In the Name of Allah, the Giver of Mercy, the Most Merciful
Praise is due to Allah, Who has revealed the Book to His slave and has not made any deviance therein.
He has made it strictly consistent to warn of severe torment from Him and give good news to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward.
Wherein they will abide forever.
And it warns those who say, ‘Allah has had a son.’
They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers. It is a dreadful word, coming out of their mouths. Indeed, they say nothing but a lie.
You may destroy yourself, grieving over their rejection, if they do not believe in this Quran.
Indeed, We have made what is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them as to which of them does the best deed.
Indeed, We shall make what is on it a barren ground.
[Surah al-Kahf: 1-8]
Tafsir
Praise is due to Allah, Who has revealed the Book to His slave and has not made any deviance therein. [1]
Surah al-Kahf begins by confirming the fact that Allah alone deserves absolute praise and thank. One of the greatest blessings that Allah must be thanked for is revealing the Quran to His Prophet, Messenger, and slave Muhammad. By means of the Quran, Allah, out of His mercy, is paving the way for people to be saved from the darkness of ignorance, and provides them with guidance leading to the straight path. The Quran is totally free from any type of deviance, inconsistency, discrepancy, or differences whether in terms of wording or meaning. Rather, it is characterized by the highest degree of consistency and precision.
Allah, Exalted is He, has commanded people to praise Him because He has revealed the Quran to Messenger Muhammad since it contains guidance that will save them from ignorance and guides them to what brings them happiness in this life and the Hereafter.
He has made it strictly consistent to warn of severe torment from Him and give good news to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward. [2]
(He has made it strictly consistent.)
After confirming that the Quran is free from any deviance, Allah affirmed that it is strictly consistent. Sometimes something may be free from outwardly deviance but it may have inward deviance. Therefore, Allah combines between negating deviance and affirming consistency.
Allah revealed the Quran to Messenger Muhammad to warn of His severe torment for the disbelievers who do not believe in His Oneness, and to give good news to the believers who believe in the Oneness of Allah and do righteous deeds that they will enjoy a good reward in Paradise.
Wherein they will abide forever. [3]
The believers who believe in the Oneness of Allah and do the righteous deeds will enjoy a good reward in Paradise wherein they will abide forever.
And it warns those who say, ‘Allah has had a son.’ [4]
After clarifying the greatness of the Quran, Allah clarifies the enormity of the sins committed by those who fabricate a lie about Him when they claim that He, Exalted is He, has had a son. For example, the Jews claim that Uzair is the son of Allah, the Nazarene claim that Jesus, the son of Mary, is the son of Allah, and some disbelievers claim that the angels are the daughters of Allah.
They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers. It is a dreadful word, coming out of their mouths. Indeed, they say nothing but a lie. [5]
(It is a dreadful word, coming out of their mouths. Indeed, they say nothing but a lie.)
Allah severely criticizes the disbelievers’ claim. He says that their claim that Allah, Exalted is He, has had a son, which their mouths shamelessly utter, is a dreadful statement that has not any proof supporting it.
Most of the time, Satan whispers evil things in the hearts of people, but they do not utter them, and try to control themselves. So, how about uttering such an enormity about Allah, Exalted is He! Verily, claiming that Allah has had a son is an abhorrent statement. The following ayah refers to the same meaning of the previous ayah. Allah says, interpretation of meaning,
They say, ‘The All-Merciful has had a child.’ Indeed, you have said an atrocious thing. The heavens are about to burst therefrom, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to crumble to pieces that they have ascribed a child to the All-Merciful. It does not befit the All-Merciful to have a child. None is there in the heavens and the earth but he comes before the All-Merciful as a slave. [Surah Maryam: 88-93]
Consolation … Reproof
Addressing Messenger Muhammad in order to ease his grief and sadness caused by the refusal of the disbelievers to believe in the message of Islam, Allah says,
You may destroy yourself, grieving over their rejection, if they do not believe in this Quran. [6]
O Messenger! Do not destroy yourself, grieving over your people’s rejection to believe in Islam. Your duty is only to convey the Islamic message. Allah will call people to account on the Day of Judgment and punish the disbelievers for their disbelief in His Oneness.
This consolation implies reproof. It is as Allah was saying to Messenger Muhammad, ‘How do you busy yourself with what is not your duty?’ In another ayah of the Quran, Allah says, (Indeed, you cannot rightly guide whom you love, but Allah rightly guides whom He wills. He knows best of the rightly guided ones.) [Surah al-Qasas: 56]
The True Nature of the Worldly Life
Indeed, We have made what is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them as to which of them does the best deed. [7]
Indeed, We shall make what is on it a barren ground. [8]
The purpose of the two previous ayat is to further strengthen the heart of Messenger Muhammad and console him because of the sadness he was experiencing due to the disbelievers’ insistence on rejection of Islam.
It is as if Allah was saying to Messenger Muhammad: Go and convey the Islamic message that We have revealed to you; do not care about their insistence on disbelief; and do not feel any grief because of their position. We, out of Our wisdom, have made whatever is on the earth to serve as enjoyments and test for its inhabitants. Thus, those who do good deeds will be distinguished from the evil doers. Moreover, We, out of Our wisdom, will make whatever is on the earth a barren ground on the Day of Judgment. Then We shall call people to account for what they did in worldly life and recompense each person according to his deeds, good or evil. O Messenger! Be patient. Indeed, the disbelievers think that the Day of Judgment will not occur, but it will definitely take place and they will suffer the evil consequences of their disbelief.
Summary of the Previous Ayat [1-8]
The ayat confirm the following points: Perfect praise is due to Allah alone. The Quran that Allah has revealed to His Messenger Muhammad is free from any deviance. The purpose of revealing the Quran is to give good news to the believers who believe in Islam and do righteous deeds, warn the disbelievers of punishment if they disbelieve in the Oneness of Allah. Allah consoled Messenger Muhammad because he was deeply sad due to the disbelievers’ rejection of Islam. The reality of the worldly life is that Allah has made whatever is on earth to test its inhabitants so the good doers will be distinguished from the evil doers; accordingly, Allah will reward the good doers, and punish the evil doers.
Learned Lessons
• The Quran is free from any deviance. It contains perfect teachings that lead to happiness in the worldly life and the hereafter.
• Pondering on the true nature of the worldly life removes sadness from the heart.
• Invitation do righteous deeds, sincerely comply with Allah’s commands, follow the teachings of Messenger Muhammad, and avoid Allah’s prohibitions.
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