English translation of holy Quran by QuranWeb

AL-KAHF (18)

The Cave

1. Praise be to God who has sent down on His servant the Book, and has not made any crookedness in it;(1)
2. standing to warn of a terrible scourge from Him, and to give good news to the Believers, who do righteous deeds, that for them shall be a handsome wage,(2)
3. therein to abide forever;(3)
4. and it may warn those who say, `God has taken to Himself a son';(4)
5. they have no knowledge of it, nor their fathers had; grievous is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak not but a lie.(5)
6. Yet, perhaps following after them, thou wilt consume thyself of sorrow if they do no believe in this discourse.(6)
7. We have made all that is on the earth for its adornment, that we may try them which of them is best in works.(7)
8. And We shall be surely making all that is on it barren dust.(8)
9. Dost thou think that Men of the Cave and Al-Raqim were a wonder among Our signs?(9)
10. When the youths took refuge in the Cave, they said `our Lord, give us mercy from Thee, and dispose us aright in our affair'.(10)
11. So We shut their ears in the Cave for a number of years;(11)
12. then We raised them up that We might know which of the two parties had better accounted for the period they had stayed there.(12)
13. We will relate to thee their story with truth. They were some youths who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.(13)
14. And We strengthened their hearts when they stood up, and said, `our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth; we will not call upon any god, apart from Him, for then we would be speaking outrage.(14)
15. These our people have taken to them gods, apart from Him. Why do they not bring a clear authority about them? Who then does greater wrong than he who forges a lie against God?(15)
16. And now that you have gone apart from them and from what they serve except God, take refuge in the Cave, your Lord will unfold to you of his mercy, and make your affair easy for you'.(16)
17. And thou wouldst see the sun, when it rises, inclining away from their cave to the right, and when it sets, passing them by on the left, while they lie in a broad fissure of it. That was of the Signs of God; whomso God guides, he finds the way, and whomso He sends astray, thou wilt not find any directing friend for him.(17)
18. And thou wouldst deem them awake while they were asleep, and We turned them over to the right and to the left; and their dog was stretching its paws on the threshold. Hadst thou looked at them, thou wouldst have turned away from them in flight, and have been filled with terror of them.(18)
19. And like that We raised them up, that they might question one another. One of them said, `how long have you stayed?' They said, `we have stayed a day or part of a day'. They said, `only your Lord knows best how long you have stayed; send one of you with this coin of yours to the city, and let him look for which of them has purest food, and bring you some provision thereof; and let him be courteous and let him not make any to perceive of you.(19)
20. For if they should come to know of you, they will stone you or restore you to their creed, and then you will never succeed.'(20)
21. And, like that, We made them known to people, that they might know that God's promise is true and that there is no doubt regarding the Hour. When they were contending among them their affair they said, `build over them a building.' Their Lord knew them best. Those who prevailed over their affair said, `We will raise a place of worship over them'.(21)
22. They will say, `they were three and their dog was the fourth of them'; and, guessing at the unseen, they will say, `they were five and their dog was the sixth of them'; and they will say, `they were seven and their dog was the eighth of them'. Say, `my Lord best knows their number, and none knows them but a few'. So do not dispute concerning them except what is apparent, nor ask any of them about them.(22)
23. And never say regarding a thing, `I shall do this tomorrow',(23)
24. but (say) `if God will'; and remember thy Lord when thou forgetest, and say, `it may be that my Lord guides me to a thing more correct than this.' __(24)
25. And `they stayed in their Cave three hundred years' and they add nine?(25)
26. Say, `God knows best how long they stayed. To Him belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth; how well He sees and how well He hears; they have no protector apart from Him; and He does not associate anyone in His sovereignty.(26)
27. And recite what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord; none can change His Words; and thou wilt not find any refuge apart from Him.(27)
28. And restrain thyself with those who, desiring His attention, call upon their Lord morning and evening; and desiring the adornment of the present life, turn not thy eyes away from them; and do not obey him whose heart We have made neglectful of Our Remembrance and who follows his caprice, and his affair has exceeded limits.(28)
29. And say, `the Truth is from your Lord, so whoso will, let him believe, and whoso will, let him disbelieve;' We have prepared for the wrong-doers a Fire, whose enclosures will encompass them; and if they ask for help, they will be helped with water like molten copper that will scald their faces __ how evil a drink, and how evil a resting place!(29)
30. Those who believe and do righteous deeds __ and We do not waste the wage of those who do good works __(30)
31. for them shall be gardens of eternity, and rivers shall flow beneath them; therein they shall be adorned with bracelets of gold, and they will be dressed in green garments of silk and brocade, reclining therein upon couches, __ how excellent a reward, and how fine a resting place!(31)
32. And describe to them a similitude of two men. To one of them We assigned two gardens of vines, and surrounded them with palm trees, and between the two We set a sown field.(32)
33. Both the gardens produced their fruit and did not fail in any way, and We made a stream to gush forth amidst them.(33)
34. And he had his fruit. So he said to his companion, while conversing with him, `I have more abundance of wealth and am stronger in manpower than thou'.(34)
35. And he entered his garden wronging himself; he said, `I do not guess that this will ever perish;(35)
36. and I do not guess that the Hour will come; and if I am, at all, returned to my Lord, I shall surely find a resort better than this'.(36)
37. His companion said to him, while conversing with him, `dost thou disbelieve in Him who created thee of dust, then of a sperm drop, then shaped thee as a man?(37)
38. But He is God, my Lord, and I do not associate anyone with my Lord.(38)
39. And why, when thou enteredest 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,(39)
40. then it may be, that my Lord gives me better than thy garden, and looses on it appropriate due from the heaven, so that it becomes a slope of dust;(40)
41. or its water goes deep, so that thou canst not seek it out.'(41)
42. And his fruit was encompassed, and he began wringing his hands for what he had spent on it; and it was fallen down on its trellises, and he was saying, `would that I had not associated anyone with my Lord'.(42)
43. And he had no troop to help him, apart from God, nor could he help himself.(43)
44. There the protection belongs only to God, the True; He is best in rewarding and best in the end-result.(44)
45. And describle to them the similitude of the present life: it is like water that We send down from heaven with which the plants of the earth mingled, then it became straw which the winds scattered; and God is fully powerful over everything.(45)
46. Wealth and sons are the adornment of this world; but the lasting things, the deeds of righteousness, are better in reward and better in hope with thy Lord.(46)
47. And on the day We shall move the mountains, and thou wilt see the earth coming forth, and that We have mustered them and have not left anyone of them behind;(47)
48. and they are presented before thy Lord in ranks: `you have come to Us as We created you the first time; no, but you asserted that We shall not make an appointment with you!'(48)
49. And the Book will be placed, and thou wilt see the sinners fearful of what is in it and saying, `alas for us; how is it with this Book that it leaves out nothing behind, small or big, but it has counted it.' And they shall find whatever they did present; and thy Lord shall not wrong anyone.(49)
50. And when We said to the angels, `prostrate yourselves before Adam', they prostrated themselves, except Iblis; he was of the jinn, so he transgressed his Lord's command. Now, do you take him and his offspring as friends, apart from Me, while they are an enemy to you; how evil is that exchange for the wrong-doers!(50)
51. I did not call them to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation, nor would I take those who lead others astray as supporters.(51)
52. And on the day He shall say: `call on those whom you asserted to be My associates'; and they shall call on them, but they will not answer them, and We will set a gulf between them.(52)
53. And the sinners will see the Fire, and think that they are about to fall into it, but will not find any escape from it.(53)
54. And We have turned about in this Qur'an every type of similitude for mankind; but man is most disputatious of things.(54)
55. And nothing prevented men, when the guidance came to them, from believing and seeking forgiveness of their Lord, except that the tradition of the ancients should come upon them, or the punishment should come upon them face to face.(55)
56. And We do not send the Envoys but as bearers of good news and warners, yet the unbelievers dispute with falsehood to rebut the truth thereby, and they have taken My sings and what they are warned of in mockery.(56)
57. And who does greater wrong than he who was admonished with his Lord's signs, yet he turned away from them and forgot what his hands had forwarded? We have put veils on their hearts and heaviness in their ears, lest they understand it; and if thou callest them to the guidance, even then they will not find the way ever.(57)
58. But thy Lord is Forgiving and Merciful; if He should seize them for what they have earned, He would hasten for them the punishment; but for them is an appointed time when they will not find, apart from Him, any place of escape,.(58)
59. And those are the cities that We destroyed when they did wrong, and We had assigned for their destruction an appointed time.(59)
60. And (remember) when Moses said to his page, `I will not give up until I reach the meeting-point of the two seas, or I shall go on for ages'.(60)
61. So when they reached the meeting-point of them, they forgot their fish and it burrowed its way into the sea.(61)
62. And when they had passed over, he said to his page, `bring us our breakfast; we have developed fatigue from this journey of ours'.(62)
63. He said, `hast thou seen, when we took rest by the rock, I forgot the fish, and none but the Devil made me forget to mention it; and, strangely, it took its way into the sea'.(63)
64. He said, `that is what we were seeking!' So they returned retracing their footsteps;(64)
65. and they found a servant from among Our servants, whom We had granted mercy from Us, and had taught him knowledge from Ourselves.(65)
66. Moses said to him, `shall I follow thee so that thou teachest me of the right understanding taught to thee?'(66)
67. He said, `thou canst not have patience with me.(67)
68. And how shouldst thou be patient on that whose basic knowledge thou dost not comprehend'.(68)
69. He said, `thou shalt find me, if God will, patient, and I shall not disobey thee in anything'.(69)
70. He said, `if thou followest me, then do not question me on anything until I myself relate it to thee'.(70)
71. So they departed, until when they embarked upon the ship, he made a hole in it. He said, `hast thou made a hole in it to drown its people? Thou hast surely done a strange thing'.(71)
72. He said, `did I not say that thou canst not have patience with me?'(72)
73. He said, `do not take me to task for what I forgot, and be not hard in my doing'.(73)
74. And they departed; until when they met a boy, he killed him; he said, `hast thou killed a soul without retaliating for a soul; thou hast indeed done a horrible thing.'(74)
75. He said, `did I not say to thee that thou couldst not bear with me patiently?'(75)
76. He said, `if I question thee on anything after this, do not keep me company; thou hast already had a sufficient excuse from my side'.( 76)
77. And they departed; until when they reached the people of a city, they asked its people for food, but they refused to receive them as guests. Then they found a wall there that was about to tumble down and he set it up. He said, `if thou hadst wished, thou couldst have taken a wage for it!'(77)
78. He said, `this is the parting between me and thee. Now I will tell thee the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear patiently.'(78)
79. `As for the ship, it belonged to some poor men who worked at the sea and I desired to make it faulty, for there was a king ahead of them who seized every ship by brutal force.(79)
80. And as for the boy, his parents were believers and we feared lest he should impose on them insolence and ingratitude.(80)
81. So we desired that their Lord should give them in exchange one better in purity and nearer in tenderness than he.(81)
82. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and beneath it was a treasure for them, and their father was a righteous man. So thy Lord desired that they should reach their maturity and then take out their treasure as a mercy from thy Lord; and I did not do it of my own bidding. That is the interpretation of that with which thou couldst not have patience.' (82)
83. And they ask thee about Zul-Qarnain. Say, `I shall recite to you a mention of him.'(83)
84. We established him in the land, and We gave him a way to everything.(84)
85. So he followed a way.(85)
86. Until when he reached the setting place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring and he found near it a people. We said, `O Zul-Qarnain, thou mayest punish them or thou mayest show them goodness.'(86)
87. He said, `as for him who does wrong we shall punish him, then he shall be returned to his Lord, and He shall punish him with a horrible punishment.(87)
88. And as for him who believes and does righteousness, he shall have the most handsome reward, and we shall tell him easiness in our affair'.(88)
89. Then he followed a way.(89)
90. Until when he reached the rising place of the sun he found it rising on a people for whom We had not made any covering other than it.(90)
91. So it was; and We encompassed full knowledge of the things about him.(91)
92. Then he followed a way.(92)
93. Until when he reached between the two barriers, he found besides them a people who could scarcely understand speech.(93)
94. They said, `O Zul-Qarnain, Gog and Magog are causing disorder in the land; so shall we assign a tribute to thee on the condition that thou makest a barrier between us and them?'(94)
95. He said, `that wherein my Lord has established me is better; so aid me with labour force and I will set up a fortified barrier between you and them.(95)
96. Bring me ingots of iron'. Until when he had levelled up between the two cliffs, he said, `blow'. Until when he had made it a fire, he said, `bring me so that I may pour molten brass on it.'(96)
97. So they were unable to surmount it, nor could they dig through it.(97)
98. He said, `this is a mercy from my Lord, but when the promise of my Lord will come to pass, He will make it into powder and my Lord's promise is surely true'.(98)
99. And on that day We shall leave them, some surging on others, and the Trumpet shall be blown, so that We shall gather them all together;(99)
100. and on that day We shall present Hell to the unbelievers,(100)
101. those whose eyes were under cover against My Remembrance and they were not able to hear.(101)
102. Do then the unbelievers think that they may take My servants as protectors, apart from Me? We have prepared Hell for the unbelievers' hospitality.(102)
103. Say, `shall we tell you who are the greatest losers in their works?(103)
104. Those whose effort in the present life went astray, and they think that they are doing good works.(104)
105. Those are the ones who disbelieved in the Signs of their Lord and the meeting with Him, so their works failed and We shall not assign any weight to them on the Day of Resurrection.(105)
106. That shall be their recompense--Hell, for that they disbelieved and took My Signs and My Messengers in mockery.(106)
107. As for those who believed and did righteous deeds, the gardens of Paradise shall be their hospitality,(107)
108. to dwell therein forever, not seeking to be removed from there.'(108)
109. Say, `if the sea were ink for the Words of my Lord, the sea would be spent before the Words of my Lord were spent, even though We brought in aid the like of it'.(109)
110. Say, `I am only a mortal like you to whom is revealed that your god is only One God; so let him who hopes for the meeting with his Lord, do righteous deeds, and not associate anyone in the service of his Lord.'(110)