Al-Kahf

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَا ۜ 1

{ الحمد } وهو الوصف بالجميل، ثابت { لله } تعالى وهل المراد الإعلام بذلك للإيمان به أو الثناء أو هما؟ احتمالات، أفيدها الثالث { الذى أنزل على عبده } محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم { الكتب } القرآن { ولم يجعل له } أي فيه { عوجا } اختلافا أو تناقضا، والجملة حال من(الكتاب).

Praise — which is the attribution [to a person] of that which is beautiful — is established [as something that], belongs to God [alone], exalted be He. Now, is the intention here to point this out for the purpose of believing in it, or to praise [God] thereby, or both? All are possibilities, the most profitable of which is [to understand] the third [as being the intention behind this statement]; Who has revealed to His servant, Muhammad (s), the Book, the Qur’ān, and has not allowed for it, that is, [He has not allowed that there be] in it, any crookedness, [any] variance or contradiction (the [last] sentence [wa-lam yaj‘al lahu ‘iwajan] is a circumstantial qualifier referring to al-kitāb, ‘the Book’);

قَيِّمًا لِّيُنذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِّن لَّدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا 2

{ قيما } مستقيما حال ثانية مؤكدة { لينذر } يخوف الكتاب الكافرين { بأسا } عذابا { شديدا من لدنه } من قبل الله { ويبشر المؤمنين الذين يعملون الصلحات أن لهم أجرا حسنا }.

[a Book] upright, (qayyiman is a second circumstantial qualifier for [added] emphasis) to warn of, to make, by this Book, the disbelievers fear, severe chastisement from Him, from God, and to bring to the believers who perform righteous deeds the good tidings that theirs will be a fair reward,

مَّـٰكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا 3

{ ماكثين فيه أبدا } هو الجنة.

wherein they will abide forever, and this [reward] is Paradise;

وَيُنذِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوا۟ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَدًا 4

{ وينذر } من جملة الكافرين { الذين قالوا اتخذ الله ولدا }.

and to warn those, from among the disbelievers, who say, ‘God has taken a son’.

مَّا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ وَلَا لِـَٔابَآئِهِمْ ۚ كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَٰهِهِمْ ۚ إِن يَقُولُونَ إِلَّا كَذِبًا 5

{ ما لهم به } بهذا القول { من علم ولا لأبائهم } من قبلهم القائلين له { كبرت } عظمت { كلمة تخرج من أفواههم } (كلمة) تمييز مفسر للضمير المبهم والمخصوص بالذم محذوف أي مقالتهم المذكورة { إن } ما { يقولون } في ذلك { إلا } مقولا { كذبا }.

They do not have, in this, in this saying, any knowledge, nor did their fathers, before them, who [also] used to say this. Dreadful, grave, is the word that comes out of their mouths (kalimatan, ‘word’, is for specification and it explains the unidentified [feminine] person [of the verb, kaburat, ‘dreadful’]; and that which is the object of censure has been omitted, and that is their above-mentioned saying [that God has taken a son]). They speak nothing, thereby, but, an utterance of, lies.

فَلَعَلَّكَ بَـٰخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِهِمْ إِن لَّمْ يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْحَدِيثِ أَسَفًا 6

{ فلعلك بخع } مهلك { نفسك على ءاثرهم } بعدهم أي بعد توليهم عنك { إن لم يؤمنوا بهذا الحديث } القرآن { أسفا } غيظا وحزنا منك لحرصك على إيمانهم، ونصبه على المفعول له.

Yet it may be that you will consume, destroy, yourself in their wake — following [your being with] them, that is, after they have left you — if they should not believe in this discourse, [in this] Qur’ān, out of grief, out of rage and anguish on your part, because of your eagerness that they believe (asafan, ‘out of grief’, is in the accusative because it functions as an object denoting reason).

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا 7

{ إنا جعلنا ما على الأرض } من الحيوان والنبات والشجر والأنهار وغير ذلك { زينة لها لنبلوهم } لنختبر الناس ناظرين إلى ذلك { أيهم أحسن عملا } فيه أي أزهد له.

Truly We have made all that is on the earth, in the way of animals, plants, trees, rivers and so on, as an adornment for it, that We may try them, that We may test mankind observing thereby, which of them is best in conduct, therein, that is, [to see which of them] is the most abstemious of it.

وَإِنَّا لَجَـٰعِلُونَ مَا عَلَيْهَا صَعِيدًا جُرُزًا 8

{ وإنا لجاعلون ما عليها صعيدا } فتاتا { جرزا } يابسا لا ينبت.

And indeed We shall turn all that is therein into barren shreds, that produce no plants.

أَمْ حَسِبْتَ أَنَّ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ وَٱلرَّقِيمِ كَانُوا۟ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَا عَجَبًا 9

{ أم حسبت } أي ظننت { أن أصحب الكهف } الغار في الجبل { والرقيم } اللوح المكتوب فيه أسماؤهم وأنسابهم وقد سئل صلى الله عليه وسلم عن قصتهم { كانوا } في قصتهم { من } جملة { ءايتنا عجبا } خبر (كان) وما قبله حال، أي كانوا عجبا دون باقي الآيات أو أعجبها؟ ليس الأمر كذلك.

Or did you think, did you suppose, that the Companions of the Cave, the cavern in the mountain, and the Inscription, the tablet wherein their names and lineages had been inscribed — the Prophet (s) had been asked about their tale — were, with regard to their tale, a [unique] marvel from among, the entirety [of], Our signs? (‘ajaban, ‘a marvel’ is the predicate of [the defective verb] kāna [sc. kānū], the preceding [min āyātinā, ‘from among Our signs’] being a circumstantial qualifier). In other words, [did you suppose] that they were a marvel exclusively from among all [Our] other signs, or that they were the most marvellous among them? Not so.

إِذْ أَوَى ٱلْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى ٱلْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا 10

اذكر { إذ أوى الفتية إلى الكهف } جمع (فتى) وهو الشاب الكامل خائفين على إيمانهم من قومهم الكفار { فقالوا ربنا ءاتنا من لدنك } من قبلك { رحمة وهيىء } أصلح { لنا من أمرنا رشدا } هداية.

Mention, when the youths took refuge in the Cave (fitya, ‘youths’, is the plural of fatā, and denotes a mature young man) fearing for their faith from their disbelieving people, they said, ‘Our Lord! Give us mercy from Yourself and remedy for us our affair through rectitude’, [through Your] guidance.

فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ فِى ٱلْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا 11

{ فضربنا على ءاذانهم } أي أنمناهم { فى الكهف سنين عددا } معدودة.

So We smote their ears, that is, We made them sleep, in the Cave for several years, for a [fixed] number of years.

ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَـٰهُمْ لِنَعْلَمَ أَىُّ ٱلْحِزْبَيْنِ أَحْصَىٰ لِمَا لَبِثُوٓا۟ أَمَدًا 12

{ ثم بعثنهم } أيقظناهم { لنعلم } علم مشاهدة { أي الحزبين } الفريقين المختلفين في مدة لبثهم { أحصى } (أفعل) بمعنى (أضبط) { لما لبثوا } للبثهم متعلق بما بعده { أمدا } غاية.

Then We aroused them, We awakened them, that We might know, a knowledge of direct vision, which of the two parties, the two groups in disagreement over the length of their stay [in the cave], was better in calculating (ahsā is [of the pattern] of af‘al, meaning ‘more precise’]) what they had tarried (li-mā labithū is semantically connected to the following) in [terms of the] length of time (amadan, [in the accusative] denotes purpose).