Lecture 2 in Tafseer series on Surah Kahf in Month of Ramadaan delivered by Mowlana Syed Aftab Haider at Ahlul Bait (a.s) Masjid, Ottery, Cape Town on 4 April 2022
After the opening verses discussion about the Book of Allah being upright and worthy of guiding us, the discussion of the Surah moves to reference about Prophet Muhammad (sawa) himself.
Verse 6 of Surah Kahf states:
فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ عَلَي ءَاثَارِهِم إِن لَّمْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِهذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَسَفاً
“Then maybe you will fret yourself to death with grief, following after them, if they do not believe in this Message (the Qur’an).”
Prophet Muhammad (sawa) is then informed why he should not stress too much as there is a natural reason why some people simply won’t choose to follow him.
Verse 7 of Surah Kahf thus states:
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَي الاَرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً
“Verily We have appointed whatever is on the earth as an ornament for it, so that We may try them: which of them is best in action.”
And then Verse 8 of Surah Kahf follows up by stating:
وَإِنَّا لَجَاعِلُونَ مَا عَلَيْهَا صَعِيداً جُرُزاً
“And (at the end) We will surely make whatever is on it (as) barren ground.”
The Quran beautifully summarizes the story of the life of this world in the abovementioned two verses.
GENUINE LEADERS ALWAYS DEEPLY CARE ABOUT THEIR PEOPLE
The word “baakhi’un” (باخع) comes from “bakha’ah” (بخع) which in Arabic means someone who kills himself due to grief/sorrow/stress, etc.
“Asafaa” (اسفا) means out of regret.
“Aathaar” (ءاثار) means “effect” which refers to the behaviour of the people of Mecca having consequences (in the next world) that Prophet Muhammad (sawa) deeply cares about and wants to protect them against. Their life in this world and the next will be destroyed due to their actions.
Prophet Muhammad (sawa) is advised through these verses not to stress too much.
These verses have a deep message. When a genuine leader and invitee (daa’ee) invites you to a message that he deeply believes in and has conviction in, he invites you with passion and wholeheartedly.
This point then cascades down to us too! Example if I found the right path and salvation, why do I need to be concerned about others who did not find this path or show no interest in it? This is a very selfish outlook.
However if one is a leader and an invitee, he does it for two reasons:
- he believes that he has the right message; and
- he loves and cares for others and don’t want to see their destruction.
Out of concern for others, he offers them the path of salvation to save them.
The basic philosophy of Da’wah (propagation) is the love of the Daa’ee (propagator) for his people.
Thus when the Daa’ee faces rejection, he feels very sad. The deeper the love of the Daa’ee, the deeper the pain of rejection is felt.
This feeling of wanting to almost kill himself out of concern for his people is referred to in more than one place in the Quran!
We read in Surah Shu’ara Verses 3 and 4
لَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ أَلاَ يَكُونُوا مُؤْمِنِينَ
“Perhaps you will kill yourself with grief, for that they do not become Believers.”
إِن نَّشَأْ نُنَزِّلْ عَلَيْهِم مِّن السَّمَاء آيَةً فَظَلَّتْ أَعْنَاقُهُمْ لَهَا خَاضِعِينَ
“If We please, We should send down upon them a sign from the heaven to which they would bend their necks in humility.”
We see at night Prophet Muhammad (sawa) would continuously prostrate and pray for his people.
However, if Almighty Allah wanted to force people to believe, He could have done that, but that is not His approach as it goes against the freewill that Almighty Allah granted the people.
Then when we consider this concern on our level, sometimes we express concern for members of our community if we have not seen them in mosque for a long time and their response is that “Mowlana should not worry”! The issue is that themselves need to be worried about their absence from attending mosque! However Mowlana’s worry for you is out of his deep concern for you, not to invade your privacy!
MESSAGE TO ALL PROPAGATORS
The Quran then explains to all people who invite others to Islam and sometimes get tired and want to give up on their cause the reason for people’s tendency to reject them and that is:
Verse 7 of Surah Kahf which states:
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَي الاَرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً
“Verily We have appointed whatever is on the earth as an ornament for it, so that We may try them: which of them is best in action.”
And then Verse 8 of Surah Kahf which states:
وَإِنَّا لَجَاعِلُونَ مَا عَلَيْهَا صَعِيداً جُرُزاً
“And (at the end) We will surely make whatever is on it (as) barren ground.”
The world is very beautiful and attractive in the form of wealth, status, the opposite gender, beautiful natural views, etc. However the purpose of all the worldly attraction is to test human beings which one is best in action. Note the verse does not say who has the most action but who is best in the action that he does.
People don’t follow your genuine message because they are deceived by the attractions of the world and can’t see beyond it. However the last verse indicates the end of all this attraction is barrenness!
In summary we learn at least four points from these verses:
- the world is a place of testing us
- its beauty is the tools used to test us
- quality of our action is more important than its quantity
- never be deceived by the beauty of this world as it is transient
INTRODUCING THE PEOPLE OF THE CAVE
Verse 9 of Surah Kahf states:
أَمْ حَسِبْتَ أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْكَهْفِ وَالرَّقِيمِ كَانُوا مِنْ ءَايَاتِنَا عَجَباً
“Or do you think that the people of the Cave and of the inscription were of Our wonderful signs?”
Verse 10 of Surah Kahf states:
إِذْ أَوَي الْفِتْيَةُ إِلَي الْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيّـِءْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَداً
“When the youths sought refuge unto the Cave, then they said: ‘Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Your Presence, and provide for us in our affair a right course’.”
Verse 11 of Surah Kahf states:
فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَي ءَاذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَداً
“Then We set over their ears (a curtain of sleep) in the Cave for a number of years.”
Verse 12 of Surah Kahf states:
ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ لِنَعْلَمَ أيُّ الْحِزْبَيْنِ أَحْصَي لِمَا لَبِثُوا أَمَداً
“Afterwards We raised them up in order to test which of the two parties would better calculate the time they had tarried.”
The Quran always establishes principles and laws in nature and society and then brings examples thereof. What the Surah mentioned in the previous verses is indirectly repeated at this point.
It is questioning why people found the story of the People of the Cave to be wonderous (which it is!) while the reality of the beauty of this world being reduced to something barren in future is even more wonderous and shocking than the story of a few people who slept in a cave for a few hundred years!!
This is the manner in which the Quran enters this discussion.
BACKGROUND TO THIS STORY
We mentioned yesterday that the Quraish of Mecca, after depleting all possible arguments against Prophet Muhammad (sawa) and not being able to resist his logic, started looking for excuses. So they sent some people to Madina where some Jews used to live to consult with them. According to some narrations they also sent people to Najran where Christians used to live to consult them too. The consultation was to solicit ideas on how to counter the new Prophet of Islam.
So the People of the Book (Christians and Jews) sent a message to the People of Mecca (Quraish) to question the new Prophet about three things to determine his authenticity (some reports say they suggested 2 questions while other reports indicate that they suggested 4 questions).
The 3 questions were:
- ask him about the story of the People of the Cave
- ask him about Prophet Musa (a.s) and Prophet Khithr (a.s)
- ask him about Thul Qarnayn and Ya’jooj & Ma’jooj (Gog & Magog)
The reports that indicate a 4th question suggested to ask him about the reality of the soul (ruh).
Some reports indicate a 5th question being suggested which was to ask him about the exact time when the Hereafter will occur.
If he was able to answer the first four questions he would be a genuine Prophet. And if he could not answer the 5th question, he would also be genuine.
After receiving these questions, Prophet Muhammad (sawa) apparently replied that he would reply to them the next day. However it is claimed/reported that he did not say “In-sha’Allah” and so he did not receive revelation the next day to be able to reply.
In fact the narrations state that Prophet Muhammad (sawa) did not receive revelation for up to 40 days thereafter. This cause some distress to the Prophet (sawa) but thereafter Surah Kahf was revealed.
SUMMARIZED DETAILS OF THE STORY OF THE PEOPLE OF THE CAVE
This story is one of the unique stories in the Quran that is actually discussed in relatively greater detail than other stories which are usually referred to briefly.
The youth of the cave were Christians who either lived in a city in Turkey or in Jordan (based on different opinions). Thus both cities until today had a cave which they claim is related to the Youth of the Cave.
The story essentially is about young people who lived in a city ruled by a Roman emperor who was an idol worshipper and was anti-Jesus and anti-Christian.
One day when a big celebration occurred in their city, one of the youth observed the idol worshipping tradition and reflected upon it and could not logically accept this practice. Through this reflection he accepted the original message of Prophet Jesus (a.s) to believe in One God.
Gradually this young man spoke to some of his friends who agreed with him. It is said that this group of young believers became seven in number and all rejected idol worshipping.
It is further written in Tafaaseer that all seven youth used to hide their beliefs, in other words they practiced Taqiyyah.
Some of these youth, especially the first one was the child of a very affluent member of the court of the emperor. In fact the rest also came from affluent families and were living luxurious lives but Almighty Allah enlightened their hearts with the truth of Tauheed. They used to meet secretly until their secret eventually leaked.
News of their beliefs reached the emperor who summoned them and warned them. Since they were children of the elite in society, the emperor did not initially treat them harshly but gave them a chance to “rectify” their beliefs, else they would be executed.
They then again met secretly and resolved to stick to their beliefs in Tauheed and then secretly, with their dog, escaped the city and took refuge in a cave.
Then, as the Surah says in verse 11, they fell asleep for many years.
فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَي ءَاذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَداً
“Then We set over their ears (a curtain of sleep) in the Cave for a number of years.”
After awakening after many years, they started wondering how long they slept. Some thought a day or part of a day or more than a day. However at the same time they felt extremely hungry.
Then there was thus the suggestion to go outside the cave and buy some food. So one of them was sent but when entering the city, he did not recognize it anymore. Eventually he was guided to a shop where he could buy food.
Upon wanting to pay for the food he took our coins to pay for it. The shop keeper said in shock that those coins were hundreds of years old. The youth couldn’t believe it.
That is how the word got out that these youth of hundreds of years ago were still alive.
The government had changed which was now pro Christian and welcomed these youth.
It is then narrated that these youth did not live for much longer and died in the same city.
The main message is one of devotion of youth who lived a luxurious life but sacrificed it for Monotheism. While taking refuge in the cave they relied on Almighty Allah and prayed:
رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيّـِءْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَداً
“Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Your Presence, and provide for us in our affair a right course.”
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