18. THE CAVE (al-Kahf)

In the name of Allah,
the Gracious, the Merciful

1. Praise be to Allah, who revealed the Book to
   His servant, and allowed in it no distortion.
2. Valuable—to warn of severe punishment
   from Himself; and to deliver good news to the
   believers who do righteous deeds, that they
   will have an excellent reward.
3. In which they will abide forever.

4. And to warn those who say, “Allah has begotten a son.”
5. They have no knowledge of this, nor did
   their forefathers. Grave is the word that
   comes out of their mouths. They say nothing
   but a lie.
6. Perhaps you may destroy yourself with
   grief, chasing after them, if they do not believe in this information.
7. We made what is upon the earth an ornament for it, to test them as to which of them
   is best in conduct.
8. And We will turn what is on it into barren
   waste.
9. Did you know that the People of the Cave
   and the Inscription were of Our wondrous
   signs?
10. When the youths took shelter in the cave,
    they said, “Our Lord, give us mercy from
    Yourself, and bless our affair with guidance.”
11. Then We sealed their ears in the cave for a
    number of years.
12. Then We awakened them to know which
    of the two groups could better calculate the
    length of their stay.
13. We relate to you their story in truth. They
    were youths who believed in their Lord, and
    We increased them in guidance.
14. And We strengthened their hearts, when
    they stood up and said, “Our Lord is the Lord
    of the heavens and the earth; we will not call
    on any god besides Him, for then we would
    have spoken an outrage.”
15. “These people, our people, have taken to
    themselves gods other than Him. Why do
    they not bring a clear proof concerning
    them? Who, then, does greater wrong than he
    who invents lies and attributes them to Allah?”
16. “Now that you have withdrawn from them,
    and from what they worship besides Allah,
    take shelter in the cave. And your Lord will
    unfold His mercy for you, and will set your
    affair towards ease.”
17. You would have seen the sun, when it rose,
    veering away from their cave towards the
    right, and when it sets, moving away from
    them to the left, as they lay in the midst of the
    cave. That was one of Allah’s wonders. He
    whom Allah guides is truly guided; but he
    whom He misguides, for him you will find no
    directing friend.
18. You would think them awake, although
    they were asleep. And We turned them over
    to the right, and to the left, with their dog
    stretching its paws across the threshold. Had
    you looked at them, you would have turned
    away from them in flight, and been filled with
    fear of them.
19. Even so, We awakened them, so that they
    may ask one another. A speaker among them
    said, “How long have you stayed?” They said,
    “We have stayed a day, or part of a day.” They
    said, “Your Lord knows best how long you
    have stayed.” “Send one of you to the city,
    with this money of yours, and let him see
    which food is most suitable, and let him bring
    you some provision thereof. And let him be
    gentle, and let no one become aware of you.”
20. “If they discover you, they will stone you,
    or force you back into their religion; then you
    will never be saved.”
21. So it was, that We caused them to be discovered, that they would know that the
    promise of Allah is true, and that of the Hour
    there is no doubt. As they were disputing
    their case among themselves, they said,
    “Build over them a building.” Their Lord
    knows best about them. Those who prevailed
    over their case said, “We will set up over them
    a place of worship.”
22. They will say, “Three, and their fourth being their dog.” And they will say, “Five, and
    their sixth being their dog,” guessing at the
    unknown. And they will say, “Seven, and
    their eighth being their dog.” Say, “My Lord
    knows best their number.” None knows them
    except a few. So do not argue concerning
    them except with an obvious argument, and
    do not consult any of them about them.
23. And never say about anything, “I will do
    that tomorrow.”
24. Without saying, “If Allah wills.” And remember your Lord if you forget, and say,
    “Perhaps my Lord will guide me to nearer
    than this in integrity.”
25. And they stayed in their cave for three hundred years, adding nine.
26. Say, “Allah knows best how long they
    stayed.” His is the mystery of the heavens and
    the earth. By Him you see and hear. They
    have no guardian apart from Him, and He
    shares His Sovereignty with no one.
27. And recite what was revealed to you from
    the Book of your Lord. There is no changing
    His words, and you will find no refuge except
    in Him.
28. And content yourself with those who pray
    to their Lord morning and evening, desiring
    His Presence. And do not turn your eyes
    away from them, desiring the glitter of this
    world. And do not obey him whose heart We
    have made heedless of Our remembrance—
    so he follows his own desires—and his priorities are confused.
29. And say, “The truth is from your Lord.
    Whoever wills—let him believe. And whoever wills—let him disbelieve”. We have prepared for the unjust a Fire, whose curtains
    will hem them in. And when they cry for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten brass, which scalds the faces. What a miserable drink, and what a terrible place.
30. As for those who believe and lead a righteous life—We will not waste the reward of
    those who work righteousness.
31. These will have the Gardens of Eden, beneath which rivers flow. Reclining on comfortable furnishings, they will be adorned
    with bracelets of gold, and will wear green
    garments of silk and brocade. What a wonderful reward, and what an excellent resting place.
32. And cite for them the parable of two men.
    To one of them We gave two gardens of vine, and We surrounded them with palm-trees, and We placed between them crops.
33. Both gardens produced their harvest in
    full, and suffered no loss. And We made a
    river flow through them.
34. And thus he had abundant fruits. He said
    to his friend, as he conversed with him, “I am
    wealthier than you, and greater in manpower.”
35. And he entered his garden, wronging himself. He said, “I do not think this will ever perish.”
36. “And I do not think the Hour is coming.
    And even if I am returned to my Lord, I will
    find something better than this in return.”
37. His friend said to him, as he conversed
    with him, “Are you being ungrateful to Him
    who created you from dust, then from a
    sperm-drop, then evolved you into a man?
38. But as for me, He is Allah, my Lord, and I
    never associate with my Lord anyone.
39. When you entered your garden, why did
    you not say, “As Allah wills; there is no power
    except through Allah”? Although you see me
    inferior to you in wealth and children.
40. Perhaps my Lord will give me something
    better than your garden, and release upon it
    thunderbolts from the sky, so it becomes barren waste.
41. Or its water will sink into the ground, and
    you will be unable to draw it.”
42. And ruin closed in on his crops, and so he
    began wringing his hands over what he had
    invested in it, as it lays fallen upon its trellises.
    And he was saying, “I wish I never associated
    anyone with my Lord.”
43. He had no faction to help him besides Allah, and he was helpless.
44. That is because authority belongs to Allah,
    the True. He is Best in rewarding, and Best in
    requiting.
45. And cite for them the parable of the present life: it is like water that We send down
    from the sky; the plants of the earth absorb it; but then it becomes debris, scattered by the wind. Allah has absolute power over everything.
46. Wealth and children are the adornments of
    the present life. But the things that last, the
    virtuous deeds, are better with your Lord for
    reward, and better for hope.
47. On the Day when We set the mountains in
    motion; and you see the earth emerging; and
    We gather them together, and leave none of
    them behind.
48. They will be presented before your Lord in
    a row. “You have come to Us as We created
    you the first time. Although you claimed We
    would not set a meeting for you.”
49. And the book will be placed, and you will
    see the sinners fearful of its contents. And
    they will say, “Woe to us! What is with this
    book that leaves nothing, small or big, but it
    has enumerated it?” They will find everything
    they had done present. Your Lord does not
    wrong anyone.
50. We said to the angels, “Bow down to
    Adam.” So they bowed down, except for Satan. He was of the jinn, and he defied the
    command of his Lord. Will you take him and
    his offspring as lords instead of Me, when
    they are an enemy to you? Evil is the exchange for the wrongdoers.
51. I did not call them to witness the creation
    of the heavens and the earth, nor their own
    creation; and I do not take the misleaders for
    assistants.
52. On the Day when He will say, “Call on My
    partners whom you have claimed.” They will
    call on them, but they will not answer them.
    And We will place between them a barrier.
53. And the sinners will see the Fire, and will
    realize that they will tumble into it. They will
    find no deliverance from it.
54. We have elaborated in this Quran for the
    people every kind of example, but the human
    being is a most argumentative being.
55. What prevented people from accepting
    faith, when guidance has come to them, and from seeking their Lord’s forgiveness? Unless they are waiting for the precedent of the ancients to befall them, or to have the punishment come upon them face to face.
56. We send the messengers only as deliverers
    of good news and warners. Those who disbelieve argue with false argument, in order to
    defeat the truth thereby. They take My
    Verses, and the warnings, for a joke.
57. Who does greater wrong than he, who,
    when reminded of his Lord’s revelations,
    turns away from them, and forgets what his
    hands have put forward? We have placed
    coverings over their hearts, lest they understand it, and heaviness in their ears. And if
    you call them to guidance, they will not be
    guided, ever.
58. Your Lord is the Forgiver, Possessor of
    Mercy. Were He to call them to account for
    what they have earned, He would have hastened the punishment for them. But they
    have an appointment from which they will
    find no escape.
59. And these towns—We destroyed them
    when they committed injustices, and We set
    for their destruction an appointed time.
60. Recall when Moses said to his servant, “I
    will not give up until I reach the junction of
    the two rivers, even if it takes me years.”
61. Then, when they reached the junction between them, they forgot about their fish. It
    found its way into the river, slipping away.
62. When they went further, he said to his
    servant, “Bring us our lunch; we were exposed in our travel to much fatigue.”
63. He said, “Do you remember when we
    rested by the rock? I forgot about the fish. It
    was only the devil who made me forget it.
    And so it found its way to the river, amazingly.”
64. He said, “This is what we were seeking.”
    And so they turned back retracing their steps.
65. Then they came upon a servant of Ours,
    whom We had blessed with mercy from Us, and had taught him knowledge from Our Own.
66. Moses said to him, “May I follow you, so
    that you may teach me some of the guidance
    you were taught?”
67. He said, “You will not be able to endure
    with me.
68. And how will you endure what you have no
    knowledge of?”
69. He said, “You will find me, Allah willing,
    patient; and I will not disobey you in any order of yours.”
70. He said, “If you follow me, do not ask me
    about anything, until I myself make mention
    of it to you.”
71. So they set out. Until, when they had
    boarded the boat, he holed it. He said, “Did
    you hole it, to drown its passengers? You
    have done something awful.”
72. He said, “Did I not tell you that you will not
    be able to endure with me?”
73. He said, “Do not rebuke me for forgetting,
    and do not make my course difficult for me.”
74. Then they set out. Until, when they encountered a boy, he killed him. He said, “Did
    you kill a pure soul, who killed no one? You
    have done something terrible.”
75. He said,“Did I not tell you that you will not
    be able to endure with me?”
76. He said, “If I ask you about anything after
    this, then do not keep company with me. You
    have received excuses from me.”
77. So they set out. Until, when they reached
    the people of a town, they asked them for
    food, but they refused to offer them hospitality. There they found a wall about to collapse,
    and he repaired it. He said, “If you wanted,
    you could have obtained a payment for it.”
78. He said, “This is the parting between you
    and me. I will tell you the interpretation of
    what you were unable to endure.
79. As for the boat, it belonged to paupers
    working at sea. I wanted to damage it because there was a king coming after them seizing every boat by force.
80. As for the boy, his parents were believers,
    and we feared he would overwhelm them
    with oppression and disbelief.
81. So we wanted their Lord to replace him
    with someone better in purity, and closer to
    mercy.
82. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphaned boys in the town. Beneath it was a
    treasure that belonged to them. Their father
    was a righteous man. Your Lord wanted them
    to reach their maturity, and then extract their
    treasure—as a mercy from your Lord. I did
    not do it of my own accord. This is the interpretation of what you were unable to endure.”
83. And they ask you about Zul-Qarnain. Say,
    “I will tell you something about him.”
84. We established him on earth, and gave him
    all kinds of means.
85. He pursued a certain course.
86. Until, when he reached the setting of the
    sun, he found it setting in a murky spring,
    and found a people in its vicinity. We said, “O
    Zul-Qarnain, you may either inflict a penalty,
    or else treat them kindly.”
87. He said, “As for him who does wrong, we
    will penalize him, then he will be returned to
    his Lord, and He will punish him with an unheard-of torment.
88. “But as for him who believes and acts righteously, he will have the finest reward, and We
    will speak to him of Our command with
    ease.”
89. Then he pursued a course.
90. Until, when he reached the rising of the
    sun, he found it rising on a people for whom
    We had provided no shelter from it.
91. And so it was. We had full knowledge of
    what he had.
92. Then he pursued a course.
93. Until, when he reached the point separating the two barriers, he found beside them a people who could barely understand what is said.
94. They said, “O Zul-Qarnain, the Gog and
    Magog are spreading chaos in the land. Can
    we pay you, to build between us and them a
    wall?”
95. He said, “What my Lord has empowered
    me with is better. But assist me with strength,
    and I will build between you and them a
    dam.”
96. “Bring me blocks of iron.” So that, when he
    had leveled up between the two cliffs, he said,
    “Blow.” And having turned it into a fire, he
    said, “Bring me tar to pour over it.”
97. So they were unable to climb it, and they
    could not penetrate it.
98. He said, “This is a mercy from my Lord.
    But when the promise of my Lord comes true,
    He will turn it into rubble, and the promise
    of my Lord is always true.”
99. On that Day, We will leave them surging
    upon one another. And the Trumpet will be
    blown, and We will gather them together.
100. On that Day, We will present the disbelievers to Hell, all displayed.
101. Those whose eyes were screened to My
     message, and were unable to hear.
102. Do those who disbelieve think that they
     can take My servants for masters instead of
     Me? We have prepared Hell for the hospitality of the faithless.
103. Say, “Shall We inform you of the greatest
     losers in their works?”
104. “Those whose efforts in this world are
     misguided, while they assume that they are
     doing well.”
105. It is they who rejected the communications of their Lord, and the encounter with
     Him. So their works are in vain. And on the
     Day of Resurrection, We will consider them
     of no weight.
106. That is their requital—Hell—on account
     of their disbelief, and their taking My revelations and My messengers in mocker
107. As for those who believe and do righteous
     deeds, they will have the Gardens of Paradise
     for hospitality.
108. Abiding therein forever, without desiring
     any change therefrom.
109. Say, “If the ocean were ink for the words
     of my Lord, the ocean would run out, before
     the words of my Lord run out,” even if We
     were to bring the like of it in addition to it.
110. Say, “I am only a human being like you,
     being inspired that your god is One God.
     Whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him
     work righteousness, and never associate anyone with the service of his Lord.”