Al-Kahf

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18th chapter of the Qur'an

title: "Al-Kahf" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["chapters-in-the-quran", "dhul-qarnayn", "gog-and-magog", "dogs-in-religion", "moses", "satan-in-religious-literature"] description: "18th chapter of the Qur'an" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Kahf" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 18th chapter of the Qur'an ::

::data[format=table title="infobox surah"]

Field	Value
number	18
number-3	018
name	Al-Kahf
name-ar	الكهف
name-en	The Cave
prev_sura	Quran 17
next_sura	Quran 19
classification	Meccan
juz	15 to 16
Hizb_number	30, 31
rukus	12
verses	110
words	1583
letters	6425
sajdahs
audio	Chapter 18, Al-Kahf (Murattal) - Recitation of the Holy Qur'an.mp3
meaning	The Cave
::

| number = 18 | number-3 = 018 | name = Al-Kahf | name-ar =الكهف | name-en =The Cave | prev_sura = Quran 17 | next_sura = Quran 19 | classification = Meccan | othernames-ar = | othernames = | juz = 15 to 16 |Hizb_number = 30, 31 | rukus = 12 | verses = 110 | words = 1583 | letters = 6425 | muqattaat = | sajdahs = | audio = Chapter 18, Al-Kahf (Murattal) - Recitation of the Holy Qur'an.mp3 |meaning=The Cave}} |filename=Chapter 18, Al-Kahf (Mujawwad) - Recitation of the Holy Qur'an.mp3 |title=Al-Kahf |pos=right |description= Recitation of Al-Kahf in mujawwad. |format=Mp3 | width = 200 | image1 = Illuminated folio. The Ruzbihan Qur'an (CBL Is 1558, f. 209a).jpg | alt1 = Yellow cartouche | image2 = The Ruzbihan Qur'an. Heading for Chapter 18, al-Kahf, marking the middle of the Qur'an (CBL Is 1558, f. 208b).jpg | alt2 = Red cartouche | footer = Heading for Surah Al-Kahf. From the Qur'an copied by Ruzbihan Muhammad al-Shirazi. Shiraz, c. 1550. Chester Beatty Library. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Copied_by_Kadı_Mahmud_Efendi_-Al_Kahf(the_Cave)sura_from_the_Qur’an-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" caption="Ottoman]] calligrapher Kadı Mahmud Efendi (d. 1575). [[Muhaqqaq]], [[thuluth]] and [[reqa]] script. [[Sakıp Sabancı Museum"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Central_illumination_of_the_Royal_Terengganu_Quran_(Islamic_Arts_Museum_Malaysia).jpg" caption="language=en}} [[Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia"] ::

Al-Kahf () is the 18th chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an with 110 verses (āyāt). Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), it is an earlier Meccan surah, which means it was revealed before Muhammad's hijrah to Medina instead of after. It is the midst sura of quran having the midst word "walyatalattaf" (وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ), meaning "let him be kind".

Summary

1 God praised for the gift of Qur'an
2 The Qur'an being a warning for the unbelievers and good tidings to the faithful
3 The reward for the believers who do good deeds will be an everlasting abode (Jannah)
4-5 The Qur'an is a warning to those who say God has begotten, and the ignorance of their sayings
6 Muhammad's grief for the disbelief of his people
7-8 Earth's adornment to be reduced to dust
9-22 The story of the companions of the cave
23-24 Muhammad is warned by God not to intend to do anything without saying "Insha-Allah" ().
25 The sleepers of the cave slept for 300 years and 9 more
26 Times and seasons are in God's hands. Time is a creation of God and can be modified by Him.
27 None can change the Qur'an
28 The pious are the Prophet's guardians
29 Truth is from the Lord
30-31 Sufferings of the wicked contrasted with the rewards of the righteous
32-44 The parable of the two men
45 Life on earth likened to water from heaven
46 God's preference to humans' good deeds than their wealth and children
47 Mankind's assemblage on the Judgement Day
48-49 The manner of the judgment—the book of personal action delivered
50 Iblis's refusal to prostrate to Adam when Adam was created
51 The offspring of Satan, not present at the creation
52 Idol-worshippers deserted by their idols during the Day of Judgment
53 The wicked doomed to hellfire
54 Every similitude mentioned in the Qur'an
55 Men's rejection of the Qur'an through their disbelief
56 Prophets have been sent with threats and good news
57 The sin of apostasy
58 God's mercy and that He appointed a time for people's accountability and torment
59 Disbelief's destruction of former cities
60-65 Moses and Joshua visit Khidr
66 Moses desires to be taught by Khidr
66-69 Khidr, knowing Moses's inability to receive his wisdom, yields to his importunity
71-77 He scuttles a boat, kills a boy, and rebuilds a collapsing wall
78-82 Khidr refuses to communicate further with Moses on account of his protests against his conduct, but condescends to explain his conduct.
83-86 Dhu al Qarnain journeys to the setting sun which appears to him to be setting in a muddy pool
87-88 He finds a people, whom he is permitted to treat as he wills
89-90 The phenomenon of Midnight Sun
91-94 He travels east and north, where he finds an ignorant race, who plead his protection against Gog and Magog
95-97 He builds a rampart against them
98 Gog and Magog to be let loose before Judgement Day
99 All creatures being resurrected and gathered by the trumpet blow of Israfil.
100-108 The rewards and punishments of Judgement Day
109 The ocean's insufficiency to write all the words of God with ink
110 Muhammad's morality and humanity

Exegesis

9-26 "Companions of the cave"

Verses 9–26 of the chapter retell the Christian folktale of the "companions of the cave". A few young believers lived in a time when they were tortured for their beliefs. Upon the guidance of God, they fled the city where believers were persecuted, together with their dog, and took refuge in a cave where they fell asleep. When they awoke they found that the people of the city had become believers.

27 No room for explicit textual changes of the Qur'an

::quote

The commentary by Ozma Nasir Makarim Shirazi says, "There is no room for diversity to enter into His Words and Knowledge. His Speech and His Knowledge is not like the speech and knowledge of human beings which, as a result of a new invention or information, has to be changed". Ibn Kathir says this verse means of the words in the Quran, "no one can alter them, distort them or misinterpret them."

32-45 The parable of the two men

In verses 32–44, the surah discusses a parable of two men, one of whom had been given blessings from God and the other poor. The rich one wronged his soul and started showing off with his wealth and noble lineage.

::quote

Verse 36 explains that the rich man also told his companion that he doubted the existence of Judgment Day. At the end of the parable, God destroys what He had given the man.

Q18:45 Imam Musa al-Kadhim narrates in Kitab al-Kafi that Ali would bequeath his companions to view this world with the vision of an ascetic because it dislodges its residents. Ali provides them with the parable of a lush, green garden with scented dew that accumulates under the blades of grass but then gets separated from it in the morning, as Allah has said, :"Set forth to them the similitude of the life of this world: it is like the rain which We send down from the skies: the earth's vegetation absorbs it, But soon it becomes dry stubble, which the winds do scatter: it is (only) Allah Who prevails over all things. Q18:45." He advises his companions to "look at this world and the numerous things which cause you to wonder, and the scarcity of things that benefit you."

60-82 Islamic view of Moses

Main article: Islamic view of Moses

The third main story within the chapter (verses 60–82) is that of Musa (Moses) traveling to gain knowledge from another servant of God who is never mentioned by name, in tafsir of ibn Kathir he is called Al-Khidr.

83-98 Dhul-Qarnayn

Main article: Dhul-Qarnayn

Finally, the surah mentions in verses 83–98 a man who traveled a great deal and reached the east and the west of the earth – namely, Dhul-Qarnayn (). In one part of the story, Dhul-Qarnayn helps a tribe of people build a massive wall of iron between two mountains to protect them from the nations of Gog and Magog. It goes on to say that this wall will be only destroyed on Judgement Day. The wall may have reflected a distant knowledge of the Great Wall of China (the 12th-century scholar al-Idrisi drew a map for Roger II of Sicily showing the "Land of Gog and Magog" in Mongolia), or of various Sassanid Persian walls built in the Caspian area against the northern barbarians, or a conflation of the two.

Traditional revelational circumstances

Arab Muslim historian and hagiographer, Ibn Ishaq, reported in his traditional book (oral traditions) of biography of Muhammad, Sirat Rasul Allah that the 18th surah of the Qur'an (which includes the story of Dhu l-Qarnayn) was revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by God on account of some questions posed by rabbis residing in the city of Medina – the verse was revealed during the Meccan period of Muhammad's life. According to Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad's tribe, the powerful Quraysh, were greatly concerned about their tribesman who had started claiming prophethood and wished to consult rabbis about the matter. The Quraysh sent two men to the rabbis of Medina, reasoning that they had superior knowledge of the scriptures and about the prophets of God. The two Quraysh men described their tribesman, Muhammad, to the rabbis.

The rabbis told the men to ask Muhammad three questions:

According to Ibn Ishaq, when Muhammad was informed of the three questions from the rabbis, he said that he would have the answers in the morning but did not say "if God wills it". For fifteen days, Muhammad waited eagerly for the revelation. Muhammad did not answer the question until then. Doubt in Muhammad began to grow amongst the people of Mecca. Then, after fifteen days, Muhammad received the revelation of al-Kahf as an answer to the questions.

Virtues

There is a hadith in Sahih Muslim that states that Muhammad said (Concerning The False Messiah, Al-Masih ad-Dajjal): ::quote

Another Hadith in Sahih Muslim states: ::quote

"Whoever reads Sura Kahf on Friday, light shall shine forth for him between the two Fridays."

Common Muslim and Christian theme

The story of believers falling asleep in a cave for a long time is present also in the Christian tradition, see Seven Sleepers.

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

Afidah Rahim. (21 February 2021). "Central Illuminations of Malay Qurans".
"الدعاء عند وليتلطف في سورة الكهف لأنها منتصف القرآن".
(2016). "Surat al-Kahfi ayat 99". [[Islamic University of Madinah]]; [[Ministry of Religious Affairs (Indonesia)]]; [[Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance]].
(2015). "Apakah Malaikat Israfil Bertugas Meniup Sangkakala pada Hari Kiamat? (2)".
(2021). "Misteri Alam Malaikat". Pustaka al-Kautsar.
(1896). "A Complete Index to [[Sale's Text]], Preliminary Discourse, and Notes". Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co.
[http://quran.com/18/9-26 Surat Al-Kahf (18:9–26) – The Holy Qur'an – القرآن الكريم]
''Aṣḥāb al-Kahf'' ({{langx. ar. أَصـحـاب الـكَـهـف
"Ayah al-Kahf (The Cave) 18:27".
Nasir Makarim Shirazi, Ozma. "An Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur'an vol. 9". Imam Ali Foundation.
Ibn Kathir. "Tafsir Ibn Kathir (English): Surah Al Kahf". [[Tafsir]].
[http://quran.com/18/34 Surat Al-Kahf (18:34) – The Holy Qur'an – القرآن الكريم]
"Quran Surah Al-Kahf ( Verse 34 )".
[http://quran.com/18/32-44 Surah Al-Kahf (18:32–44) – The Holy Qur'an – القرآن الكريم]
(2015). "Kitab al-Kafi". The Islamic Seminary Inc..
[http://quran.com/18/60-82 Surat Al-Kahf (18:60–82) – The Holy Qur'an – القرآن الكريم]
[http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2715&Itemid=73 The Story of Musa and Al-Khidr – Tafsir Ibn Kathir]
[http://quran.com/18/28 Surat Al-Kahf (18:83–98) – The Holy Qur'an – القرآن الكريم]
"The Qur'an".
"Tafsir ibn Kathir".
[http://www.iium.edu.my/deed/hadith/muslim/041_smt.html Sahih Muslim – Book 41, Hadith No. 7015]
"Sahih Muslim 809a - The Book of Prayer - Travellers - كتاب صلاة المسافرين وقصرها - Sunnah.com - Sayings and Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم)".
Mustadrak al-Hakim; Sahih at-Targhib wa at-Tarhib 736
"Surah Al-Kahf".

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