Al-Kahf
18th chapter of the Qur'an
Al-Kahf (Arabic: الكهف, lit. 'the Cave') is the 18th chapter (sūrah) of the Quran with 110 verses (āyāt). Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), it is an earlier Meccan surah, which means it was revealed before Muhammad's hijrah to Medina instead of after. It is the chapter that contains the middle word of the entire Qur'an: وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ walyatalaṭṭaf, meaning "let him be kind." The story of believers falling asleep in a cave for a long time is present also in the Christian tradition (Seven Sleepers).
Summary
1 God praised for the gift of Quran
2 The Quran being a warning for the unbelievers and good tidings to the faithful
3 The reward for the believers who do good deeds will be an everlasting abode (Jannah)
4-5 The Quran is a warning to those who say God has begotten, and the ignorance of their sayings
6 Muhammad's grief for the disbelief of his people
7-8 Earth's adornment to be reduced to dust
9-22 The story of the companions of the cave
23-24 Muhammad is warned by God not to intend to do anything without saying "Insha-Allah" (Arabic: إن شاء الله, lit. 'if God wills').
25 The sleepers of the cave slept for 300 years and 9 more
26 Times and seasons are in God's hands. Time is a creation of God and can be modified by Him.
27 None can change the Quran
28 The pious are the Prophet's guardians
29 Truth is from the Lord
30-31 Sufferings of the wicked contrasted with the rewards of the righteous
32-44 The parable of the two men
45 Life on earth likened to water from heaven
46 God's preference to humans' good deeds than their wealth and children
47 Mankind's assemblage on the Judgement Day
48-49 The manner of the judgment—the book of personal action delivered
50 Iblis's refusal to prostrate to Adam when Adam was created
51 The offspring of Satan, not present at the creation
52 Idol-worshippers deserted by their idols during the Day of Judgment
53 The wicked doomed to hellfire
54 Every similitude mentioned in the Quran
55 Men's rejection of the Quran through their disbelief
56 Prophets have been sent with threats and good news
57 The sin of apostasy
58 God's mercy and that He appointed a time for people's accountability and torment
59 Disbelief's destruction of former cities
60-65 Moses and Joshua visit Khidr
66 Moses desires to be taught by Khidr
66-69 Khidr, knowing Moses's inability to receive his wisdom, yields to his importunity
71-77 He scuttles a boat, kills a boy, and rebuilds a collapsing wall
78-82 Khidr refuses to communicate further with Moses on account of his protests against his conduct, but condescends to explain his conduct.
83-86 Dhu'l-Qarnayn journeys to the setting sun which appears to him to be setting in a muddy pool
87-88 He finds a people, whom he is permitted to treat as he wills
89-90 The phenomenon of Midnight Sun
91-94 He travels east and north, where he finds an ignorant race, who plead his protection against Gog and Magog
95-97 He builds a rampart against them
98 Gog and Magog to be let loose before Judgement Day
99 All creatures being resurrected and gathered by the trumpet blow of Israfil.
100-108 The rewards and punishments of Judgement Day
109 The ocean's insufficiency to write all the words of God with ink
110 Muhammad's morality and humanity
Exegesis
9-26 "Companions of the cave"
Verses 9–26 of the chapter retell the Christian folktale of the "companions of the cave". A few young believers lived in a time when they were tortured for their beliefs.
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This entry incorporates text from “Al-Kahf” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.