Surah Al Kahf Free Download Pdf
Edwin Bores
Surah al-Kahf is a surah that many Muslims recite every Friday, as there are a number of authentic hadiths that indicate the virtue of doing so. However, unfortunately not many of us reflect over the meanings of this great surah.
The following is a collection of reflections on Surah al-Kahf which I have been posting on social media every Friday over a span of several years. I have decided to gather them all in one place here for easy access. They have been rearranged in the order that the verses appear in the Surah.
Lesson: Those who preserve the commandments of Allah, Allah preserves them and takes care of them. And whoever Allah preserves, He makes everything to be at their service; whether it be living or non-living beings.
Notice how Allah here refers to the heart and not the tongue. You may find someone who frequently says his adhkar (with his tongue) while the effect of that is missing in his manners and dealings with others. Why? Because he only remembers Allah with his tongue and not his heart.
Although Yushaʿ was disappointed at failing to accomplish his task of looking after the fish, it was at that very place where they lost it (the junction of the two seas) that they were supposed to find Khidr and thus fulfill the purpose of their journey.
وَأَمَّا الْجِدَارُ فَكَانَ لِغُلَامَيْنِ يَتِيمَيْنِ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَ تَحْتَهُ كَنْزٌ لَهُمَا وَكَانَ أَبُوهُمَا صَالِحًا فَأَرَادَ رَبُّكَ أَنْ يَبْلُغَا أَشُدَّهُمَا وَيَسْتَخْرِجَا كَنْزَهُمَا رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ
Verse 22 of the surah begins with a comment on the debate around how many sleepers there were. Allah observes that some say there were three and their dog was the fourth and others say there were five and their dog was the sixth, but all of this is estimation without knowledge. Allah then observes that some say they were seven and the dog was the eighth, and say my Lord is aware of their number.
The message is that wahi, or divine revelation, does not come down on demand and it is not the prerogative of the Prophet to state when it will come. Rather, it is Allah who will send it down when He wants to send it down. SubhanAllah, if this is what is our Prophetis told, then what about us? Allah is teaching us adab, the manners we should have before Him. It teaches us who is the Lord and who is the one the Lord is controlling, who is the Rabb and who is the marbub.
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