or tents for their living).[90]
 
91.  *     He left  them as they were: We had full knowledge what priority was before him.[91]
 
92.  *     Then he  set out on another expedition and marched on[92]
 
93.  *     till he reached between two  mountains where he found a people who could hardly understand his language.[93]
 
94.  *     They requested: "O Zul-Qarnain! People of Gog and Magog ravage this land; should  we pay you tribute in order for you to build a wall-barrier between us and them?"[94]
 
95.  *     Zul-Qarnain said: "That which my Lord has granted me is more than enough, just  help me with worker-force and I will erect a fortified barrier between you and  them.[95]
 
96.  *     Bring me panels of iron." Finally when he had dammed up the space  between the two mountains, he said: "Ply your bellows." They did so until the iron  wall became red hot, then he said: "Bring me some molten brass to pour over it."[96]
 
97.  *     This became such a barrier that Gog and Magog could not scale it or to dig through  it.[97]
 
98.  *     He said: "This is a blessing from my Lord. But you should know that when the  promise of my Lord shall come to pass, He will level it to the ground, for the promise  of my Lord is ever true."[98]
 
99.  *     On that Day We shall let the people loose to surge like  waves on one another. The trumpet will be blown and We shall assemble the  mankind all together.[99]
 
100.  *     We shall spread Hell out on display before the  unbelievers,[100]
 
101.  *     who had turned a blind eye to My admonition and a deaf ear to My  warning.[101]
 
102.  *     Do the unbelievers think that they can take my servants as protectors, to save  themselves from Hell, instead of Me? Certainly We have prepared Hell for the  entertainment of such unbelievers.[102]
 
103.  *     O Muhammad tell them: "Should we tell you  the worst kind of losers relating to their deeds?[103]
 
104.  *     Those whose all efforts in this  worldly life had gone astray from the Right Way, but all along they were under the  delusion that they were doing good deeds;[104]
 
105.  *     they are the ones who are  disregarding the revelations of their Lord and the fact that they will meet Him for  accountability of their deeds in the Hereafter, so their deeds will become null and will  not carry any weight on the Day of Judgment.[105]
 
106.  *     Thus the reward of such people  will be Hell; because they had no faith and because they took My revelations and My  Messengers as a joke.[106]
 
107.  *     However, those who believe and do good deeds, they  will be entertained with the Gardens of Paradise[107]
 
108.  *     to live therein for ever and they  will never desire to go anywhere else.[108]
 
109.  *     O Muhammad tell them: "If the ocean were ink with which to write the words of my  Lord, the ocean would surely be consumed before the words of my Lord are finished,  even if We brought similar quantity of ink to replenish it.[109]
 
110.  *     O Muhammad, tell them: "I am but a human being like you; the revelation is sent to  me to declare that your God is One God; therefore, whoever hopes to meet his Lord,  let him do good deeds and join no other deity in the worship of his Lord."[110]