بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
With the Noble Quran
Pure Sincerity
(Translated)
https://www.al-waie.org/archives/article/19685
Al-Waie Magazine: Issues 462, 463, and 464
Thirty-ninth Year, Rajab - Sha'ban - Ramadan 1446 AH, corresponding to January - February - March 2025 CE
Khalifa Muhammad - Jordan
Allah (swt) said,
[قُلْ لَوْ كانَ الْبَحْرُ مِداداً لِكَلِماتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَنْفَدَ كَلِماتُ رَبِّي وَلَوْ جِئْنا بِمِثْلِهِ مَدَداً * قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا]
“Say, O Prophet, “If the ocean were ink for writing the Words of my Lord, it would certainly run out before the Words of my Lord were finished, even if We refilled it with its equal.” * Say, O Prophet, “I am only a man like you, but it has been revealed to me that your God is only One God. So whoever hopes for the meeting with their Lord, let them do good deeds and associate none in the worship of their Lord.” [TMQ Surah Al-Kahf: 109-110].
Ibn Abbas says about the reason for the revelation of the first verse, as Al-Qurtubi mentioned in his tafseer,
قالت اليهود لما قال لهم النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم، [وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا] قالوا وكيف وقد أوتينا التوراة، ومن أوتي التوراة فقد أوتي خيراً كثيراً؟ فنزلت، [قُلْ لَوْ كانَ الْبَحْرُ مِداداً لِكَلِماتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ]
“The Jews said when the Prophet ﷻ recited,
[وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا]
“and you O humanity have been given but little knowledge.” [TMQ Surah Al-Israa 85]. They said, “How can that be, when we have been given the Torah, and whoever has been given the Torah has been given much good? So this ayah was revealed,
[قُلْ لَوْ كانَ الْبَحْرُ مِداداً لِكَلِماتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ]
“Say, O Prophet, “If the ocean were ink for writing the Words of my Lord, it would certainly run out before the Words of my Lord were finished.” [TMQ Surah Al-Kahf 109].
Al-Qurtubi continues by saying, وقيل قالت اليهود إنك أوتيت الحكمة، ومن أوتي الحكمة فقد أوتي خيراً كثيراً، ثم زعمت أنك لا علم لك بالروح؟! فقال الله تعالى قل وإن أوتيت القرآن وأوتيتم التوراة فهي بالنسبة إلى كلمات الله تعالى قليلة“It was said, the Jews said, “You have been given wisdom, and whoever has been given wisdom has been given much good. Yet you claimed that you have no knowledge of the Ruh?! So, Allah (swt) answered them by saying that all that you have been given of the Noble Quran and you have been given of the Torah, is little compared to the Words of Allah (swt).”
This Quranic verse, like the Surah itself, was revealed in response to questions that the Jews of Madinah gave to the mushrikeen of Quraysh, to ask the Messenger (saw) to confirm that he was a sent as a Prophet (as). The questions were about young men who went away in the first era, what was their affair, for they had an amazing affair, and they were the People of the Cave. They were about a wandering man who reached the east and west of the earth, what was his story? He was Dhul-Qarnayn. They were about the Ruh (spirit), what is it? So the answer to the first two questions was revealed in Surah Al-Kahf, whilst the answer to the third question was revealed in Surah Al-Isra. The Shariah principle is والعبرة بعموم اللفظ لا بخصوص السبب “The expression is by the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the reason of revelation.” So, the subject of the Quranic verse is the vastness of Allah’s Knowledge.
Ibn Ashur says about the relationship of this Quranic verse to the verses that preceded it in this noble Surah, لما ابتدئت هذه السورة بالتنويه بشأن القرآن ثم أفيض فيها من أفانين الإرشاد والإنذار والوعد والوعيد، وذكر فيها من أحسن القصص ما فيه عبرة وموعظة، وما هو خفيٌّ من أحوال الأمم؛ حُوّلَ الكلامُ إلى الإيذان بأنّ كل ذلك قليل من عظيم علم الله تعالى. فهذا استئناف ابتدائي وهو انتقال إلى التنويه بعلم الله تعالى مفيض العلم على رسوله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم لأن المشركين لما سألوه عن أشياء يظنونها مفحمة للرسول وأنْ لا قِبَلَ له بعلمها؛ علَّمه اللهُ إياها، وأخبرَ عنها أصدقَ خبر، وبيّنها بأقصى ما تقبله أفهامهم وبما يقصر عنه علم الذين أغروا المشركين بالسؤال عنها، وكان آخرها خبر ذي القرنين، أتبع ذلك بما يُعْلَمُ منه سعةُ علم الله تعالى، وسعةُ ما يجري على وَفْقِ علمه من الوحي إذا أراد إبلاغَ بعض ما في علمه إلى أحد من رسله. وفي هذا رد عجز السورة على صدره“This Surah began with a note about the importance of the Qur’an, then it was filled with various types of guidance, warning, promise, and threats, and mentioned within it the best stories that contain lessons and admonitions, and what is hidden from the conditions of nations. The speech was then turned to indicate that all of that is a little of the great Knowledge of Allah (swt). This is an initiating resumption, and a transition, to highlighting the Knowledge of Allah (swt), who poured knowledge upon His Messenger (saw), because when the mushrikeen asked him about matters that they thought would confound the Messenger (saw) and that he was not capable of knowing them. However, Allah (swt) taught them to him (saw), and informed him about them in the most truthful way, and explained them in the most comprehensive way, such that their faculty of understanding could accept, and in a way that the knowledge of those who seduced the mushrikeen to ask about these matters, fell short of. The last of them was the story of Dhul-Qarnayn. He followed that with what is made known from the breadth of the Knowledge of Allah (swt). Thus it is the breadth of what is revealed from His Knowledge, if He wanted to convey some of what is in His Knowledge to one of His Messengers (as). And in this is a postponed response to the beginning of the Surah.”
This Arabic linguistic principle ردّ العَجُز على الصدر“a postponed response to the beginning,” is from the arts of linguistic expression, linking the end of the Surah, to its beginning.
We said that the subject of this verse is the Knowledge of Allah (swt), a Knowledge that is All-Encompassing, absolute and endless. The noble verse began with the imperative form of the verb “Say,” addressing the Messenger of Allah (saw). This emphasizes the mission of the Messenger in conveying the revelation of Allah (swt) to the people. Then came the beautiful imagery that depicted the vastness of Allah’s Knowledge, saying that if the ocean were ink, that is, ink with which the Words of Allah (swt) are written, and it is called ink because it supplies the writer, the ocean would be exhausted. That is, the ocean would end and be finished, before the Words of Allah (swt) were finished. Not only that, but if the ocean were brought another ocean in magnitude and weight, it too would be exhausted before the Words of Allah were exhausted. The speech deliberately omitted the expression “ink for writing the Words of Allah.”
And the Words of Allah (swt), as Sheikh Al-Shaarawy says, هي (كن) وكلّ مرادات الله في كونه، ما علمنا منه وما سنعلم، وما لم نعلم إلا حين تقوم الساعة “They are ‘Be’ and that is regarding all of what Allah (swt) willed in His creation, what we know of it, and what we will know, and what we will not know except when the Hour comes.”
So Allah (swt) informed us that He placed His Unique Knowledge of the heavens and the earth in the Preserved Tablet in His Saying,
[أَلَمْ تَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّماءِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِنَّ ذلِكَ فِي كِتابٍ إِنَّ ذلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ]
“Do you not know that Allah fully knows whatever is in the heavens and the earth? Surely it is all written in a Record. That is certainly easy for Allah.” [TMQ Surat Al-Hajj 70]. Allah (swt) informed us that He knows what is in the heavens and the earth. He (swt) informed us that His knowledge of that is in a Record, and that is easy for Him, glory be to Him. Al-Tirmidhi narrated on the authority of Ubadah ibn As-Samit, who said, I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say, «إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْقَلَمَ فَقَالَ لَهُ اكْتُبْ فَجَرَى بِمَا هُوَ كَائِنٌ إِلَى الأَبَدِ»“Verily the first of what Allah created was the Qalam (Pen). He said to it, “Write.” So it wrote of what will be forever.” [Tirmidhi]
The Absolute Knowledge of Allah (swt) is even greater and even more comprehensive than His knowledge of the heavens and the earth alone. His Words expressing His Absolute Knowledge would not end even, if the oceans of the earth were ink to write His words. This is confirmed by His (swt) saying,
[وَلَوْ أَنَّما فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلامٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ مَا نَفِدَتْ كَلِماتُ اللَّهِ]
“If all the trees on earth were pens and the ocean were ink, refilled by seven other oceans, the Words of Allah would not be exhausted. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.” [TMQ Surah Luqman 27]. If all the trees of the earth, from the time Allah (swt) created the earth until He inherits it, were made into pens for writing, and the ink with which it was written was water of the ocean, and seven other oceans were added to it after that, then that ink would be exhausted, but the Words of Allah (swt) would not be exhausted, for the Knowledge of Allah (swt) the Majestic, is not encompassed by any other. Allah (swt) said,
[وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ]
“No one can grasp any of His Knowledge except what He wills to reveal.” [TMQ Surah Al-Baqarah: 255].
As for the second verse, At-Tabari said in his interpretation, يَقُولُ تَعَالَى ذِكْرُهُ قُلْ لِهَؤُلَاءِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ لَا عِلْمَ لِي إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمَنِي اللَّهُ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُوحِي إِلَيَّ أَنَّ مَعْبُودَكُمُ الَّذِي يَجِبُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ تَعْبُدُوهُ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا، مَعْبُودٌ وَاحِدٌ لَا ثَانِيَ لَهُ، وَلَا شَرِيكَ، فَمَنْ يَخَافُ رَبَّهُ يَوْمَ لِقَائِهِ، وَيُرَاقِبُهُ عَلَى مَعَاصِيهِ، وَيَرْجُو ثَوَابَهُ عَلَى طَاعَتِهِ؛ فَلْيُخْلِصْ لَهُ الْعِبَادَةَ، وَلْيُفْرِدْ لَهُ الرُّبُوبِيَّةَ “Allah, the Most High, is saying, that say to these mushrikeen, O Muhammad,
[إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ]
“I am only a human being like you,” [TMQ Surah Al-Kahf: 110] from the children of Adam (as). I have no knowledge except what Allah (swt) has taught me. Allah (swt) is revealing to me that the One to Worship(مَعْبُودٌ) (swt), Whom you must worship and not associate anything with Him, is a Single One to Worship (مَعْبُودٌ), with no second, or partner. So whoever fears his Lord on the Day of Meeting Him, and is mindful of his sins, and he hopes for His reward for his obedience to Allah (swt), let him devote his worship to Him alone, and let him devote his Lordship (rubuwiyyah) to Him alone.”
This Quranic verse begins with the same verb as the previous one, with the imperative form “Say!”, addressing the Messenger (saw) and commanding him to say,
[إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ]
“I am only a human being like you.” [TMQ Surah Al-Kahf:110] This command has been repeated many times in the Noble Quran, confirming the humanity of the Messenger (saw) and the humanity of the Messengers (as) and Prophets (as) before him. Allah (swt) said,
[وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ]
“We did not send messengers before you O Prophet, except mere men inspired by Us.” [TMQ Surah An-Nahl:43]. Allah (swt) sends to people human beings like them, and from them. He (swt) does not send angels to them, as the kuffar requested, in more than one place in the Noble Qur’an. If there were angels on Earth and Allah (swt) wanted to send Messengers (as) to them, He (swt) would have sent angels to them. Allah (swt) said,
[قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَلَائِكَةٌ يَمْشُونَ مُطْمَئِنِّينَ لَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَلَكًا رَسُولًا]
“Say, O Prophet, “Had there been angels walking the earth, well settled, We would have surely sent down for them an angel from heaven as a messenger.” [TMQ Surah Al-Israa: 95]. Perhaps the wisdom in this is that the Messenger (as) is charged with what the people to whom he was sent to are charged with, so the Messenger (as) becomes a role model and example for his people, conveying to them the Message of Allah (saw) through his words and actions. The Noble Quran confirms this sense by saying,
[لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ]
“Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day.” [TMQ Surah Al-Ahzab: 21].
The Quranic verse clarifies the function of any Messenger. The Messenger is the one who conveys the revelation of Allah (swt) sent to him. The first thing revealed to the Messenger is that our Lord is One. This is what all the Messengers (as) and Prophets (as) came with. It is the Dawah to the Oneness (tawheed) of Allah (swt) and to single Him out for worship, alone. The function of the Messenger is repeatedly stated in the Noble Quran as being the conveyance of the clear message, including the saying of Allah (swt),
[وَمَا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ الْمُبِينُ]
“The Messenger’s obligation is only to deliver the message clearly.” [TMQ Surah An-Nur 54]. The Dawah of the Messenger of Allah (saw) to the people to worship Allah (swt) alone is consistent with the human fitrah (nature), and convincing to their minds. It is in keeping with the human instinct for religiousness, which drives them to feel a natural incapability, deficiency, limitation, and need. This feeling can only be satisfied by Iman in Allah (swt), the Creator and Controller. It convinces the mind, as his senses reveal his need, and the need of all things around him, for Allah (swt) the Creator and Controller. This wondrous creation, and the wondrous order that governs the universe around man, in every detail and in every way, evidences the obligated existence of a Creator (swt), and the existence of an Organizer (swt) to whom the universe is subject. Thus, the Dawah of the Messenger of Allah (saw) to worship Allah (swt) Alone, and to worship Him alone is convincing to the human mind, and consistent with human nature, filling the mind with conviction and Iman, and the heart with tranquility and contentment.
As for the last part of the second verse, which concludes the surah, it is the saying of Allah (swt),
[فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا]
“So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let them do good deeds and associate none in the worship of their Lord.” [TMQ Surah Al-Kahf 110]. It includes several meanings, the first of which is belief in the Last Day, expressed in this verse as “meeting his Lord” because meeting Allah (swt) will be on the Last Day, and it is part of what belief in the Last Day requires, and meeting Allah (swt) is one of the things that Allah (swt) has made beloved to His believing servants, as Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Ubadah bin Al-Samit, may Allah (swt) be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, «مَن أحَبَّ لِقاءَ اللَّهِ أحَبَّ اللَّهُ لِقاءَهُ ، ومَن كَرِهَ لِقاءَ اللَّهِ كَرِهَ اللَّهُ لِقاءَهُ»“Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah too loves to meet him. Whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah too hates to meet him.” [Bukhari]
This was from the Dua of the Messenger of Allah (saw) as Al-Tabarani narrated in Al-Awsat on the authority of Anas bin Malik (ra) who said, “My station was between the shoulders of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and when he finished Salah, he would say, «اللَّهمَّ اجعَلْ خيرَ عُمُري آخِرَه اللَّهمَّ اجعَلْ خواتيمَ عمَلي رِضوانَكَ اللَّهمَّ اجعَلْ خيرَ أيَّامي يومَ ألقاكَ» “O Allah, make the best part of my life its last. O Allah, make the ends of my deeds Your pleasure. O Allah, make the best of my days the day that I meet You.” [At-Tabarani]
However, the love of meeting Allah (swt) and reposing hope in Him requires two interconnected matters: the first is righteous deeds, and the second is not associating anyone with Allah (swt) in worship. As for righteous deeds, they are what Allah (swt) has commanded us to do through the blessed tongue of His Messenger (saw). Explaining righteous deeds is the mission of the Prophets (as) and Messengers (as). Al-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah narrated on the authority of Abdullah ibn Amr that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, «إنَّهُ لمْ يكنْ نَبِيٌّ قَبلي إِلاَّ كان حَقًّا عليهِ أنْ يَدُلَّ أُمَّتَهُ على ما يَعْلَمُهُ خيرًا لهُمْ ويُنْذِرَهُمْ ما يَعْلَمُهُ شَرًّا لهُمْ» “There has never been a Prophet before me who was not obliged to tell his Ummah of what he knew was good for them, and to warn against what he knew was bad for them.” [Ibn Majah]
The determination of good deeds was not left to man, because man’s judgment over objects and actions is subject to difference, disparity, contradiction, and the influence of the environment. He judges what he loves and what benefits him, as good for him. He judges what he hates and what harms him, as evil for him. Allah (swt) has made clear the error of these human standards when He (swt) obligated fighting saying,
[كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌ لَّكُمْ وَعَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَعَسَى أَن تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ]
“Fighting has been made obligatory upon you believers, though you dislike it. Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.” [TMQ Surah Al-Baqarah: 216].
The true definition of righteous action is what the Prophets (as) and Messengers (as) came with, to define and explain. After the mission of our Master Muhammad (saw), the definition of righteous action became dependent on what Muhammad (saw) brought, because his risaalah (message) superseded previous messages. The final commandment in this verse, which concludes the noble surah, is not to associate anyone with Allah (swt) in worship. This means that we must worship Allah (swt) Alone but not in ritual worships alone. The intended worship is an absolute, general obedience to Allah (swt), and not worship in its specific, limited sense, which regulates the relationship between the servant and his Creator Alone. At-Tabarani narrated in Al-Kabir, and Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Sunan Al-Kubra that Adi ibn Hatim, a Christian, came to the Prophet (saw) and heard him recite this Quranic verse,
[اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ]
“They have taken their rabbis and monks as well as the Messiah, son of Mary, as lords besides Allah, even though they were commanded to worship none but One God. There is no god worthy of worship except Him. Glorified is He above what they associate with Him!” [Surah At-Tawbah 31]. He said, “So I said to him: We do not worship them. He (saw) said, «أليسَ يحرمونَ ما أحلَّ اللهُ فتحرِّمونَه، ويحلُّونَ ما حرَّمَ اللهُ فتحلُّونَه» “Do they not forbid what Allah (swt) has permitted, so you forbid it? And do they not permit what Allah (swt) has forbidden, so you permit it?” I said, “Certainly we do.” He (saw) said, «فتلك عبادتُهم» “This is the worship of them.”
Worshipping Allah (swt) Alone means singling Him out in tawhid (monotheism), and singling Him out in what is permissible (Halal), and what is forbidden (Haram). It means absolute obedience to Him (swt) in everything He (swt) has commanded and everything He (swt) has forbidden.
Worshipping Allah (swt) Alone requires from the believing servant pure sincerity, sincerity of worship to Allah (swt) alone, without any hint of hypocrisy or showing off (riya). Muslim narrated in his Sahih on the authority of Abdullah bin Jundub that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, «مَن يُسَمِّعْ يُسَمِّعِ اللَّهُ به، ومَن يُرائِي يُرائِي اللَّهُ بهِ»“He who wants to makes his deeds known, Allah will only make them known. He who shows off his deeds in hypocrisy (riyaa), Allah will only show him off.” Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Messenger (saw) said, «قَالَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَنَا أَغْنَى الشُّرَكَاءِ عَنِ الشِّرْكِ مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلاً أَشْرَكَ فِيهِ مَعِي غَيْرِي تَرَكْتُهُ وَشِرْكَهُ»“Allah (swt) said, ‘I am the One, One Who does not stand in need of a partner. If anyone does anything in which he associates anyone else with Me, I shall abandon him with one whom he associates with Me.’” [A Hadith Qudsi in Muslim]
Therefore, whoever loves and hopes to meet Allah (swt) must believe in Allah (swt) alone as Lord, Creator and Organizer. He must seek Help from none but Him (swt). He must have reliance (tawwakul) on none but Him (swt). He must have hope in none but Him (swt). He must abide by righteous deeds as Allah (swt) has commanded. That is, he must make the Halal and Haram as his criterion in this worldly life.
We conclude by drawing attention to an important issue evidenced in the last part of the second verse, the final verse of Surat Al-Kahf. This issue is the correct solution to the greatest knotted problem within man. It answers the three questions urged by the instinct of religiousness in man: Where did I come from? Why am I here? And where are we going? Allah (swt) is our Creator and the Organizer of our affairs and the affairs of the entire universe. He (swt) created us to worship Him, adhere to His commands, and abstain from what He forbids. We will return to Him (swt), glory be to Him, on the Day of Judgment for judgment and reward. We ask Allah (swt) to make us among His righteous servants, and to be amongst those who hope to meet Allah (swt) and love Him, so that we may attain His Pleasure and Paradise. We ask Him (swt) to establish for the Muslims an authority of righteousness in which He (swt) honors those who obey Him, and humiliates those who disobey Him.