Qur’an Sura 18: THE CAVE
(Arberry trans.)
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In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
18:1 Praise belongs to God who has sent down upon His servant the Book and has
not assigned unto it any crookedness; right, to warn of great violence from
Him, and to give good tidings unto the believers, who do righteous deeds, that
theirs shall be a goodly wage therein to abide for ever,
and to warn those who say, 'God has taken to Himself a son'; they have no
knowledge of it, they nor their fathers; a monstrous word it is, issuing out of
their mouths; they say nothing but a lie.
18:5 Yet perchance, if they believe not in this tiding, thou wilt consume
thyself, following after them, of grief. We have appointed all that is on the
earth for an adornment for it, and that We may try which of them is fairest in
works; and We shall surely make all that is on it barren dust.
Or dost thou think the Men of the Cave and Er-Rakeem
were among Our signs a wonder? When the youths took
refuge in the Cave saying, 'Our lord, give us mercy from Thee, and furnish us
with rectitude in our affair.'
And We strengthened their hearts, when they stood up
and said, 'Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and earth; we will not call upon
any god, apart from Him, or then we had spoken outrage.
These our people have taken to them other gods, apart
from Him. Ah, if only they would bring some clear authority regarding them! But
who does greater evil than he who forges against God a lie?
18:15 So, when you have gone apart from them and that they serve, excepting
God, take refuge in the Cave, and your Lord will unfold to you of His mercy,
and will furnish -- you with a gentle issue of your affair.'
And thou mightest have seen the sun, when it rose,
inclining from their Cave towards the right, and, when it set, passing them by
on the left, while they were in a broad fissure of the Cave. That was one of
God's signs; whomsoever God guides, he is rightly guided, and whomsoever He
leads astray, thou wilt not find for him a protector to direct.
Thou wouldst have thought them awake, as they lay sleeping, while We turned them 'now to the right, now to the left,' and
their dog 'stretching its paws on the threshold'. Hadst
thou observed them surely thou wouldst have turned thy back on them in flight,
and been filled with terror of them.
And even so We raised them up again that they might
question one another. One of them said, 'How long have you tarried?' They said,
'We have tarried a day, or part of a day.' They said, 'Your Lord knows very
well how long you have tarried. Now send one of you forth with this silver to
the city, and let him look for which of them has purest food, and bring you
provision thereof; let him be courteous, and apprise no man of you.
'If they should get knowledge of you they will stone you, or restore you to
their creed, then you will not prosper ever.'
18:20 And even so We made them stumble upon them, that they might know that
God's promise is true, and that the Hour -- there is no doubt of it. When they
were contending among themselves of their affair then they said, 'Build over
them a building; their Lord knows of them very well.' Said
those who prevailed over their affair, 'We will raise over them a place of
worship.'
(They will say, 'Three; and their dog was the fourth of them.' They will say,
'Five; and their dog was the sixth of them' guessing at the Unseen. They will
say, 'Seven; and their dog was the eighth of them.' Say: 'My Lord knows very
well their number, and none knows them, except a few.' So do not dispute with
them, except in outward disputation, and ask not any of them for a
pronouncement on them.
And do not say, regarding anything, 'I am going to do that tomorrow,' but only,
'If God will'; and mention thy Lord, when thou forgettest,
and say, 'It may be that my Lord will guide me unto something nearer to
rectitude than this.')
And they tarried in the Cave three hundred years, and to that they added nine
more.
Recite what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord; no man can
change His words. Apart from Him, thou wilt find no refuge.
And restrain thyself with those who call upon their
Lord at morning and evening, desiring His countenance, and let not thine eyes turn away from them, desiring the adornment of
the present life; and obey not him whose heart We have made neglectful of Our
remembrance so that he follows his own lust, and his affair has become all
excess.
Say: 'The truth is from your Lord; so let whosoever will believe, and let
whosoever will disbelieve.' Surely We have prepared for the evildoers a fire,
whose pavilion encompasses them; if they call for succour,
they will be succoured with water like molten copper,
that shall scald their faces -- how evil a potion, and how evil a
resting-place!
Surely those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness -- surely We leave not
to waste the wage of him who does good works;
18:30 those -- theirs shall be Gardens of Eden, underneath which rivers flow;
therein they shall be adorned with bracelets of gold, and they shall be robed
in green garments of silk and brocade, therein reclining upon couches -- O, how
excellent a reward! And O, how fair a resting-place!
And strike for them a similitude: two men.
To one of them We assigned two gardens of vines, and
surrounded them with palm-trees, and between them We set a sown field; each of
the two gardens yielded its produce and failed naught in any wise; and We
caused to gush amidst them a river. So he had fruit; and he said to his fellow,
as he was conversing with him, 'I have more abundance of wealth than thou and
am mightier in respect of men. And he entered his garden, wronging himself; he
said, 'I do not think that this will ever perish; I do not think that the Hour
is coming; and if I am indeed returned to my Lord, I shall surely find a better
resort than this.'
18:35 Said his fellow, as he was conversing with him, 'What, disbelievest thou in Him who created thee of dust, then of
a sperm-drop, then shaped thee as a man? But lo, He is God, my Lord, and I will
not associate with my Lord any one.
Why, when thou wentest into thy garden, didst thou
not say, "As God will; there is no power except in God"? If thou seest me, that I am less than thou in wealth and children,
yet it may be that my Lord will give me better than thy garden, and loose on it
a thunderbolt out of heaven, so that in the morning it will be a slope of dust,
or in the morning the water of it will be sunk into the earth, so that thou
wilt not be able to seek it out.'
18:40 And his fruit was all encompassed, and in the morning he was wringing his
hands for that he had expended upon it, and it was fallen down upon its
trellises, and he was saying, 'Would I had not associated with my Lord any one!'
But there was no host to help him, apart from God, and he was helpless. Thereover protection belongs only to God the True; He is
best rewarding, best in the issue.
And strike for them the similitude of the present life: it is as water that We send down out of heaven, and the plants of the earth
mingle with it; and in the morning it is straw the winds scatter; and God is
omnipotent over everything.
Wealth and sons are the adornment of the present world; but the abiding things,
the deeds of righteousness, are better with God in reward, and better in hope.
18:45 And on the day We shall set the mountains in motion, and thou seest the earth coming forth, and We muster them so that We
leave not so much as one of them behind; and they shall be presented before
their Lord in ranks --'You have come to Us, as We created you upon the first
time; nay, you asserted We should not appoint for you a tryst.' And the Book
shall be set in place; and thou wilt see the sinners fearful at what is in it,
and saying, 'Alas for us! How is it with this Book, that it leaves nothing
behind, small or great, but it has numbered it?'
And they shall find all they wrought present, and thy Lord shall not wrong
anyone.
And when We said to the angels, 'Bow yourselves to
Adam'; so they bowed themselves, save Iblis; he was
one of the jinn, and committed ungodliness against his Lord's command. What,
and do you take him and his seed to be your friends, apart from Me, and they an enemy to you? How evil is that exchange for
the evildoers! I made them not witnesses of the creation of the heavens and
earth, neither of the creation of themselves; I would not ever take those who
lead others astray to be My supporters.
18:50 And on the day He shall say, 'Call on My associates whom you asserted';
and then they shall call on them, but they will not answer them, and We shall
set a gulf between them. Then the evildoers will see the Fire, and think that
they are about to fall into it, and will find no escape from it.
We have indeed turned about for men in this Koran every manner of similitude;
man is the most disputatious of things.
And naught prevented men from believing when the guidance came unto them, and
seeking their Lord's forgiveness, but that the wont of the ancients should come
upon them, or that the chastisement should come upon them face to face.
And We send not the Envoys, but good tidings to bear,
and warning. Yet do the unbelievers dispute with falsehood, that they may rebut
thereby the truth. They have taken My signs, and what
they are warned of, in mockery.
18:55 And who does greater evil than he who, being reminded of the signs of his
Lord, turns away from them and forgets what his hands have forwarded? Surely We have laid veils on their hearts lest they understand it,
and in their ears heaviness; and though thou callest
them to the guidance, yet they will not be guided ever.
But thy Lord is the All-forgiving, full of mercy. If He should take them to
task for that they have earned, He would hasten for them the chastisement; but
they have a tryst, from which they will find no escape.
And those cities, We destroyed them when they did
evil, and appointed for their destruction a tryst.
And when Moses said to his page, 'I will not give up until I
reach the meeting of the two seas, though I go on for many years.
18:60 Then, when they reached their meeting, they forgot their fish, and it
took its way into the sea, burrowing. When they had passed over, he said to his
page, 'Bring us our breakfast; indeed, we have encountered weariness from this
our journey.' He said, 'What thinkest
thou? When we took refuge in the rock, then I forgot the fish -- and it was
Satan himself that made me forget it so that I should
not remember it -- and so it took its way into the sea in a manner marvellous.' Said he, 'This is what we were seeking!' And
so they returned upon their tracks, retracing them. Then they found one of Our servants unto whom We had given mercy from Us, and We
had taught him knowledge proceeding from Us.
18:65 Moses said to him, 'Shall I follow thee so that thou teachest
me, of what thou hast been taught, right judgment.' Said he, 'Assuredly thou wilt not be able to bear with me patiently.
And how shouldst thou bear patiently that thou hast
never encompassed in thy knowledge?' He said, 'Yet thou shalt
find me, if God will, patient; and I shall not rebel against thee in anything.'
Said he, 'Then if thou followest me, question me not
on anything until I myself introduce the mention of it to thee.'
18:70 So they departed; until, when they embarked upon
the ship, he made a hole in it. He said, 'What, hast thou made a hole in it so
as to drown its passengers? Thou hast indeed done a grievous thing.' Said he, 'Did I not say that thou couldst never bear with me
patiently?' He said, 'Do not take me to task that I forgot, neither constrain me to do a thing too difficult.' So they departed;
until, when they met a lad, he slew him. He said, 'What, hast thou slain a soul
innocent, and that not to retaliate for a soul slain? Thou hast indeed done a
horrible thing.' Said he, 'Did I not say that thou couldst never bear with me
patiently?'
18:75 He said, 'If I question thee on anything after this, then keep me company
no more; thou hast already experienced excuse sufficient on my part.' So they
departed; until, when they reached the people of a city, they asked the people
for food, but they refused to receive them hospitably. There they found a wall
about to tumble down, and so he set it up. He said, 'If thou hadst wished, thou couldst have taken a wage for that.' Said he, 'This is the parting between me and thee. Now I
will tell thee the interpretation of that thou couldst not bear patiently. As
for the ship, it belonged to certain poor men, who toiled upon the sea; and I
desired to damage it, for behind them there was a king who was seizing every
ship by brutal force.
As for the lad, his parents were believers; and we were afraid he would impose
on them insolence
18:80 and unbelief; so we desired that their Lord should give to them in
exchange one better than he in purity, and nearer in tenderness. As for the
wall, it belonged to two orphan lads in the city, and under it was a treasure
belonging to them. Their father was a righteous man; and thy Lord desired that
they should come of age and then bring forth their treasure as a mercy from thy
Lord. I did it not of my own bidding. This is the interpretation of that thou
couldst not bear patiently.'
They will question thee concerning Dhool Karnain. Say: 'I will recite to you a mention of him. We
established him in the land, and We gave him a way to
everything; and he followed a way until, when he reached the setting of the
sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and he found nearby a people.
18:85 We said, 'O Dhool Karnain, either thou shalt
chastise them, or thou shalt take towards them a way
of kindness.' He said, 'As for the evildoer, him we shall chastise, then he
shall be returned to his Lord and He shall chastise him with a horrible
chastisement. But as for him who believes, and does righteousness, he shall
receive as recompense the reward most fair, and we
shall speak to him, of our command, easiness.'
Then he followed a way until, when he reached the rising of the sun, he found
it rising upon a people for whom We had not appointed
any veil to shade them from it.
18:90 So; and We encompassed in knowledge what was
with him. Then he followed a way until, when he reached between the two
barriers, he found this side of them a people scarcely able to understand
speech. They said, 'O Dhool Karnain,
behold, Gog and Magog are doing corruption in the
earth; so shall we assign to thee a tribute, against thy setting up a barrier
between us and between them?' He said, 'That wherein
my Lord has established me is better; so aid me forcefully, and I will set up a
rampart between you and between them.
18:95 Bring me ingots of iron!' Until, when he had
made all level between the two cliffs, he said, 'Blow!' Until, when he had made
it a fire, he said, 'Bring me, that I may pour molten brass on it.'
So they were unable either to scale it or pierce it. He said, 'This is a mercy
from my Lord. But when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it
into powder; and my Lord's promise is ever true.'
Upon that day We shall leave them surging on one another, and the Trumpet shall
be blown, and We shall gather them together,
18:100 and upon that day We shall present Gehenna to
the unbelievers whose eyes were covered against My remembrance, and they were
not able to hear. What, do the unbelievers reckon that they may take My servants as friends, apart from Me? We have prepared Gehenna for the unbelievers' hospitality.
Say: 'Shall We tell you who will be the greatest
losers in their works? Those whose striving goes astray in
the present life, while they think that they are working good deeds.
18:105 Those are they that disbelieve in the signs of
their Lord and the encounter with Him; their works have failed, and on the Day
of Resurrection We shall not assign to them any weight. That is their
recompense -- Gehenna for that they were unbelievers
and took My signs and My messengers in mockery.
But those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness -- the Gardens of Paradise
shall be their hospitality, therein to dwell forever, desiring no removal out
of them.'
Say:. 'If the sea were ink for the Words of my Lord,
the sea would be spent before the Words of my Lord are spent, though We brought replenishment the like of it.'
18:110 Say: 'I am only a mortal the like of you; it is revealed to me that your
God is One God. So let him, who hopes for the encounter with his Lord, work
righteousness, and not associate with his Lord's service anyone.