of His servants.”
97Those whom God guides
are rightly guided.
As for those He allows to stray—
you’ll find no protectors for them
beyond God.
And We shall gather them
on the day of resurrection
fallen on their faces,
blind, dumb, and deaf.
Hell shall be their home,
and whenever the blaze of fire
subsides, We shall warm it.
98That is their reward, for they
rejected Our signs, saying,
“When we become bones and dust,
will we really be raised up
as a new creation?”
99Don’t they see that God,
Who created the heavens and earth,
has Power to create their like anew?
He has assigned a fixed term
—beyond doubt—for them,
but the wrongdoers refuse
to be anything but ungrateful.
100Say, “If you possessed
the treasures of my Lord’s mercy,
you would withhold them
fearful of expending them,
for humankind is ever miserly.”
SECTION 12
101We gave Moses nine clear signs°
—ask the Children of Israel.
When he came to the Egyptians,
Pharaoh exclaimed to him,
“Moses, I believe you’re bewitched.”
102Moses replied,
“You well know that only
the Lord of the heavens and earth
could reveal these things as proof;
and I believe that you, Pharaoh,
shall meet destruction.”
103So he intended to drive them
from the land; but We drowned him
and all those with him.
104Afterward, We told
the children of Israel:
“Live in the land,” but when
the promise of the hereafter comes,
We will bring you together
in a mingled assembly.°
105We sent down the Quran
with the truth—and with the truth
it has come down;
and We sent you, Prophet,
only to convey joyous news
and to warn people.
106We have divided the Quran
into parts so you might recite it
to people at intervals, and
We have revealed it in stages.
107Say, “Whether you believe in it
or not, those given knowledge
before it was revealed
fall down on their faces,°
bowing, when it is recited to them.”
108They say, “Glory be to our Lord!
Our Lord’s promise is fulfilled.”
109They fall on their faces, in tears,
and it deepens their humility.
110Say, “Call upon God
or call upon the All Merciful—
however you call him,
His are the Most Beautiful Names.°
And do not intone your prayer
loudly nor too softly
but seek a middle way
between these.”
111Say, “Praise be to God
Who takes no son, and
Who has no partner in dominion,
Who needs no protector
against abasement,
and magnify Him—magnify
His Measureless Magnitude.”°
SURA 18
The Cave (Al-Kahf)
From the middle Meccan period, it derives its name, “The Cave,” from vv. 9–26. That segment provides the natural backdrop for the first of three stories woven together in this sura of 110 verses that have inspired commentary and speculation through the ages. All three of these mysterious episodes occur only here in the Quran: the cave sleepers (vv. 9–26) is followed by Moses’ encounter with a sly stranger at the meeting of waters (vv. 61–83), after which the two-horned figure, perhaps Alexander, builds a (mountain) barrier against Gog and Magog (vv. 84–99).
In the Name of God, the All Merciful, Ever Merciful
SECTION 1
1All praise be to God,
Who revealed the Book
to His servant, and made it
free of deviation,°
2unerringly straight,° to warn
of His stern punishment
and to give joyous news to those
who believe and do good works
that theirs will be a rich° reward,
3[the garden] where
they will stay forever.
4and to warn those who say,
“God has taken a son.”
5They have no knowledge
of this, nor had their forefathers.
It’s a monstrous assertion
that they mouth: they utter
nothing but falsehood.
6Prophet, you might consume yourself
with grief, because of them,
if they don’t believe this message.
7We have adorned the earth
with all that exists on it
in order to test which of them
are best in their deeds.
8And We shall turn
all that exists on it
into barren dust.
SECTION 2
9Prophet, do you think
the companions of the cave°
and the inscription it bears
were a wonder among Our signs?
10The youths sought shelter
in the cave, and they implored,
“Our Lord, grant us Your mercy
and resolve our dilemma
in a fitting manner.”
11So We sealed their ears
[with sleep] in the cave
for several years.
12Then We woke them,
so We might know
which of the two parties°
could best calculate
how long they had stayed.
13We narrate to you their story
as it was:° those youths believed
in their Lord, and We increased
Our guidance for them.
14We strengthened their hearts
when they stood up and affirmed,
“Our Lord is the Lord
of the heavens and the earth;
never will we call
on other gods than Him,
for we would be voicing
a gross falsehood.
15“Our people have taken
gods other than Him: why don’t they
bring forth a clear sanction for these?
Who does more wrong than those
who invent lies about God?”
16“Since you have recoiled
from them and what they worship
besides God, seek shelter in the cave” [said the chief youth].
“Your Lord will shower you
with His mercy
and ease your plight.”
17You might have seen
the sun, when she rose,
declining away, to the right
of their cave; and when she set,
veering away, to their left
while they lay in the open space
between its walls. This
is among the signs of God:
those whom God guides
are rightly guided; as for
those left astray, you will never
find a protector to guide them
to the right way.
18You might have thought them
awake though they were sleeping:
we turned them on their right sides
and left sides, their dog stretching
his two paws at the entrance.
If you had seen them,
you would have fled
from them in terror.
19Then We roused them, so
they might question one another.
One of them asked, “How long
have you been here?” Some said,
“A day or part of a day.” Others,
“Your Lord knows best how long.
Now one of you go with money
to the city to find the best food
for your sustenance.
But let him take care
to let no one know about you.
20“If they recognize you,
they’ll stone you or bring you
back to their creed, and then
you will not flourish—ever.”
21We informed people about them,
to let them know that God’s promise
is true, that there is no doubt
about the impending hour.
Yet people argued about
the sleepers. Some said,
“Erect a building over them.
Their Lord knows best about them.”
Those who prevailed in the matter
said, “We shall build over them
a place of worship.”
22Some say they were three,
and the dog the fourth
of them; others say they were five,
with the dog a sixth—
guessing, without knowing;°
still others say they were seven,
with the dog as eighth.
Say, “My Lord knows best
how many they were;
only a few actually know
about them.” So don’t argue
over them without tangible proof
nor consult any of these people
about them.
23Do not say about anything,
“I shall do it tomorrow,”
24without adding, “if God is willing.”°
If you forget, remember your Lord,
and say, “I hope my Lord guides me
closer to righteousness than this.”
25And they stayed in their cave
for three hundred years, some say,
while some figured nine more.°
26Say, “God knows best
how long they stayed.
His are the secrets of the heavens
and the earth—
how clearly He Sees,
how clearly He Hears.
They have no protector but Him,
He shares His judgment with none.”°
27Recite what was revealed to you
from the Book of your Lord—
there is no changing His words,
and you will find no refuge
beyond Him.
28Content yourself with
those who call on their Lord
morning and evening,
yearning for His Face;
and do not look beyond them,
yearning for the luster
of worldly life,
nor obey anyone whose heart
We have made heedless
of Our remembrance,
anyone who follows
his own desires, unbridled.
29And say, “The truth
is from your Lord,”
so let him who will, believe,
and let him who will, deny.
We have prepared a fire
for wrongdoers, whose walls
will enshroud them; and
should they cry for relief,
they will be relieved
with water like molten brass
searing their faces
—a damnable draught—
and an evil abode.°
30As for those who believe
and do good deeds—We shall not
overlook their reward.°
31They will have eternal gardens,
with rivers flowing beneath.
There they will be adorned
in bracelets of gold,
and they will wear
robes of green, of fine silk
and rich brocade;
they will recline there
on raised couches—
a blessèd reward,
an excellent home.
SECTION 3
32Coin for them a parable
of two men—for one of them
We made two vineyards,
bordering them with date palms;
and between them, We placed
fields of crops.
33Each of the two gardens
yielded its fruit, unfailing
in any respect.
And We made a river flow
between them.°
34So he had abundant fruit.
While talking with his companion,
he boasted, “I have more wealth
than you, and a greater following.”
35So he entered his garden
and wronged himself, saying,
“I do not think that this
will ever perish,
36“Nor do I think that the hour
will come; and even if I were
brought back to my Lord,
I would certainly find there
something better than this.”
37Talking with him, his companion
retorted, “Do you deny the One
Who created you from dust,
from a droplet of sperm,
then fashioned you into a man?
38“As for me,
He is God, my Lord,
and I set up no one as partner
with my Lord.
39“Why did you not say,
as you entered your garden,
‘As God wills’?° There is
no power except God.
Though you see that I have
less in wealth and children,
40“perhaps my Lord will grant me
something better than your garden,
and will send upon it
a reckoning from the sky,
turning it to sodden dust.
41“or its water might sink
beneath the ground so you
never find it.”
42And his fruit was beset with ruin,
and he began wringing his hands
over what he had invested in it—
it was collapsed on its trellises.
And he lamented, “If only
I had set up no other god
as partners with my Lord.”
43He had no company
to help him, besides God,
nor could he help himself.
44[In such crisis], protection
comes from God alone—the True.°
He grants the best in reward,
and the best outcome.
SECTION 4
45Coin for them a simile
of the life of this world—
it is like rain which We send
down from the sky,
which mixes with earth’s greenery,
which then becomes dry stubble,
which the winds disperse.
God alone is Capable
of all things.°
46The life of this world allures
with wealth and children,
but good works which endure
gain a better reward
from your Lord, and secure
a better hope.
47One day We shall displace
the mountains
and you will see the earth
as a leveled plain
and We shall gather
all humankind together,
leaving no one behind.
48They will be marshaled
before your Lord in ranks
and it will be said,
“You have come to Us
just as We created you
at first. Yet you supposed
We would not fulfill
Our promised meeting
with you.”
49The Book of their deeds
will be placed before them,
and you will see the sinners
in terror, on account of
what it holds. They will say,
“Alas for us, what a Book this is—
it leaves nothing, small or great,
out of its account.”
They will find presented there
all that they did. And your Lord
will wrong no one.
50When We said to the angels,
“Bow down before Adam,” they all
bowed
