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Al-Kahf - 18:56
| Previous: Ayah 51-55 | Next: Ayah 61-65 | Tafsir by Ibn Kathir |
Then Allah says
وَمَا نُرْسِلُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلاَّ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ
And We send not the Messengers except as bearers of good news and warners
Before the punishment they give good news to those who believe in them and follow them, and warnings to those who reject them and oppose them.
Then Allah tells us about the disbelievers:
وَيُجَادِلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
But those who disbelieve, argue
بِالْبَاطِلِ لِيُدْحِضُوا بِهِ الْحَقَّ
With falsehood, in order to refute the truth thereby
They try to weaken the truth that the Messengers brought, but they cannot achieve that.
وَاتَّخَذُوا ايَاتِي وَمَا أُنذِرُوا هُزُوًا
And they take My Ayat and that which they are warned for jest!
They take the proof, evidence and miracles sent with the Messengers to warn them, and make them fear the punishment;
هُزُوًا
(as a jest and mockery)
And they make fun of them, which is the worst type of disbelief.
Al-Kahf - 18:57
The Worst People are Those Who turn away after being reminded
Allah says,
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن ذُكِّرَ بِأيَاتِ رَبِّهِ فَأَعْرَضَ عَنْهَا
And who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the Ayat (signs) of his Lord, but turns away from them,
Allah says, 'Who among My creatures does more wrong than one who is reminded of the signs of Allah then turns away from them,' i.e., ignores them and does not listen or pay attention to them.
وَنَسِيَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ يَدَاهُ
Forgetting what his hands have sent forth
Means, bad deeds and evil actions.
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ
Truly, We have set over their hearts
Means, the hearts of these people,
أَكِنَّةً
Akinnah
Means, coverings.
أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ
Lest they should understand this
Means, so that they will not understand this Qur'an and its clear Message.
وَفِي اذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا
And in their ears, deafness
Means that they will be deaf in an abstract way, to guidance.
وَإِن تَدْعُهُمْ إِلَى الْهُدَى فَلَن يَهْتَدُوا إِذًا أَبَدًا
And if you call them to guidance, even then they will never be guided
Al-Kahf - 18:58
وَرَبُّكَ الْغَفُورُ ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ
And your Lord is Most Forgiving, Owner of mercy
Means, 'your Lord, O Muhammad, is forgiving and has great mercy.'
لَوْ يُوَاخِذُهُم بِمَا كَسَبُوا لَعَجَّلَ لَهُمُ الْعَذَابَ
Were He to call them to account for what they have earned, then surely, He would have hastened their punishment.
This is like the Ayah:
وَلَوْ يُوَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُواْ مَا تَرَكَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهَا مِن دَابَّةٍ
And if Allah were to punish men for that which they earned, He would not leave a moving creature on the surface of the earth.
(35:45)
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ لِّلنَّاسِ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَشَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ
But verily, your Lord is full of forgiveness for mankind in spite of their wrongdoing. And verily, your Lord is (also) severe in punishment.
(13:6)
And there are many Ayat which say the same thing.
Then Allah tells us that He is patient, He conceals faults and forgives sins. He may guide some of them from wrongdoing to true guidance, and whoever continues in his evil ways, then there will come to him a Day when infants will turn grey and every pregnant female will shed her load.
He says:
بَل لَّهُم مَّوْعِدٌ لَّن يَجِدُوا مِن دُونِهِ مَوْيِلً
But they have their appointed time, beyond which they will find no escape
Meaning, they will find no way out.
Al-Kahf - 18:59
وَتِلْكَ الْقُرَى أَهْلَكْنَاهُمْ لَمَّا ظَلَمُوا
And these towns, We destroyed them when they did wrong
This refers to earlier nations in times past; `We destroyed them because of their stubborn disbelief.'
وَجَعَلْنَا لِمَهْلِكِهِم مَّوْعِدًا
And We appointed a fixed time for their destruction
'We appointed for them a set time limit, not to be increased or decreased. The same applies to you, O idolators, so beware or what happened to them will happen to you too, for you have rejected the noblest Messenger and greatest Prophet, and you are not dearer to Us than them, so fear My punishment and wrath.
Al-Kahf - 18:60
The Story of Musa and Al-Khidr
Allah tells:
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِفَتَاهُ
And (remember) when Musa said to his boy-servant:
The reason for Musa's conversation with the boy-servant, Yusha' bin Nun, was that he had been told about one of the servants of Allah at the junction of the two seas, who had knowledge which Musa had not been granted, so he wanted to travel to meet him. So he said to that boy-servant of his:
لَاا أَبْرَحُ
I will not give up
Meaning, I will keep on traveling,
حَتَّى أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ
Until I reach the junction of the two seas
Meaning, the place where the two seas met.
أَوْ أَمْضِيَ حُقُبًا
Or a Huqub passes
Meaning, even if I have to travel for a very long time.
Ibn Jarir (may Allah have mercy on him) said, "Some of the scholars of the Arabic language said that Huqub means a year in the dialect of (the tribe of) Qays,"
Then he narrated that Abdullah bin Amr said, "Huqub means eighty years."
Mujahid said, "Seventy years."
Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said that; it means a lifetime.
Qatadah and Ibn Zayd said likewise.
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