Reflections on Surat Al-Kahf..!! | ISLAMHUDAA

O believers: Whoever looks at the lives of individuals, peoples, societies, and countries will find that they have built shelters like underground caves to protect their members from temptations, wars, and conflicts. And because our lives today are plagued by many temptations, conflicts, and wars, and filled with worry and anxiety, and because of all of that, we need a cave through which we can find salvation. Our religion has commanded us on Friday of every week to recite Surat Al-Kahf; Because it contains a lifeline, and it addressed the causes of many imbalances in human religion, behavior, and life.. He, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whoever recites Surat Al-Kahf on a Friday, the light will shine on him between the two Fridays» (Authenticated by Al-Albani in Sahih al-Targheeb wa al-Tarheeb: 736).

The Messenger of God – may God bless him and grant him peace – said: “Whoever memorizes ten verses from the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf will be protected from the temptation of the Antichrist» (Authenticated by Al-Albani in Silsilah al-Hadith 582)..
On the authority of Abu Darda, the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace – said: “MMemorizing ten verses from the beginning of Surat Al-Kahf will protect him from the Antichrist, and according to a narration from the end of Surat Al-Kahf» (Narrated by Muslim).

On the authority of Abu Saeed Al-Khudri – may God be pleased with him – he said: The Messenger of God – may God bless him and grant him peace – said: “Whoever recites Surah Al-Kahf on Friday, a light will illuminate what is between him and the Ancient House» (Narrated by Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Hakim and authenticated by Al-Albani).

The aforementioned light, as scholars said, may be a moral light that guides him and prevents him from transgressions and sins, or it may be a physical light that will shine on the Day of Resurrection from under his feet until he reaches the Ancient House in the highest heavens..

Servants of God: Surah Al-Kahf, including divine guidance, stories, unseen news, and events that took place in ancient times, dealt with the greatest types of temptations that afflict man and that we live in the reality of our lives today, which are the temptation of religion, the temptation of money, the temptation of knowledge, and the temptation of power, position, and authority. The Companions of the Cave were children of the great and the rich. They found their people’s deviation from religion by worshiping idols and fetishes, attachment to this world, and forgetting the afterlife, so they tried to fix what could be fixed {These our people have taken gods other than Him. If only they did not bring clear authority over them, then who is more unjust than he who invents a lie against God?} [الكهف: 14 و15]But they were subjected to a brutal war and persecution, so they feared for their religion and belief, which is their capital, so they decided to take refuge in a dark, desolate, frightening, narrow cave in order to preserve their religion… Damn life in high palaces without religion… Damned life with its money and treasures without religion… Damned life with its positions and authority without religion… Damned life with its followers and soldiers without religion… The Almighty said: {Or did you think that the Companions of the Cave and Ar-Raqim were among Our wondrous signs?* When the young men took shelter in the Cave and said, “Our Lord, give us mercy from You.” And prepare for us guidance in our matter. * So We struck their ears in the cave for a number of years.} [الكهف 9-10]..

Having good faith in God repelled the youth of the Companions of the Cave who disobeyed those near and far for the sake of His pleasure, Glory be to Him. They left the people closest to God, fleeing to God, seeking His pleasure, and fearing for their religion, from polytheism, immorality, and disobedience.. For the sake of His pleasure, they exchanged the narrowness of the Cave for the spaciousness of a comfortable living. It was only that God expanded it upon them by what He spread to them of His mercy in it {So take refuge in the cave, and your Lord will spread for you of His mercy and prepare for you ease in your matter.} [الكهف: 16].
And consider the Almighty’s saying: {Your Lord will spread for you of His mercyThen the servant knows that God’s mercy is vast, as some or all of it is known to God. It is enough to turn that cave, that prison, or that dungeon into a paradise or a garden among the gardens of Paradise.. And here the wonder about believing hearts is revealed.

These are the young men who isolate themselves from their people, abandon their homes, and leave their families. They are stripped of the adornments of the earth and the luxuries of life. Those who take refuge in the narrow, rough, dark cave…all of this is to keep the flame of faith and belief burning in the hearts and to show its effects on the limbs, and through them the world is built and the afterlife is maintained..
Community of Muslims: In Surat Al-Kahf, the temptation of money is mentioned in the story of the owner of the two gardens. God Almighty said: {And give them the example of two men: We made for one of them two gardens of grapes, and surrounded them with palm trees, and placed between them crops. * Both gardens brought ate it, but you did not wrong any of it, and We caused a river to flow through them.} [الكهف32-33]. What a blessing this is!! A wonderful view, ripe fruits and running water. The basic principle after these blessings is that there should be gratitude to the One who bestows blessings – Glory be to Him – but money and enjoyment without faith become vanity, arrogance, and luxury.

God Almighty said: {And it had fruit, so he said to its owner while he was conversing with him, “I have more wealth than you and I am stronger in people.”} [الكهف 34]And he was not satisfied with this, as the temptation of money led him to the valleys of destruction and the paths of loss, and he was tempted until he thought that he would not die. Likewise, money makes souls neglect death and the afterlife. God Almighty said: {And he entered his garden while he was unjust to himself. He said, “I do not think that this will ever perish. And I do not think that the Hour will ever come. And if I were returned to my Lord, I would find something better than it.”} [الكهف 35-36].
Rather, he thought that because God had bestowed blessings upon him in this world, and assuming there was an afterlife, He must bestow blessings upon him in the afterlife! There is no connection between this and that, rather it is a misunderstanding and blurring of insight. Most likely, God distances this world from His friends and purists, and extends it to His enemies who have no share in the Hereafter.

Servants of God: His friend began reminding him of God’s blessings upon him, and addressing the deviation of his faith and his relationship with money and with those who bestowed blessings upon him, but it is vanity, arrogance, and heedlessness when it takes hold of hearts and becomes a path to destruction and a cause of punishment.. After the bliss, the wonderful view, the ripe fruits, the flowing water, and the lush orchards. Suddenly overnight everything changed and everything perished. Where did the money go? Where are the followers and the clan? God Almighty said: {And he was surrounded by its fruits, and he began to turn his palms over what he had spent in them, while they were empty of their thrones, and he would say, “I wish I had not associated anyone with my Lord.” And he had no group to support him besides God, and he was not victorious.} [الكهف42-43].

One of the manifestations of the temptation of money is: Not acknowledging the blessing, thanking the Benefactor – Glory be to Him, and not fulfilling the rights of this money through giving and giving, so he does not see God as having a right to it, and he does not use it to provide benefit to the servants by paying his zakat, and spending and giving in charity a portion of it, and he believes that this money was collected only by his intelligence and diligence.
And look at the young men of the cave. The strife did not make them forget the lawful food and lawful money. When they woke up from their sleep, they secretly sent one of them to Medina to bring them the purest food. God Almighty said: {So send one of you with this paper of yours to Medina, and let him see which of it has the purest food, and let him bring you sustenance from it, and let him be kind, and not make us feel bad. Thank you, one of you} [الكهف19]..

O believers:
Through Surah Al-Kahf in the story of God’s Prophet Moses and Al-Khidr, peace be upon them, we will find the importance of knowledge and the danger of it becoming a temptation in the lives of individuals, peoples and societies. The story of Moses begins with Al-Khidr – peace be upon them -, when Moses was giving a sermon to the Children of Israel one day, and one of them stood up and asked: Is there anyone on the face of the earth more knowledgeable than you? Moses said: No, relying on his belief that no one was more knowledgeable than him, so God blamed him for that. Why did he not entrust knowledge to God?

Then God inspired him and said: I have a servant who is more knowledgeable than you, and he is in the Bahrain complex, and it was mentioned to him that the sign of his location was the loss of a whale, so he took a whale with him in Muktal and went with his servant, Yusha bin Nun, and Surat Al-Kahf told us how he met with the righteous servant Al-Khidr.. God Almighty said: {Then they found a servant of Ours to whom We had given mercy from Us and to whom We had taught knowledge from Us. Moses said to him, “Shall I follow you on the condition that you learn from what you have taught?” * He said, “You will not be able to be patient with me.” * And how can you be patient with what you have no knowledge of? * He said, “You will find me, God willing, patient and I will not disobey you.” A matter * He said, “Then if you follow me, do not ask me about anything until I tell you something about it.”} [الكهف65-70].

On this journey of seeking knowledge, Moses – peace be upon him – was exposed to three situations: The first was breaching the ship, the second was killing the boy, and the third was building the wall, and he did not understand its causes and why Al-Khidr did it. The answer to these questions was on Al-Khidr’s tongue in his saying – the Most High -: {As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working on the sea, so I wanted to shame it. There was a king behind them who seized every ship by force. The boy, and his parents were believers, so we feared that he would burden them with transgression and disbelief, so we wanted their Lord to replace them with something better than him, in purity. And He was closer in mercy * As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and underneath it was a treasure of theirs, and their father was a righteous man, so he wanted Your Lord, lest they reach their maturity and extract their treasure, a mercy from your Lord, and what I have done on my behalf. That is the interpretation of what you did not shine. He must be patient} [الكهف: 79-82].

O believers: servants of God: correct knowledge brings you closer to the truth, more knowledgeable about what is going on around you, and more capable of making the right decision at the right time and the right place. Al-Khidr – peace be upon him – did not do what he did on his own, and this is not the knowledge of humans, but God taught him and for that reason he said: {And what I did about my command, that is the interpretation of what you did not have patience with.} [الكهف: 82]..

Servants of God:
The last story in this Surah is the story of Dhul-Qarnayn, who was a righteous servant. God Almighty gave him reasons, gave him many blessings, and taught us how to deal with people, and how to make good use of what God Almighty bestowed upon him of grace and blessings, and how justice is the basis of kingship and rule, and how he traveled across the earth’s surfaces east and west, and built an impenetrable dam, in which he used pieces of iron and poured syrup on them, which is melted copper, thus investing the people’s energies in populating the land with construction and good deeds, God Almighty said. And God Almighty informs about that: {He said, “Whatever my Lord has empowered me with is good, so help me with strength, and I will put a bridge between you and them. * Give me the sliver of iron until, when it equalizes the two shells, He said They were blown until, when He made it fire, He said, “Come to me, that I may pour drops upon it.” But they were not able to expose it, nor were they able to dig it up.} [الكهف 95-97].

Then the noble Surah concluded with great good news, telling of the honor of God Almighty to the believers, and the high ranks He has prepared for them in Paradise, and the eternal bliss He has bestowed on them that does not change or fade away, as a reward for their good deeds, an honor for their endeavors, and a favor from Him, the Most High, upon them. Whoever wants to reach the highest Paradise and obtain the pleasure of God Almighty must be sincere and do good deeds.

There are great instructions in Surat Al-Kahf that there is not enough room to mention them, so we must ponder their meanings and read them, especially on Friday, and memorize this form or at least the ten verses from the beginning or from the end, because of the virtue of that.

This is why they prayed and greeted the bringer of good tidings, the warner, and the enlightening lamp. Where the All-Knowing, All-Aware has commanded you to do so; He said in his book: {O you who have believed, bless him and grant him peace}[الأحزاب: 56].

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​​​​​​Writer: Hossam Ahmed