Lessons from Surah Kahf - Part 5

 

kahf, friday, tafseer

bismillah ar-rahman ar-raheem


  • A group from the Quraish wanted to test the prophet ﷺ regarding Zulqarnain, whether he is authentic or not as a Messenger, verifying his claim. They derived this question by the advice of the Jews, who recommended three questions only a prophet would know the answers to; the ruh, young men who existed long ago, and about a person who did tawaf around the globe.

  • When the group asked the prophet ﷺ about this person who had done tawaf around the globe, the prophet ﷺ said he would give his answer tomorrow, but no revelation came to the prophet for fifteen days, after which some of surah isra and some of surah kahf were revealed. 

  • In surah isra the answer for the question of the ruh was revealed: And they ask you, [O Muḥammad], about the soul. Say, "The soul is of the affair [i.e., concern] of my Lord. And you [i.e., mankind] have not been given of knowledge except a little." (17:85)

  • A part of the reason that there was a delay in the revelation was because the prophet ﷺ had not said in’sha’Allah, if Allah wills, to the people when he said he would give his answers tomorrow. This highlights the importance of saying in’sha’Allah when we talk about the future, as it is only by Allah’s will events and tasks unfold. 

  • Allah Himself is sharing the story of Zulqarnain to the entire of humanity until the day of judgment, which highlights the virtue of Zulqarnain. When one is made mention of in the Quran, it is how Allah honors him; his mention is in the Quran forever, he becomes a role model for not only the ummah, but also the prophet ﷺ himself. We study their stories, learn them, and seek closeness to Allah through them.  

  • Zulqarnain’s story is a reminder, and a reminder is not to be forgotten. This story is especially to be remembered because its events are still going to happen at the end of times. 

  • Allah gave Zulqarnain power in the entire land. His power manifested in the fact that Allah gave him the means, resources and tools to achieve anything he wanted; military, workers, scholars. 

  • He traveled to the west where the sun sets, which is essentially the Black Sea. There Allah inspired him to give dawah to the unbelievers and warn them of the punishment that would follow if the people did not give up their shirk and oppression.

  • Then Zulqarnain traveled to the east, till the point where the sun rises from—which is the Caspian Sea. There he came upon a nation that was uncivilized; they had no homes, shelters, no trees, nothing to protect them from the direct rays of the Sun. He dealt with these people the same way he had dealt with those before: advised them to come to the deen of Allah, or to face punishment for their kufr and shirk

  • The last part of his journey was to the place between two mountains, which according to the best understanding, is believed to be in the middle of Russia and Georgia. There he found a nation which spoke a language which was unique to those around them. When they spoke, Zulqarnain and his people generally couldn’t understand, and when Zulqarnain and his people spoke, the nation couldn’t understand. 

  • When this nation saw Zulqarnain’s massive army, they rushed to request something from him. “They said, ‘O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog are [great] corrupters in the land. So may we assign for you an expenditure that you might make between us and them a barrier?’” (18:94) This communication was achieved through gestures and sign language, and Allah translates to us what was said.

  • Mufseedoon, which is a noun, refers to the fact that these people, yajuj and majuj, were inherently corrupt. They were more corrupt than the corruption we see today. The greatest harm of theirs after kufr is that they killed (mass murder, genocide).

  • Zulqarnain told the nation he doesn’t want any payment, what Allah has already given him is better than any payment. The lesson to be taken here is that we don’t truly own something, it is Allah who gives it to us. 

  • So Zulqarnain only asked for manpower, with which, the strongest wall mankind has ever built, was built.  Here we see that based on Zulqarnain’s army size, he did not require any manpower, he only wished to involve the people in changing their own condition. 

  • He constructed what was far more than what the people asked for. This prompts us to reflect on how if Zulqurnain, a mere human, can be so generous to his people, how generous is the Almighty to His believers. Hence, we should not limit what we ask for, and the greatest thing we should ask for is jannah-tul-firdous.


Quran translation Sahih International

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