BRIEFLY SUMMARIZED TAFSIR (COMMENTARY) PRESENTED BY: MONA SALEM Suratul Kahf: “The Cave”

Verses ) So his fruits were encircled with ruin. And he began to turn his hands over what he had spent upon it, while it was all destroyed on its trellises, and he could only say “Would that I had ascribed no partners to my Lord!” 43) And he had no group of men to help him against Allah, nor could he defend or save himself. 44) There on the Day of Resurrection, the Rule (or Allegiance) will be for Allah alone, the True God. He is best for reward and the best for the final end. 45) And mention the parable of the worldly life: it is like the water which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it, and becomes fresh and green. But later it becomes dry and broken pieces, which the winds scatter. And Allah is Able to do everything. 46) Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds that last, are better with your Lord for reward and better for hope. 47) And remember the Day We shall cause the mountains to pass away, and you will see the earth as a leveled plain, and We shall gather them so that We will leave not one of them behind. 48) And they will be set before your Lord, aligned. He will say: “Now indeed you have come to Us as We created you the first time. Nay, but you thought that We had appointed no meeting for you with Us. 49) And the Book will be produced, and you will see the criminals, fearful of that which is therein. They will say: “Woe to us! What sort of Book is this that leaves neither a small thing, nor a large thing, but has recorded it with numbers!” And they will find all that they did present, and your Lord treats no one with injustice.

Lesson #1: Always Remember Allah, Not Only at Moments of Tragedy The ungrateful man who took Allah’s blessings for granted, now loses everything; in this tragedy he remembers Allah This is an example: Often we go about our lives ungrateful for the blessings He gives us and being forgetful of our duty to Him – and then when something bad happens to us, we remember Allah. Allah (SWT) describes this in the Quran:  “So when they saw Our punishment, they said: “We believe in Allah Alone and reject all that we used to associate with him as partners.” Sura Ghafir, verse 84.  And Allah (SWT) says regarding the Pharoah (Firaun): “Till when drowning overtook him, he said: ‘I believe that none has the right to be worshipped but He in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims.’ Now!? While you refused to believe before, and you were one of those who made mischief.” Sura Yunus, verse 90-91

Lesson #2: The Rule is Only with Allah “There on the Day of Resurrection, the Rule (or Allegiance) will be for Allah alone, the True God. He is best for reward and the best for the final end.” Allah is reminding us that no amount of men or previous wealth could help the ungrateful man against Allah, nor did he have any way of preventing or saving himself from this disaster. The Rule is Only for Allah. He Alone is the Controller of Our Affairs. Allah says in the Quran: “The sovereignty (rule) on that Day will be the True Sovereignty, belonging to the Most Gracious, and it will be a hard Day for the disbelievers.” Sura Furqan, verse 26 Leaders, celebrities, elected people – their rule means nothing compared to the rule of Allah. If He wishes to destroy or bless people – He does. On the Day of Judgment – no one will be able to help the other – nor will anyone care for the fate of another. We will be in fear of Hellfire to the extent that we will not care what happens to anyone but ourselves. According to a hadith narrated by Anas (RA) the Prophet (sws) said: on that Day, all will be crying, Nafsi, nafsi (myself, myself!) and the Prophet (sws) will be saying Ummati, ummati (my ummah, my ummah).

#3: Allegiance is Only to Allah The verse has been interpreted as either “Rule” is for Allah or “Allegiance” is to Allah. Both meanings are correct! Allegiance is to Allah that day – not to our families, our leaders, our elected officials, our friends, etc. No allegiance will be helpful that day except for allegiance to Allah and His religion. In this world we form cliques and groups and political parties – all of that will be meaningless on the Day of Judgment where only our actions will matter.

#4: The Nature of the World Allah (SWT) reminds us of the nature of this world now – it is short-lived. 45) And mention the parable of the worldly life: it is like the water which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it, and becomes fresh and green. But later it becomes dry and broken pieces, which the winds scatter. And Allah is Able to do everything. Allah (SWT) commonly discusses this theme in the Quran to remind us of our true priorities. He says: “See you not that Allah sends down water from the sky, and causes it to penetrate the earth, then out from it comes crops of different colors.” Sura Az Zumar, 21 And “Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children. It is like the parable of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller…” Sura Al-Hadeed, verse 20

#5: Wealth and Worldly Accomplishment is Just for Show 46) Wealth and children are the adornment of the life of this world. But the good righteous deeds that last, are better with your Lord for reward and better for hope. And Allah says: “Beautified for men is the love of things they covet (want); women, children, vaulted hoards of gold…” Sura Ali-Imran, verse 14. And “Your wealth and your children are only a trial, whereas Allah, with Him is a great reward.” Sura Taghabun, verse 15. The lesson is that these things are ultimately meaningless in the Hereafter, so to put all our focus and effort into them is foolish. We must live in the world, but should keep our hearts attuned to the Hereafter. The man of the garden lost track of his priorities and became preoccupied with his garden, his family, children, and wealth… and lost his faith in the process.

#5: Righteous Deeds are Everlasting 47)…“But the good righteous deeds that last, are better with your Lord for reward and better for hope.” What are the good righteous deeds that Allah (SWT) refers to? Some scholars said they are the 5 daily prayers Others said: reciting good words, such as:  Subhan Allah (glory be to Allah)  Alhamdulilah (all praise/thanks to Allah)  Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greater)  Astaghfirullah (Allah forgive me)  La hawla wa la quwata illa billah (There is no force or power but Allah)  La ilaha ila Allah (There is no god but Allah)

Righteous Deeds, Continued Other scholars said they include: Prayers & good words (glorification of Allah) Hajj Charity/Sadaqah Freeing of slaves Jihad Maintaining ties of kinship It was recorded in the collection of Imam Ahmad that the Prophet (sws) said: And he said: “Well done! Well done for five things! Whoever meets Allah believing in them, he will enter Paradise: if he believes in Allah, the Last Day, Paradise and Hell, resurrection after death, and the Reckoning.”

#6: Day of Judgment is a Serious Affair We Shouldn’t Lose Sight Of… 47) And remember the Day We shall cause the mountains to pass away, and you will see the earth as a leveled plain, and We shall gather them so that We will leave not one of them behind. On the Day of Judgment, the earth will be re-created as a flat plain with no mountains, valleys, trees or other landmarks Allah (SWT) says: “And you will see the mountains and think them solid, but they shall pass away as the passing of the clouds.” Sura An Naml verse 88. And He says: “And they ask you about the mountains, say: “My Lord will pulverize them, scattering their dust. To leave them as a barren plain. You will not see in it crookedness or curve.” Sura Ta- Ha, verses So there will be no escape or hiding! All will be resurrected as Allah (SWT) says: “Say: ‘Yes truly those of old, and those of later times, all will surely be gathered together for an appointed meeting of a known Day.” Sura Al-Waqiyah, verses

#7: The Resurrection is True & Undeniable 48) And they will be set before your Lord, aligned. He will say: “Now indeed you have come to Us as We created you the first time. Nay, but you thought that We had appointed no meeting for you with Us. On the Day of Judgment, we will be lined up in rows waiting for our fates The Arabs as well as many cultures before did believe in God, but not that they would be resurrected and called to account… This is a strong scolding and warning for those who hold that belief.

#8: The Point of Resurrection is Accountability and the Deliverance of Justice Why does Allah then remind us of resurrection? Because He wants us to recall that we will be asked about every little thing we do 49) And the Book will be produced, and you will see the criminals, fearful of that which is therein. They will say: “Woe to us! What sort of Book is this that leaves neither a small thing, nor a large thing, but has recorded it with numbers!” And they will find all that they did present, and your Lord treats no one with injustice. Allah (SWT) then emphasizes how Just He is and how each deed is being recorded with numbers. It is like a formula or calculation for each action we do! Because our deeds have been ranked by numbers and priority, the account is full and fair. Nothing has been left out. The criminals, disbelievers, sinners are the ones who will fear the book – as one fears getting a grade for a test you know you have failed.