Tafseer of Surah Al-Kahf by Yasir Qadhi Part 3

Part 3: Speaking False About Allah

After Allah (SubhanAllahu wa Taa’la) praises himself and establishes the Nubuwah and Risalah of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) and describes the Qur’an, we’re now in the 4th verse and Allah mentions the purpose of the Qur’an. 

"And so that this Qur’an and this messenger may warn those people who claim that Allah has a child" (18:4)

"They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak not except a lie." (18:5)

Purpose of the Qur’an

So in these two verses, Allah mentions one of the main purposes of the Qur’an which is to negate false accusations about Allah and to affirm what we must believe about Allah (SubhanAllahu wa Taa’la). We have no knowledge of who is Allah except through the Qur’an. Allah criticises anybody who claim that Allah has a child.

This verse came down in Makkah and there were no Christians or Jews there. So here, the addressees are the Quraysh. And the Quraysh used to claim that Allah has daughters. And the word وَلَدٌ (waladun) doesn’t just mean a son, it means a child.

And so Allah said that He has revealed this Qur’an to warn them, “Careful don’t say this, anyone who says Allah has a daughter or son or children, this is not true.” “Do you know this? How do you know this? Where do you get this knowledge from?” The one that they would answer is “Our forefather, our culture, our tradition taught us this”.

Allah says, مَا لَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ - they have no knowledge of it, وَلَا لِآبَائِهِمْ - nor their forefathers. This shows us that one of the greatest sins in Islam is to speak about Allah and about Islam without knowledge. Allah challenges those who speak lies about Allah. Neither they nor their forefathers know this.

And the Qur’an tells us that one of the plots of Shaytaan is that Shaytaan commands you to associate partners with Allah and one of the tricks of Shaytaan is that you speak about Allah without knowledge. And this is one of the biggest problems. You cannot deviate from the truth except if you speak of falsehood. You cannot deviate from the truth except if there's a lie about Allah, about Islam, about the true Tawheed and about true Risaalah. And where do these lies come from? Shaytaan tells Allah that he will command the people to do this. So, anybody who speaks without knowledge of Allah, His Messenger, Islam and the Qur’an, this person is getting his information from Shaytaan. This is what the Qur’an tells us. And Allah negates any false information “neither you nor your father have no knowledge.”

كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ - Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths;

إِنْ يَقُولُونَ إِلَّا كَذِبًا - But they are saying but lies.

And no person on earth likes to hear slander about himself. Do you like somebody tells you something that is false? It is ingrained in us that we despise falsehood. It is ingrained in us that when we are slandered, we want to defend ourselves and this feeling comes from Allah (SubhanAllahu wa Taa’la). Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) clarifies this, saying, “None is more patient than Allah against the harmful saying. He hears from the people they ascribe children to Him, yet He gives them health and (supplies them with) provision." (Sahih Al-Bukhari,Vol. 8, Book 73, Hadith 121). They slandered Him, they lied about Him and they accused Him of having children and He still provides for them. If your enemy lies about you could you be generous to your enemy? If your enemy accuses you of a crime or a falsehood could you be generous to that enemy? No, you could not. Yet our Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) said, “None is more patient than Allah against the harmful saying. He hears from the people they ascribe children to Him, yet He gives them health and (supplies them with) provision.”

Also notice what Allah says, “What a lie comes from their mouth”. To say that Allah has a child cannot come from the intellect, knowledge or a book. Where does it come from? They are literally invented from their mouth. It’s a hot speech and it doesn’t have any basis in the intellect or literature or aql, but it comes from the hot air. And to affirm how evil it is in their saying, Allah says, “They are saying which is not true but it is a lie.” And to lie about Allah is of the greatest crime.

In Surah Al-Maryam, Allah says,

“When the creation around us, the heaven and the earth, the mountains hear that certain being attribute a child to Allah, those mountains they want to crumble how dare that they have claims that Ar-Rahman has a child, And it is not befitting that Ar-Rahman beget a child." (19:88-92)

So, Allah said that one of the purposes of the Qur’an is to correct the misinformation about Allah.

The Grief of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam)

"Then perhaps you would kill yourself through grief over them, [O Muhammad], if they do not believe in this message, [and] out of sorrow." (18:6)

بَاخِعٌ, بَخَعَ  literally means to die from depression. And Allah is telling us that Ya Rasulullah if you continue down this path, you will cause your own destruction by your grief. Why is he sad, where is this grieve coming from? Allah (SubhanAllahu wa Taa’la) clarifies,

فَلَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَفْسَكَ عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمْ - perhaps you will kill yourself in following their footstep,

إِنْ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِهَٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَسَفًا - if they do not believe in this message, [and] out of sorrow.

This verse shows us many things:

1. The sheer eloquence, it is as if the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) is following their footsteps, عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِم they are turning around and walking away and our Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) is going after them, one after another, and in that goal of following them, he is feeling depressed. Why? Is it because they have rejected him? NO, it is because they have rejected Allah.

2. It also shows the sincerity of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam). For most of us when we preach, we are calling to our own ego in ourselves. When we are in an argument, we want to win but not the truth to win. Our Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) wanted the truth to win, and not himself. And Allah clarifies this,
إِنْ لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِهَٰذَا الْحَدِيثِ – You are concern because they don’t believe in the Qur’an, not because they have rejected you.

3. Also notice over here that Allah mentions the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) before he mentions the rejecters. Allah didn’t say “They rejected the Qur’an.” Rather Allah addresses the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) in the single, in the first person, Allah says to him, calm your grief down. Console yourself. Don’t take it to this level. If you continue, you will cause destruction and harm to yourself if they don’t believe. Our Lord did not address the Quraysh for rejecting the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) but our Lord addresses Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) for his grieve at having been rejected. So who does Allah care about; the rejecters or the affirmers? Who does Allah care about; the Mu’min or the Kaafir? Allah does not need to address the Kaafir but our Lord is concerned about the grief, that Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) felt when the Quraysh rejected him. This is repeated multiple times in the Qur’an that Allah calms the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) down. This shows us the Maqam of the Nabi, the status of the Rasul (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) that even Allah is consoling him.

This also shows us that the one who is on the path of Allah, Allah cares about him infinitely more than the one who rejects the path.

4. It also shows us that our Lord consoles our Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) in distress and from this we gain the simple Sunnah. When we find somebody in a dire situation, we should console and give them words of comfort. If a Musibah has happened like any calamities or loved one has died, the heart will grieve. Allah console the grieve heart of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam). How about us when we are in grieve? We need that consolation even more. That is why our Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) made a sunnah when he found somebody in distress he would give them words of comfort. When Ja’far ibn Abi Talib died, he visited the house of Ja’far, he physically put his hands on the children of Ja’far, and he made du’a for them and he prayed for the wives of Ja’far for their patience. So these are words of consolation. Allah console Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam), Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) console the Sahaba. We as well when we find anybody in distress (legitimate distress) we should give them words of comfort.

5. Our Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) concerns for his people so much, Allah uses the very harsh word, بَاخِعٌ as it literally means as Ibn Abbas translated it as “you will kill yourselves out of grieve”. That grieve will consume you. Why does he grieve? Because he loves his people so much. So anybody who wants to call to Islam, he needs to have that genuine love for the people. You want these people to love your religion and to love Allah like you. Not for your ego but for the sake of Allah. No doubt this love can go to an extreme to the point that it will prevent you from living normally. In the beginning of da’wah, Allah said to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) “Don’t take that grieve that much in going in their footsteps if they do not believe in this Book.”

This Worldly Life is a Test for Us

“Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them [as to] which of them is best in deed." (18:7)

"And indeed, We will make that which is upon it [into] a barren ground.” (18:8)

زِينَةً لَهَا - adornment for it – which means men and women, palaces, beautiful trees, rivers and oceans, everything that we see is a beautification, not for Allah but for this world. Allah does not need this world; this world is not a permanent world. Allah is telling our Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) all that is on this world and above it, is a beautification for this world. Why? لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ – we are going to test all of them, أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا – who does the best deeds. Not the most deeds but rather the best deeds. Allah is not looking for quantity but quality. All of that that is in the world is a test for them – their money, children, their women, the possession that they own – we will test them and we will see who will do not the most but the best. A person can give a million dollar and another person give ten dollar, but it could be that the one who give million dollar is worthless in the eyes of Allah and the one who give 10 is worth more. It goes back to the intention.

Why does this verse come after the previous one?

Scholars say perhaps it is natural for a person to feel why those who reject Allah have so much wealth and power? Why they are at the pinnacle of civilization? Why do they own and why do they control? Why don’t we have this? This was also the case in early Makkah. The Quraysh has the power and Izzah. The Muslims were the one being persecuted. So what did Allah say? All that they have are test for them. Don’t put your heart on this because the next verse clarifies it.

وَإِنَّا لَجَاعِلُونَ - And we have done this, we will do something else. What have we done? We had made the world an adornment. What will we do? We will make this whole world صَعِيدًا جُرُزًا.

صَعِيدًا means flat land and جُرُزًا means infertile without any greenery. So Allah says that all this beauty that you see is temporary. And the time will come, i.e. Yaumul Qiyaamah, because Allah says in the Qur’an that on that day, this world will be substituted with another world. So Allah says, don’t be deceived by this greenery or power and by all that they have because a time will come when the world will become a flat land. The Qur’an says the mountain will crumble and everything will be destroyed. This world will become infertile which means no greenery and there will be nothing there. Allah is telling us “Don’t be deceived by the greenery of this world. The real beautification will be on the next world.”

To be continued with Part 4...

Tafseer of Surah Al-Kahf by Yasir Qadhi Part 2

Part 2: Theme and Cause of Revelation

Previously, it was mentioned that the primary theme of Surah al-Kahf is to demonstrate that Allah (Subhanallahu wa Ta’ala) protects all those who turn to Him for protection.

Surah al-Kahf has many blessings and one point that we can add on to that is the very name Kahf has been mentioned by Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) as being the name of the surah, and there is clearly a similarity between the name and the theme in that. The theme is that Allah will protect you when you turn to Him. And a cave is a symbolic place for protection. Like the Cave of Hira’ where Allah protects Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) and it is a place where Allah sent down the Qur’an. The name of the Surah is like a protection – Surah Al-Kahf.

Cause of Revelation

In Books of Tafseer – Ibn Katheer and at-Tabaree has mentioned that the reason why the surah was revealed was that the Quraysh had never heard of a prophet or a book until they heard the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) preached, so they asked the elders, and the elders said to them, Why don’t you go to the Jews of Yathrib and ask them “What is a prophet and how do you know if he is a prophet?” “What are the signs of a true prophet?”

So they went to Yathrib (Madinah) and they spoke to the Jews, “There is a man amongst us that claim to be a prophet. How do we know if he’s a true prophet?” So they say, test him with 3 questions:

1. What is the story of young men who fled seeking Allah’s protection? (Ashabul Kahf)

2. The story of the king Zulkarnain

3. What is the Ruh?

And they said the 3rd question is a trick question because anyone who answers this is not a true prophet. Nobody knows what the ruh is.

So the Quraysh quizzed the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) and they said, “If you are truly a true prophet, tell us the responds of these 3 questions.” The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) is accustomed to Jibrail coming down at a certain time of a certain week and the time is tomorrow. And Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) expected Jibrail to come at the same time on the next day. So he said to them, just wait until tomorrow and then I will inform you. And he didn’t say “In sha Allah” and he was confident that it was going to happen. And instead of one day, it was delayed to 3 or 15 days (according to different report of narrations). And the Quraysh became happy as Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) promised them tomorrow but nothing happened until when Jibrail came with Surah al-Isra’ and Surah al-Kahf. The answers to these three questions were given in these two Surahs. The question of the young men is in the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf, the question of Zulkarnain is answered at the end of Surah al-Kahf and the answer of the Ruh is in Surah al-Isra’.

“And they ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning the Ruh (the Spirit); Say: "The Ruh (the Spirit): it is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little." (17:85)

Meaning we don’t know what the Ruh is, we cannot to this day scientifically prove the Ruh, and to talk about the Ruh is beyond our understanding.

Interesting points in Surah al-Kahf:

1. If we count the words of the Qur’an, the conclusion is that the exact middle of the Qur’an is in Surah Al-Kahf and the word that is in the middle is – وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ – means be kind, be discreet, or be merciful.

2. Surah Al-Kahf begins with the same thing as the beginning of the Qur’an which is Alhamdulillah. The middle of the Qur’an and the beginning of the Qur’an begins with Alhamdulillah.

3. The end of Surah al-Isra’ (Surah 17) directly link to the beginning of Surah al-Kahf (Surah 18). The end of Surah Al-Isra’ is

And say, "Praise to Allah, who has not taken a son and has had no partner in [His] dominion and has no [need of a] protector out of weakness; and glorify Him with [great] glorification." (17:111)

And the beginning of surah Al-Kahf says,

All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has sent down to His slave (Muhammad SAW) the Book (the Qur’an), and has not placed therein any crookedness.” (18:1)

And to warn those who say, "Allah has taken a son." (18:4)

So they directly link to one another.


Allah begins Surah Al-Kahf with,

All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has sent down to His slave (Muhammad SAW) the Book (the Qur’an), and has not placed therein any crookedness.” (18:1)

He has not placed any crookedness in the book and then Allah continues to say,

“(He has made it) Straight ....” (18:2)

The meaning of Hamd

Alhamd is a beautiful word because there are many Arabic words that mean praise.

Madah means to praise.

Shukr and shakara means to thank and praise.

But Alhamd has a very specific meaning. Because the word madaha means to flatter and many times the word madah is done out of false sense of wanting to impress a person. Madaha could be done for truth or could be done for falsehood. Madah could be a lie or false and it could also be true.

Shukr is only done in response to a good done to you. Somebody did good to you, you say shukran. Shukr is an exchange.

Alhamd – it has nothing to do with shukr and madah. Hamd is to praise because the being you are praising to is worthy of that praise. Hamd is broader because it has nothing to do with what the being that you are praising has done for you. And hamd is more specific because you have to praise Hamd, the one who deserves it, because of him and not because of you.

Shukr because what he has done for you, madah it could be because you want something back, but hamd, it is done because the being you are praising is worthy of that hamd.


Alhamdulillah – All praise is due to Allah (Subhanallahu wa Ta’ala). Why is He worthy of praise? Because He has revealed upon His ‘abd, the Book. The Qur’an is so powerful of a miracle that Allah deserves to be praised because of the Qur’an. Because we have the Qur’an, we say Alhamdulillah. Such a beautiful blessing that Allah has blessed the world with that we are thanking Allah and praising Allah because He has sent the book down. In fact Allah has mentioned in other verses like

“Blessed be He Who sent down the criterion (of right and wrong, i.e. this Quran) to His slave (Muhammad SAW) that he may be a warner to the 'Alamin (mankind and jinns).” (25:1)

So we praised Allah for having to reveal the book.

The meaning of 'abd

And He mentioned the recipient of the Book which is ‘abd – Many translate ‘abd as slave but the real meaning of ‘abd here is worshipper. That is because the highest praise of any human is by worshipping Allah. This is the highest maqam. No human will be exalted unless he humbles himself in front of Allah. The more you humble yourself in front of Allah the more honour you are. The one who has achieved the height of humbleness in front of Allah is Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam). So when Allah say my ‘abd, this is the highest praise that Allah can give to any creation. Allah says “This is my worshipper; he has worshipped Me the way that nobody else has worshipped Me.”

Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) has been mentioned as ‘abd’ in the most honorary places in the Qur’an. For example:

And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur’an) to Our slave (Muhammad Peace be upon him), then produce a Surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful. (2:23)

In the verse above, Allah defended Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam).

Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) Who took His slave (Muhammad SAW) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (at Makkah) to the farthest mosque (in Jerusalem), the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad SAW) of Our Ayat. Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer. (17:1)

In this verse, Allah raises the rank of Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam).

So, defending Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam), raising the rank of Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam), talking about the maqam of Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam), in all of these locations Allah (Subhanallahu wa Ta’ala) uses the term ‘abd.

The meaning of Kitab

And Allah says, “We have revealed the Kitab”. The Kitab has two meanings to it:

1. Book – kataba means to write down.

2. Katb (with the sukoon) means a large amount. For example, katiba means a large group of men that are on an expedition.

So of the meanings of Kitab is that this Book has a lots of wisdom, information, and that this Book has been written down. And both of these meanings apply to the Qur’an; the Qur’an is that which is recited and the Kitab is that which is written down.

The meaning of 'no crookedness' and qayim

“And He did not place any crookedness” – this proves to us that the Qur’an and the Risalah of Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) are linked together. Why? Because Allah says that this is the Book I have sent down to my ‘abd. How do you know that this is my ‘abd? By examining the book. So the book is the credential of the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam). How do you know that Islam is true? Look at the Book. What are the miracles of Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam)? Look at the book. And what are the signs of the Book? There is nothing strange or misunderstanding in the book as it is straight and it is making others straight.

There are two meanings of Qayim:

The Book is straight and it makes others straight. Notice that in these two ayats, Allah negates crookedness and affirm straightness. This is similar to the verse in Surah al-Baqarah:

“This is the Book (the Qur’an), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun” (2:2)

There is nothing that is confusing or crooked; it is guidance. First you negate the evil, and then you affirm the positive. The Qur’an has no evil and it has nothing but positive.

What is the reward for the believers?

Then in verse 2, Allah says,

(He has made it) Straight to give warning (to the disbelievers) of a severe punishment from Him, and to give glad tidings to the believers (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism), who work righteous deeds, that they shall have a fair reward. (18:2)

What is this reward? It is not explicitly mentioned, but the next verse clarifies it.

They shall abide therein forever. (18:3)

So therefore the reward is Jannah.

Fundamentals of Islam

Notice that in these 3 verses, Allah combines the three fundamentals of Islam; Tawheed, Risalah and Akhirah.

Tawheed – Allah is praising Himself.

Risalah (Message) - for revealing the Book to His Prophet.

Akhirah – those who reject it will be punished and those who accept it will be rewarded.

Three Pillars of Imaan

Also notice that the three pillars of Imaan has also been referenced. Loving Allah, fearing Allah and hope in Allah.

Alhamdulillah – He is worthy to be praised because of our love of Allah.

The Qur’an warns of the punishment – we scared of Allah’s punishments.

The Qur’an gives glad tidings of good news – we hope for Allah’s rewards.

So love, fear and hope are combined in these verses.

Another point is that never Allah threatens except that He always gives glad tidings as well. The Qur’an always has both of these together. There is always takhweef and tabsheer together. Takhweef is to make scare and tabsheer is to give good news and the Qur’an combined both of these together. Islam always brings about the two emotions together.

Allah mentions the Qur’an as being the ultimate criterion of Him, of His Prophet, of the Risalah and of the Qiyamah. All are linked to the Qur’an. The Qur’an is the ultimate proof of our religion. If somebody asks us how do we know that Islam is true? Immediately our respond should be that it is the Qur’an. The Qur’an is the living miracle and the miracle is in every sense; in its recitation, in its hearing, in its memorization, in its understanding and in its implementation. The Qur’an is the ultimate proof and Surah Al-Kahf will bring this proof over and over again.

Tafseer Surah Al-Kahf by Sheikh Yasir Qadhi Part 1

Part 1: Intro and Blessings

Main Themes of Surah Al-Kahf

Surah Al-Kahf is one of the earliest surah revealed.

Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud: Surat Bani-lsrael, Al-Kahf (The Cave), Maryam, Taha, Al-Anbiya' (The prophets) are amongst my first earnings and my old property, and (in fact) they are my old property. (Sahih Bukhari, Book #61, Hadith #516).

These surahs are among the first revelation that came down to Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu 'alahi wassalam).

Main theme of Surah Al-Kahf is that Allah will protect you against all trials. It is a surah full of stories and every story there’s a trial.

The four stories are:-

1. Young men that went to seek shelter in the cave –

This is where the surah gets its name – Surah al-Kahf (The Cave). This story is about the fitnah of religion – when people persecute others because they believe in Allah. It is about a group of young men who believed in Allah, but the king wanted to kill them because they were believers. So they went and seek protection in the cave

2. The story of two men in the garden –

This story is about the fitnah of money. It tells us what happens when money gets into your head. And it tells us what happens when money gets you to be arrogant. The solution here is to realize that this dunya is temporary – that Allah gives and you didn’t give. That what you have will be taken away.

3. The story of Musa and Khidr –

The main fitnah is the fitnah of knowledge if the knowledge does not lead to humility. Even knowledge can leads to arrogance if it is misused and abused but Musa overcame that and that humility and humbleness was that he learned from somebody other than himself and he rises because of it.

4. The story of Zulkarnain –

The story is about the fitnah of power. Allah mentioned that Allah tested Zulkarnain with that fitnah and Zulkarnain overcame it by constantly being aware that Allah is al-Malik ul-Mulk. Allah is the Ultimate King.

The Blessings of Surah Al-Kahf

1. Peace and tranquility will be brought down to those who recite Surah Al-Kahf

Narrated Al-Bara' bin 'Azib: A man recited Surah al-Kahf (in his prayer) and in the house there was a (riding) animal which got frightened and started jumping. The man finished his prayer with Taslim, but behold! A mist or a cloud hovered over him. He informed the Prophet of that and the Prophet said, "O so-and-so! Recite, for this (mist or cloud) was a sign of peace descending for the recitation of Quran." (Sahih Bukhari, Book #56, Hadith #811)

Narrated Al-Bara': A man was reciting Surah Al-Kahf and his horse was tied with two ropes beside him. A cloud came down and spread over that man, and it kept on coming closer and closer to him till his horse started jumping (as if afraid of something). When it was morning, the man came to the Prophet, and told him of that experience. The Prophet said, "That was As-Sakina (tranquility) which descended because of (the recitation of) the Qur'an." (Sahih Bukhari, Book #61, Hadith #531)

2. It increase you in your iman

Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) explained that Surah Al- Kahf is of the earliest revelation that has been given to him because it fortifies in your Iman. It tells you that whatever is happening Allah will take care of you. Surah Al-Kahf was revealed in the first or second year of years of da’wah.

3. Memorize the first 10 verse of Surah Al-Kahf, he will be protected from Dajjal.

Abu Darda' reported Allah's Apostle (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) as saying: If anyone learns by heart the first ten verses of the Surah al-Kahf, he will be protected from the dajjal. (Sahih Muslim, Book #004, Hadith #1766)

4. Recites on every Friday

“Whoever reads Surah al-Kahf on the day of Jumu’ah, will have a light that will shine from him from one Friday to the next.”(Narrated by al-Haakim, 2/399; al-Bayhaqi, 3/249. Ibn Hajar said in Takhreej al-Adhkaar that this is a hasan hadeeth, and he said, this is the strongest report that has been narrated concerning reading Soorat al-Kahf. See: Fayd al-Qadeer, 6/198. It was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6470)

From Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, who said: “Whoever reads Surah al-Kahf on the night of Jumu’ah, will have a light that will stretch between him and the Ancient House (the Ka’bah).” (Narrated by al-Daarimi, 3407. This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami, 6471)

Why is Surah Al-Kahf link with the protection from dajjal?

The fitnah of dajjal is the worst fitnah that mankind has ever seen.

Imran bin Hussain narrated that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) said, " There would be no creation (creating more trouble) than the dajjal right from the creation of Adam to the Last Hour. (Sahih Muslim, Book #041, Hadith #7037)

There is no fitnah that would cause more destruction, kill more people, cause more bloodshed than the fitnah of dajjal. Dajjal will come and he will claim to be the god on earth. He will be given a certain miracle that would fool mankind into thinking that this man is a god. He shall be able to stop the rain from flowing, and whoever rejects him, he will perish or die, and whoever believes in him, dajjal will snap his finger and the water will fall. The plants will flourish and the people will be able to eat. So whoever rejects dajjal will be tested and tried, and whoever accepts dajjal and claims that he is god will flourish on earth. People will be tested and tried through him like no other fitnah.

What does Surah Al-Kahf has to do with this?

Look at the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf – the very first story set up in the first 10 verses is about those young men who believed in Allah (SubhanAllahu wa Taa’la) and the King was trying to kill them. So they fled seeking Allah’s protection and Allah gave them that protection.

In the time of dajjal, dajjal will be that King and he will be that person who will kill everybody who believes in Allah (SubhanAllahu wa Taa’la). So we need to become like those young men who fled away seeking for Allah’s protection. Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) said that a time will come when the dajjal is here the believers will run to the mountains running away from the dajjal. This is what the young men did when they fled to the mountain and they sought refuge in cave and this is exactly what the Muslims will do later during the time of dajjal.

One of the biggest trials of dajjal will be that he will be able to control food and water. Allah gives him that water. So what will you do when you don’t have water to drink or food to eat? If you believe in dajjal you will get the water and food. And if you don’t believe in dajjal, he will cause the water to stop from getting to you. He will cause the earth to go dry.

What does Surah Al-Kahf say? Allah explicitly says,

 

“And indeed, We will make that which is upon it (into) a barren ground." (18:8)

Allah is the One who makes upon this earth barren and dry. So if you want to be fed, turn to Allah and not the dajjal. So the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf mentions that it is Allah’s power that dry up the earth and not the power of dajjal.

We also learn that at the end of the first 10 verses, Allah taught us that those who sought refuge in Allah, Allah will pave a way out for them when Allah says,

[Mention] when the youths retreated to the cave and said, "Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance." (18:10)

This is exactly where the 10 verses stop, and it is an optimistic verse.

Notice what the eleventh verse is where we don’t recite to seek protection from dajjal. The eleventh verse is that Allah saved them by causing them to go to sleep.

So We cast [a cover of sleep] over their ears within the cave for a number of years. (18:11)

We don’t want to be saved by dajjal by going to sleep, that’s not how we are going to be saved. The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam) told us that we will be saved when Isa ibn Maryam comes. Our saving from dajjal will not be through sleep so we don’t recite the eleventh verse and we stop right at the tenth verse. And the tenth verse tells us that they made the du’a to Allah and Allah answers their du’a.

These are some of the blessings and the wisdom behind the memorization of the first 10 verses of Surah Al-Kahf in order to seek protection to Allah from the dajjal. Let us strive to memorize Surah Al-Kahf and make it a routine to recite it on every Friday. May Allah accepts from us and ease us from difficulties to memorize Surah Al-Kahf. Ameen.

The 10 Best Days by Yasir Qadhi

Know that Allah SWT has not made the days of the year equal nor he has made all of the timing the same. Rather Allah has preferred certain timing over others. And He has blessed certain period over other period. Hence, it is a time for us to do extra good on those days. And of course, of the days that Allah has chosen is Friday, as Friday is the most blessed day of the week, and the month that Allah has chosen is Ramadhan, as it is the most blessed month of the year. But do you know there are some days that are more blessed than Friday and in fact even more blessed than Ramadhan? Yes indeed. Those days are the first 10 days of Dzulhijjah. And this is the time period that many people of the Muslim Ummah are unaware of the superiority of these 10 days.

Our Prophet Muhammad SAW said that there are no days of the year that are more beloved to Allah that a person do good in those days is on the first 10 days of Dzulhijjah. A man said, "O Messenger of Allah, even Jihad (i.e Allah prefers Muslims to do good deeds to Jihad on this first 10 Days)?" And the Prophet SAW replied, "even Jihad except if a man leaves all his property and wealth and died as a martyr in a battle that is the only thing that is more beloved than a person who is praying and being a good Muslim at these 10 days" (Abu Dawood, Tirmizi, Ibn Majah).

So these 10 days are the most blessed days of the year. In another Hadith, the Prophet SAW said, "There are not any days of the year, that are holier than these 10 days of Dzulhijjah therefore increase in doing good deeds to Allah and increase in saying Allahu Akhbar, Alhamdulillah and Lailahaillallah" (Musnad Ahmad). So increase in doing your Dzikir of Allah. These 10 days are the holiest day of the year. Allah swears by these days in the Quran. Allah says,” Allah swears by Fajr and then the 10 nights or the 10 days" (89:1-2). And the Scholars of Islam have said the 10 nights that Allah swears on are the nights or the days of Dzulhijjah.

Somebody might ask which is the holiest, the days of Dzulhijjah or the Days of Ramadhan? And the response is that the day timing of Dzulhijjah (the first 10) are actually more blessed than the day timing of Ramadhan. But the last 10 nights of Ramadhan are more blessed than the first 10 nights of Dzulhijjah. Hence, the 10 days and nights of Dzulhijjah and Ramadhan, they are all blessed. But the nights of Ramadhan are holier than the nights of Dzulhijjah and the days of Dzulhijjah are more blessed than the days of Ramadhan. So we should increase our good deeds in these day.

What are some of the good deeds that we can do in these days?

1. Hajj and Umrah

Hajj can only be done on these days as these are the days of Hajj. When the Hujjaj all congregate on the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th in the Mina, Muzdalifah, Arafat, these are the days of Hajj and before them, people came to do Umrah. Hence, these are the best deed that we can do. The Prophet SAW said, "When you do an Umrah and then you followed up with another Umrah, the two Umrah cancelled out all the evil done in between.” (Bukhari).  

And he said," those who do Umrah and Hajj continuously, it is as if their sins fall off from them like a furnace destroys the evil in a metal ore." (Al-Tirmizi) You throw in raw ore and the furnace get rids of all the impurities, similaryly Hajj and Umrah get rid of all your impurities.

2. Fast

Fasting is a very blessed thing to do in any time of the year but especially in this time of the year. The Prophet SAW said, “Fasting on the day of Arafat will be credited with Allah SWT for forgiving one sins of the previous year and the following year." (Muslim) Now this is only for the Non Hujjaj. If you are doing Hajj, you don't fast. If you are Non Hujjaj, then you fast on the Day of Arafat that is on the 9th Dzulhijjah.

3. Extra Dzikir

That is to do Takbir (Allahu Akhbar), Tahmeed, (Alhamdulillah), Tahleel ( Lailahaillallah). In fact, the Sahaba was so eager to say these things that they would say it out loud even in the market places (al-Bukhari), especially after the prayers during these 10 days. These praises are unconditional praise, meaning that we don't praise at congregated time, we don't praise together, we just praise whenever we want to praise Allah SWT.

4. To repent to Allah SWT from our sins

Again, repentance is something that we should do all the time, but especially on these 10 days. We should repent to Allah and remember that the true repentance is to feel guilty and give up the sins, seek Allah's forgiveness, you turn over a new leaf and you become a better Muslim.

5. To do extra voluntaraly deeds of prayer and charity and read the Quran.

These are the things that we should do throughout the year, and even more during this time. And especially the Tahajjud prayer will be a very blessed thing to do on these 10 days of Dzulhijjah.

6. To sacrifice an animal for the sake of Allah

Give some of the meat to the poor, we may use some of it and we may give some of it to family and friends. This is called the “Udhiyah” or the sacrifice. Some of the Scholars said that Udhiyah is obligatory if you can afford it, and some other says it's recommended. Either way, why should you deprive yourself from the blessings rather every single Muslims who is capable of affording an animal should try his or her best to sacrifice an animal for the sake of Allah and distribute the meat to the poor. One animal suffices a family and if you want to sacrifice a larger animal like camel or a cow, you may get together seven families and then do that. The Prophet SAW said, "Whoever made a sacrifice then Allah SWT will forgive the amount of sins on the hairs of the animal.” (Tirmizi, Ibn Majah)


And the Prophet SAW would make a sacrifice every single year at this time. The sacrifice should be made after the 10th day of Dzulhijjah, i.e after Solat Eid. It can be made on the 10th, or 11th or 12th or 13th. Any of these days, the sacrifice may be made. A point of caution, if you do want to sacrifice an animal, then you should avoid trimming your nails, cutting or clipping your hair to show respect to Allah SWT for the first 10 days of Dzulhijjah before the sacrifice.

7. Pray the Eid prayer.

It is obligatory on every single Muslim to pray the Eid prayer on the 10th of Dzulhijjah .

8. Appreciate the blessings of Allah

Come close to Him during these 10 days through each and every good deed that you can do through intentions, actions, thoughts, prayer and forgiveness. Appreciate the blessings of Allah upon you and be thankful of what He has given you and seek forgiveness for all that you have fallen short.

We should take advantage of the first 10 days of Dzulhijjah and to earn Allah's pleasure through them.