Surah Al-Kahf

Learn this table first: the MCQs and the 2-mark questions on the introduction come straight from it.

The name and the reason for it

• The surah is called Al-Kahf because «الْكَهْف» means the cave, and the surah begins its first and best-known story with the young believers who took refuge in a cave («أَصْحَابَ الْكَهْفِ», 18:9).
• The word «الْكَهْف» comes in 18:9, 18:10, 18:11 and 18:16, and the cave is mentioned again as «كَهْفِهِمْ» (their cave) in 18:17 and 18:25.

Period and occasion of revelation

Surah Al-Kahf is Makki and belongs to the middle Makki period. The Quraish had failed to stop the Prophet (ﷺ) by threats and torture, so they decided to test him. According to the well-known account of Ibn Ishaq, they sent men to the Jewish rabbis of Madinah, who advised them to ask him three questions: about the young men who left their people in ancient times, about the man who travelled to the east and the west, and about the soul. The Prophet (ﷺ) said he would answer the next day but did not say «إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه», so revelation was delayed for some days. Then Surah Al-Kahf came down with the answers (the cave youths, Dhul-Qarnayn) and with the guidance of 18:23 to 24. The question about the soul is answered in Surah Al-Isra (17:85).

Central theme and main topics

The central theme is holding firm to tawhid and the truth against the trials of this world. The surah shows four trials (fitnah) with four stories, and warns against the greatest trial, the Dajjal.

• Praise of Allah, the Book without any crookedness, and warning to those who say Allah has a son (18:1 to 8).
• Trial of faith: the People of the Cave (18:9 to 26) and the lesson of «إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه» (18:23 to 24).
• Trial of wealth: the two friends and the gardens (18:32 to 44), and the parable of the worldly life (18:45 to 46).
• The Day of Judgement, Adam and Iblis, and the arguments against the deniers (18:47 to 59).
• Trial of knowledge: Hazrat Musa (AS) and Hazrat Khidr (AS) (18:60 to 82).
• Trial of power: Dhul-Qarnayn and the barrier against Gog and Magog (18:83 to 99).
• The greatest losers, the reward of the believers, the words of Allah and the closing command (18:100 to 110).

Only well-known reports are given here, with their collections.

• Protection from the Dajjal: whoever memorises the first ten ayat of Surah Al-Kahf is protected from the Dajjal (Sahih Muslim).
• Light on Friday: whoever recites Surah Al-Kahf on Friday will have a light between the two Fridays (reported by Hakim and Bayhaqi).
• Tranquillity (sakinah): in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Hazrat Bara bin Azib (RA), a man recited Surah Al-Kahf and a cloud covered him; the Prophet (ﷺ) said it was the sakinah that descends for the Quran.

The three questions

• The Quraish, on the advice of the Jewish rabbis, asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about: (1) the young men who left their people (the People of the Cave), (2) the man who travelled east and west (Dhul-Qarnayn), (3) the soul (Ibn Ishaq).
• The first two are answered in this surah (18:9 to 26 and 18:83 to 98); the third is answered in Surah Al-Isra (17:85).
• The Prophet (ﷺ) promised an answer for the next day without saying «إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه», and revelation was delayed for some days.

The command of «إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه» (18:23 to 24)

• Never say that you will do something tomorrow without adding «إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه» (if Allah wills).
• If you forget to say it, remember your Lord when you recall it and say: perhaps my Lord will guide me to what is nearer than this to right conduct.
• Lesson: the future is in Allah's hand, so a believer ties every promise and plan to Allah's will.

The People of the Cave («أَصْحَابُ الْكَهْفِ») are young believers of an earlier time who left their people to keep their faith. This is the trial of faith. The Quran does not give the name of their city, their king or their century; it keeps only what teaches.

The story in order

1. Who they were: young men («الْفِتْيَةُ») who believed in their Lord, and Allah increased them in guidance (18:13).
2. Their people: they had taken gods besides Allah and brought no clear proof for them (18:15).
3. Their stand: Allah made their hearts firm and they said: our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, we will never call on any god besides Him (18:14).
4. Their flight: they agreed to leave their people and their false gods and take refuge in the cave, trusting that Allah would spread His mercy over them (18:16).
5. Their prayer: «رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا», our Lord, grant us mercy from Yourself and prepare right guidance for us in our affair (18:10).
6. The sleep: Allah cast sleep over their ears in the cave for a number of years (18:11). The sun inclined away from the cave at rising and setting, Allah turned them on their right and left sides, and their dog stretched its forelegs at the entrance (18:17 to 18).
7. The awakening: Allah woke them so that they might question one another. One asked how long they had stayed; they said a day or part of a day, and left the matter to their Lord (18:19).
8. The coin: they sent one of them with their silver coin to the city to bring pure food, asking him to be careful and not let anyone know about them, for if their people found them they would stone them or force them back to their religion (18:19 to 20).
9. The discovery: Allah let the people find them so that they would know that Allah's promise is true and that there is no doubt about the Hour. The people then argued, and those who prevailed said they would build a masjid over them (18:21).

Their number and the time they stayed

• Three opinions were given about their number: three and the fourth was their dog; five and the sixth was their dog; seven and the eighth was their dog (18:22).
• The first two are called «رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ», guessing at the unseen. The third is not described so, and many commentators therefore take seven as the nearer view.
• The Quran's own teaching: say, my Lord knows best their number; none knows them except a few; so do not argue except with an obvious argument (18:22). The number is not important for guidance.
• The time: they stayed in the cave for 300 years and nine more (18:25), that is 309 years, and then it is said: Allah knows best how long they stayed (18:26).

Lessons

• Faith is worth more than home, people and comfort; a believer leaves wrong surroundings to save his faith.
• Youth is a great strength when it stands for the truth.
• When a believer takes a step for Allah, Allah helps him in ways he does not expect.
• The story is a sign of Allah's power to raise the dead and proves that the Hour is true (18:21).
• Do not waste time in useless debates, such as the exact number of the youths.
• Make dua in hardship: the youths' short dua was answered.

Allah gives the example of two men. It is the trial of wealth: one man was proud of his gardens and forgot the Giver; the other was poor but a firm believer.

The proud owner

• Allah gave him two gardens of grapevines, surrounded by date-palms with crops between them, and a river flowing in them (18:32 to 33).
• He boasted to his friend: I am greater than you in wealth and mightier in men (18:34).
• He entered his garden while wronging himself and said: I do not think this will ever perish, I do not think the Hour will come, and even if I am returned to my Lord I will find something better (18:35 to 36).

The believing friend's advice

• Remind him of his origin: Allah created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then made you a man; are you disbelieving in Him (18:37)?
• Declare tawhid: He is Allah, my Lord, and I join no one with my Lord (18:38).
• Teach him what to say: when you entered your garden why did you not say «مَا شَاءَ اللّٰهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ», what Allah wills has come to pass, there is no power except with Allah (18:39)?
• Warn him: it may be that my Lord gives me better than your garden and sends a calamity from the sky on yours, or its water sinks into the earth so you can never find it (18:40 to 41).

The end of the garden

• His fruit was destroyed on every side; he kept wringing his hands over what he had spent, while the gardens lay fallen on their trellises (18:42).
• He said: I wish I had not joined anyone with my Lord (18:42).
• No group could help him against Allah, and he could not help himself (18:43). The true authority belongs to Allah, who is best in reward and best in outcome (18:44).

Lessons and advice

• Wealth, gardens and followers are gifts of Allah, not a proof of being better than others.
• Pride and forgetting the Hereafter ruin a person; shirk and denying the Hour lead to loss.
• Say «مَا شَاءَ اللّٰه» and «لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰه» when you see a blessing.
• A true friend gives sincere advice, and a believer is not shaken by poverty.
• Worldly things can vanish in a moment, so depend on Allah, not on property.

This is the trial of knowledge. Hazrat Musa (AS) set out to meet a servant of Allah who had been given a special knowledge, and learned that what looks wrong to us may hide Allah's wisdom. The Quran calls him only «عَبْدًا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَا», a servant from among Our servants (18:65); the hadith in Sahih Bukhari, from Hazrat Ubayy bin Ka'b (RA), names him Khidr.

The journey and the meeting

• Hazrat Musa (AS) said to his young companion that he would not stop until he reached the meeting of the two seas, even if it took a long time (18:60). According to the hadith in Bukhari the occasion was that he was asked who was the most knowing and said himself, so Allah showed him a servant who knew what he did not; the companion was Yusha bin Nun.
• The sign: they took a fish with them; at the meeting of the seas the fish slipped away into the sea and they forgot it (18:61). Later Hazrat Musa (AS) asked for the morning meal, the companion remembered, and Hazrat Musa (AS) said: that is what we were seeking (18:62 to 64).
• They returned along their footprints and found the servant of Allah, to whom Allah had given mercy and a knowledge from Himself (18:64 to 65).
• Hazrat Musa (AS) asked humbly: may I follow you so that you teach me some of the right guidance you were taught (18:66)? He answered: you will not be able to be patient with me, how can you be patient about what you do not comprehend (18:67 to 68)? Hazrat Musa (AS) said: you will find me patient, if Allah wills, and I will not disobey you (18:69). The condition: do not ask me about anything until I myself tell you (18:70).

The three events and the reasons

• Each time Hazrat Musa (AS) forgot his promise and asked. After the first he said: do not blame me for what I forgot (18:73). After the second he said: if I ask you after this, do not keep me as a companion (18:76). After the third Hazrat Khidr (AS) said: this is the parting between me and you (18:78).
• At the end he said: I did it not on my own accord; this is the explanation of what you could not bear with patience (18:82).

Lessons and guidance

• Seek knowledge humbly and travel for it, even if you are a great prophet.
• Human knowledge is limited; above every knower is the One who knows (Allah).
• Behind apparent harm there may be hidden good; the believer trusts Allah's decree and wisdom.
• Patience and good manners with the teacher are needed for learning; promise with «إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه».
• Allah looks after the poor, the orphans and the children of the righteous.
• Do not judge an event only by what you see.

The Quraish (on the advice of the rabbis) asked about Dhul-Qarnayn, the man of the two horns, and the Prophet (ﷺ) was told to say: I will recite to you a report about him (18:83). This is the trial of power. The Quran does not give his nation or his time, so commentators differ about who he was; for the exam the story and the lessons are what count.

His three journeys

• Power from Allah: Allah established him on the earth and gave him a means to everything (18:84).
• West: he reached the place where the sun sets and found it setting in a murky spring, and near it a people. Allah said: either punish them or treat them with kindness (18:86). He said: whoever does wrong we shall punish, then he returns to his Lord who will punish him severely; whoever believes and does good will have a good reward and we shall speak gently to him (18:87 to 88).
• East: he reached the place where the sun rises and found it rising on a people for whom Allah had made no shelter against it (18:90). Allah says His knowledge encompassed all that he had (18:91).
• Between two mountains: he found a people who hardly understood speech. They said: Gog and Magog (Ya'juj and Ma'juj) spread corruption in the land; will you build a barrier between us and them if we pay you (18:93 to 94)?

The barrier against Gog and Magog

• He refused payment: what my Lord has given me is better, only help me with strength (18:95).
• He built it with sheets of iron between the two mountain walls, blew on it until it was like fire, and poured molten copper over it (18:96).
• Gog and Magog could neither climb it nor dig through it (18:97).
• His humble words: this is a mercy from my Lord; when my Lord's promise comes He will level it, and my Lord's promise is true (18:98).

Lessons and guidance

• Power and wealth are a trust from Allah; the just ruler thanks Allah and serves people.
• Reward the good and punish the wrongdoer, with justice and gentle speech.
• Serve the weak without greed: he refused payment and asked only for help with labour.
• Use science and skills (iron, fire, copper) for the benefit of people, and rely on Allah.
• Do not be proud of success: say this is a mercy from my Lord.
• Everything built by man will end when Allah's promise (the Day of Judgement) comes.

The example of the worldly life (18:45 to 46)

• The worldly life is like rain: the plants of the earth grow with it, then become dry stubble that the winds scatter (18:45).
• Wealth and children are only the adornment of the worldly life; the lasting good deeds («الْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ») are better in reward and better in hope (18:46).

The Day of Judgement (18:47 to 49)

• Allah will move the mountains, the earth will be bare, and all will be gathered; none will be left behind (18:47).
• They will be presented before the Lord in rows: you have come to Us as We created you the first time (18:48).
• The record of deeds will be placed; the criminals will be afraid of what is in it and say: woe to us, it leaves nothing small or great without counting it; and your Lord wrongs no one (18:49).

Adam and Iblis (18:50 to 53)

• Allah told the angels to prostrate to Adam; they all did except Iblis, who was of the jinn and disobeyed his Lord's command (18:50). So Iblis was a jinn, not an angel.
• Will you take him and his offspring as friends instead of Me when they are your enemies (18:50)? Allah did not make them witnesses to the creation of the heavens and the earth (18:51).
• On that Day those who called partners will call them, but they will not answer, and Allah will put a barrier of destruction between them (18:52).

Arguments against the deniers (18:54 to 59)

• Allah has given every kind of example in this Quran, yet man is the most disputatious of things (18:54).
• Messengers are only bringers of good news and warners; the disbelievers argue with falsehood to defeat the truth and take Allah's signs and warnings as «هُزُوًا» (mockery) (18:56). «هُزُوًا» is in the 80-list.
• Who is more unjust than one who is reminded of his Lord's signs, turns away and forgets what his hands sent forward? Allah has put coverings over their hearts and deafness in their ears (18:57).
• Your Lord is Forgiving and Merciful; if He punished them at once for what they earned, He would hasten the punishment, but they have an appointed time (18:58). The towns that were destroyed were destroyed for their wrongdoing, with a fixed time (18:59).

The greatest losers (18:103 to 106)

• They are those whose effort is wasted in the worldly life while they think they are doing good work (18:103 to 104).
• They disbelieved in the signs of their Lord and in meeting Him, so their deeds are worthless and on the Day of Resurrection Allah will give them no weight (18:105).
• Their reward is Hell because they disbelieved and took Allah's signs and messengers as mockery, «هُزُوًا» (18:106).

The believers (18:107 to 108)

• Those who believe and do good deeds will have the gardens of Firdaws as a lodging, remaining there forever and never wishing to leave (18:107 to 108).

The words of Allah and the closing command (18:109 to 110)

• If the sea were ink for writing the words of my Lord, the sea would be used up before the words of my Lord ended, even if we brought another like it (18:109).
• The Prophet (ﷺ) is told to say: I am only a man like you, to whom it is revealed that your God is One (18:110). He is a human being, not divine.
• Whoever hopes to meet his Lord must do good deeds and not join anyone with his Lord in worship (18:110). The two conditions are righteous deeds and no shirk.

Ruku 1 (ayat 1 to 12)

The surah opens with praise of Allah who sent down the Book on His servant with no crookedness («عِوَجًا»), straight («قَيِّمًا»), to warn of a severe punishment and to give good news of a good reward in which the believers will remain «أَبَدًا», forever. It warns those who say Allah has taken a son («اتَّخَذَ», 18:4), consoles the Prophet (ﷺ) who was grieving over their disbelief (18:6), says the earth's things are an adornment to test who is best in deed and will one day be barren ground (18:7 to 8), and begins the story of «أَصْحَابُ الْكَهْفِ وَالرَّقِيمِ», the companions of the cave and the inscription: the youths took refuge in the cave and prayed for mercy and guidance, and Allah put them to sleep for years and then woke them to show which of the two groups counted their stay best (18:9 to 12).

Ruku 2 (ayat 13 to 17)

Allah tells the true story: the youths believed in their Lord and were increased in guidance; Allah made their hearts firm when they stood and declared tawhid (18:13 to 14). They criticised their people for taking gods without a clear proof (18:15) and decided to retreat to the cave (18:16). Allah describes the cave: the sun passed to the right at rising and to the left at setting, while they lay in its wide space; this is one of Allah's signs, and whom He guides is guided (18:17).

Ruku 3 (ayat 18 to 22)

They looked awake though asleep; Allah turned them to the right and left and their dog lay at the entrance (18:18). Then Allah woke them, they questioned one another, and sent one with a silver coin to the city, telling him to be careful (18:19 to 20). The people found them, and it became a sign that Allah's promise is true and the Hour has no doubt; the people argued and some wanted to build a masjid over them (18:21). The ruku ends with the three opinions about their number and the command to leave the number to Allah (18:22).

Teachings

• The Quran is straight and free from any crookedness; it warns and gives good news.
• Saying that Allah has a son is a grave word and a lie (18:4 to 5).
• The earth's things are an adornment to test us (18:7).
• Hold on to faith and Allah will strengthen your heart and open a way.

Ruku 4 (ayat 23 to 31)

The ruku gives the command of «إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه» (18:23 to 24), says the People of the Cave stayed 300 years and nine more, and that Allah knows best (18:25 to 26). The Prophet (ﷺ) is told to recite the Book, which no one can change (18:27), to keep himself patient with those who call on their Lord morning and evening seeking His face, not to turn his eyes from them for the adornment of the world, and not to obey one whose heart is heedless of Allah (18:28). The truth is from your Lord: whoever wishes may believe or disbelieve, and the wrongdoers have a Fire whose walls enclose them (18:29), while the believers have gardens of Eden with bracelets of gold and green silk garments (18:30 to 31).

Ruku 5 (ayat 32 to 44)

The example of the two men and the gardens is told. The rich man was proud and denied the Hour; his friend, a believer, reminded him of Allah, advised him to say «مَا شَاءَ اللّٰهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰه», and the garden was destroyed. The ruku ends with the truth that the authority belongs to Allah (18:32 to 44).

Teachings

• Tie every plan to «إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه».
• Stay with the sincere believers, even if they are poor, and do not follow the heedless.
• Belief is a free choice with a responsibility: reward for the believers, punishment for the wrongdoers.
• Pride in wealth ends in loss; thank Allah for blessings.

Ruku 6 (ayat 45 to 49)

The worldly life is likened to rain and the plants that dry up; wealth and children are an adornment and the lasting good deeds are better (18:45 to 46). Then the Day of Judgement is shown: the mountains moving, the people gathered and presented in rows, and the record of deeds that leaves nothing out (18:47 to 49).

Ruku 7 (ayat 50 to 53)

Allah reminds how the angels prostrated to Adam except Iblis, who was of the jinn; the deniers are asked how they take him and his offspring as friends (18:50), and are told that the partners they called will not answer them on the Day of Judgement (18:52 to 53).

Ruku 8 (ayat 54 to 59)

The Quran has given every kind of example, but man is the most quarrelsome (18:54). Nothing stopped the people from believing except the wish to see what happened to earlier peoples or the punishment before them (18:55). The messengers only bring good news and warnings; the disbelievers take the signs as «هُزُوًا» (18:56). Their hearts are covered (18:57). Allah is Forgiving and gives respite, and the towns were destroyed when they did wrong (18:58 to 59).

Teachings

• The worldly life is short and passing; prepare with lasting good deeds.
• Do not take Iblis and his party as friends.
• Do not mock the signs and the messengers.
• Allah gives respite but the appointed time will come.

Ruku 9 (ayat 60 to 70)

Hazrat Musa (AS) travels with his young companion to the meeting of the two seas, the fish slips away, they return and find the servant of Allah; Hazrat Musa (AS) asks to follow him to learn, and the condition is not to ask questions until he explains (18:60 to 70).

Ruku 10 (ayat 71 to 82)

The boat is damaged, the boy is killed and the wall is rebuilt. Hazrat Musa (AS) objects each time; then Hazrat Khidr (AS) explains the reasons: the king who seized boats, the believing parents, and the treasure of the two orphans (18:71 to 82).

Teachings

• Humility and effort in seeking knowledge.
• Patience and trust in Allah's wisdom when things seem wrong.
• Care for orphans and the poor; Allah rewards the righteous in their children.

Ruku 11 (ayat 83 to 101)

Dhul-Qarnayn is established in the land and travels west, east and between two mountains; he deals justly with the people, builds the barrier against Gog and Magog and thanks Allah (18:83 to 98). Then comes the Day: the people surge like waves, the trumpet is blown and Hell is shown to the disbelievers, who had eyes covered from the remembrance of Allah (18:99 to 101).

Ruku 12 (ayat 102 to 110)

Those who take servants of Allah as protectors have a lodging prepared in Hell (18:102). The greatest losers are those whose effort was wasted while they thought they did well; they denied Allah's signs, so they have Hell (18:103 to 106). The believers have the gardens of Firdaws (18:107 to 108). The surah ends with the words of Allah that cannot be exhausted (18:109) and the command to say: I am only a man like you; whoever hopes to meet his Lord must do good and not join anyone with Him (18:110).

Teachings

• Power is a trust and should be used to protect the weak.
• Man-made barriers will end, Allah's promise is true.
• Sincere deeds and tawhid are the two conditions for meeting Allah.
• Do not think that good intention alone saves; deeds must match the truth.

Learn these one-line facts for the MCQs and the 2-mark questions.

1. Surah Al-Kahf is the 18th surah, Makki, with 110 ayat and 12 rukus, in paras 15 and 16.
2. The name means the cave («الْكَهْف»), from the story of the People of the Cave (18:9).
3. It was revealed in the middle Makki period, after the Quraish asked three questions on the advice of the Jewish rabbis.
4. The three questions: the youths of the cave, the traveller to east and west (Dhul-Qarnayn), and the soul (answered in Al-Isra, 17:85).
5. The Prophet (ﷺ) did not say «إِنْ شَاءَ اللّٰه», revelation paused for some days, and then 18:23 to 24 came.
6. The surah begins with «الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ»; the others that begin so are Al-Fatihah, Al-An'am, Saba and Fatir.
7. The first ten ayat protect from the Dajjal (Sahih Muslim); reading on Friday gives light between two Fridays (Hakim, Bayhaqi).
8. Four stories and four trials: faith (People of the Cave), wealth (two friends), knowledge (Musa and Khidr), power (Dhul-Qarnayn).
9. The youths slept for 300 years and nine more (18:25), that is 309 years.
10. Opinions on their number: three, five and seven, each with the dog as the next (18:22); Allah knows best.
11. The youths' prayer is in 18:10: «رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً ...».
12. The two friends: one had two gardens of grapevines with palms, a river and crops (18:32 to 33); the believer taught him to say «مَا شَاءَ اللّٰهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰه» (18:39).
13. Wealth and children are the adornment of the worldly life; the lasting good deeds are better (18:46).
14. Iblis was of the jinn, not an angel (18:50).
15. Hazrat Musa (AS) met Hazrat Khidr (AS) at the meeting of the two seas, with a fish as the sign; the three events were the boat, the boy and the wall (18:60 to 82).
16. Hazrat Khidr (AS) is named in the hadith (Bukhari); the Quran says a servant from among Our servants (18:65).
17. Dhul-Qarnayn made three journeys (west, east, between the mountains) and built the barrier of iron and molten copper against Gog and Magog (18:83 to 98).
18. The greatest losers are those whose effort was wasted while they thought they did well (18:103 to 104).
19. The closing ayah: I am only a man like you; do righteous deeds and join no one with Allah (18:110).
20. 80-list words of this unit: «عِوَجًا» crookedness, «اِتَّخَذَ» he took, «اَلْفِتْيَةُ» the youths, «اَلرَّقِيْمِ» the inscription, «اَلْكَهْفِ» the cave, «اَبَدًا» forever, «قَيِّمًا» straight, «هُزُوًا» mockery.

If you see one of these ayat in the paper, look for the key words and answer from the ayah first, then add the context.