Simple
translation:
“Behold, the youths (fleeing from the war on
Islam waged by the godless world) betook themselves to the Cave: they
prayed, “Our Lord-God! (Kindly) bestow on us mercy from Thyself, and (kindly)
deal with our problem for us in the right way!”
(18:10)
Commentary:
In their magnificent
demonstration of faith the youths preferred to leave their homes and flee from
persecution rather than compromise their faith. That compromise was being
forced upon them in order that they could be accommodated within the embrace of
the godless world. Many Muslims in the modern world adopt a response that is
the opposite to that of the youth in Surah al-Kahf, i.e., they would
rather compromise with their duties to Allah Most High, and to His Prophet, in
order to continue to be accepted as a part of the godless societies in which
they live, to hold on to their US Visas or Green Cards, to preserve and protect
their businesses or their jobs, or their comfortable living in some European or
North American country, or their elite status in their native countries.
It is now possible to
understand the Divine wisdom at work in the creation of evil beings (i.e., Dajjal
and Gog and Magog) and in their release into the world in the age of Fitan (i.e.,
the age of trials and tribulations). As the war on Islam intensifies Allah Most
High is able to shift the rice grain from the husk. The true servants of Allah
would rather follow in the example of the youth in this story, in order to
preserve their faith, rather than compromise with their faith in order to
survive in the godless world. Our book entitled Surah al-Kahf and the Modern
Age looks specifically at the link between these first ten verses of Surah
al-Kahf and Dajjal the false Messiah or Anti-Christ.
Simple
translation:
“Then We drew (a veil) over their ears
for a number of years in the Cave,”
(18:11)
Commentary:
They could not ‘hear’, and
were hence spared all the raving and ranting and endless awesomely deceptive
propaganda warfare of the godless world – the modern version of which is mainly
delivered through the print and electronic media (television’s CNN in particular).
The spiritual implication of ‘drawing a veil over their ears’ is that the
believers would better survive the onslaught of the godless world if they were
to live in remote locations “far from the madding crowd” where seclusion and
solitude are easier to achieve. Secondly, it is when the external ears and eyes
are closed (i.e., denied the attractions of the godless world) that the
internal ear and eye can better be activated for building the internal power
and strength with which to resist the war on Islam.
Simple translation:
“And then We awakened them:
(and We
did all this) so that We might mark out (to the world) which of the
two points of view showed a better comprehension of the time-span during which
they had remained in this state.”
(18:12)
Commentary:-
Hence the story which We
now narrate concerning the young men in the Cave is essentially meant to direct
attention to the subject of the multi-dimensional nature of ‘time’. Unless one
understands this subject it would not be possible to penetrate the subject of Dajjal,
the False Messiah who, when he is released, “would live on earth for forty days – a day like
a year, a day like a month, a day like a week, and all his days, i.e., all the
rest of his days, like your days.” (Sahih Muslim)
Surah al-Kahf teaches us that ‘time’ is
an effective spiritual medium through which the believer can equip himself with
the capacity to understand, as well as to respond successfully, to the trials
of Dajjal and of Gog and Magog. Seclusion and solitude such as obtained
in the cave, or in Ittikaf, is a means through which the believer can be
temporarily extricated from ‘worldly time’ and, in the process, enter into
‘endless time’ (which, according to the Qur’an, is comprised of seven
different worlds of ‘time’ – Qur’an, al-Mulk, 67:3). It is the taste of
‘endless time’ that effectively exposes the transient nature of the worldly
life (al-Dunyah) that Dajjal uses to seduce mankind. There is a section
of our book entitled Surah al-Kahf and the Modern Age that addresses the
subject of ‘time’ in Islam in some detail
.
Simple translation:
“We shall truly relate to
you their story: Behold, they were young men who had attained to faith in their
Lord God: and We deepened their consciousness of the right way –
(18:13)
Explanatory
translation:
(And now) We shall truly
relate to you their story: Behold, they were young men who had attained to
faith in their Lord-God: and (in consequence of the faith which they
demonstrated in this matter, and which We now narrate to you), We deepened
their consciousness of the right way
Commentary:
There is an amazing message
of comfort and hope in these two verses (above and below). As a believer separates
himself from the godlessness and decadence of today’s godless Gog and Magog
world-order, as he resists their war on Islam that is now raging around the
world and, where possible, challenges the oppressor, every step that he takes
on that road of defense and preservation of Truth results in a Divine response
that increases his faith as well as strengthens his capacity to resist the
enemy. When such a believer is unjustly attacked, marginalized, demonized, denied
the freedom to preach Islam or persecuted, then the converse takes effect,
i.e., that Allah Most High would increase the misguidance of those who attack
him. The Qur’an describes the fate which awaits such wicked people when
it says (in connection with the prohibition of Riba) that: they
will eventually behave as though they were driven to madness because of Satan’s
touch. (Qur’an,
al-Baqarah, 2:184)
Simple
translation:
“and We endowed their
hearts with strength, so that they stood up and proclaimed: “Our Lord-God is the Lord-God
of the heavens and the earth. Never shall we invoke any deity other than Him:
if we ever did so, we would indeed have uttered an enormous (falsehood)!”
(18:14)
Explanatory
translation:
and We endowed their hearts
with strength, so that they stood up and (defiantly and courageously proclaimed
to the godless world): “Our Lord-God is the Lord-God of the heavens and the
earth. Never shall we invoke any deity other than Him: (and hence, never
shall we declare our submission to any claimant to sovereignty, supreme authority,
supreme law etc. other than Allah Most High) if we did so, we would indeed
have uttered an enormous (falsehood)!
Commentary:
As a believer in Allah Most
High resists the godlessness of the modern world of Dajjal and of Gog
and Magog he must ensure that he resists its Shirk in particular. That Shirk
is today universally present, yet so many have difficulty in recognizing it.
Very few can today recognize the Shirk of the modern State, for example,
when it claims sovereignty for itself, and when it declares that its authority
and law are supreme. The blessed Prophet (sallalahu
‘alaihi wa sallam)
had warned that Dajjal’s attack of Shirk would be as difficult to
recognize as it would be to recognize “a black ant on a
black rock on a dark night”.
The young men in Surah
al-Kahf recognized that any embrace of Shirk would result in the
utter destruction of faith. And they consequently resisted that Shirk to
the extent of abandoning their place of residence. Surah al-Kahf knocks at
the door of our heart in this age of universal Shirk to urge us all,
especially the young, to follow the example set by those young men.
A Muslim cannot pledge
allegiance to the modern secular State and to its constitution and yet
continuously make the hollow declaration (in prayer for example) of “Allahu
Akbar” (i.e., Allah is Supreme; His authority is supreme; and His law is
the supreme law). The modern secular State was created in Europe by godless
modern western civilization through a Jewish-Christian alliance and it
blasphemously arrogated unto itself sovereignty, supreme authority and supreme
law. The next verse of Surah al-Kahf describes such conduct as “the
wickedest of all”. (See also the chapter on the Shirk of the modern
secular State in Part Two of my book ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an’.)
Simple translation:
“These, our people,
recognize gods other than Him (i.e., Allah Most High): why do they not defend
this with some convincing rational explanation? Truly the wickedest of conduct
is to blaspheme against Allah with such falsehood.”
(18:15)
Explanatory
translation:
"These, our people,
recognize gods (i.e.,
those whom they recognize as sovereign, etc.) other than Him: why do they
not defend (their blasphemous belief) with some convincing rational
explanation? Truly the wickedest of conduct is to blaspheme against Allah (Most
High) with such falsehood.”
Commentary:
This is precisely what the
modern godless world has done in creating, for example, the modern secular
State with its arrogant and blasphemous constitutional claim to sovereignty,
supreme authority, supreme law, freedom to legalize that which Allah Most High
had prohibited, etc. Allah prohibited gambling, for example, yet the modern
secular State has not only permitted it but the State itself is engaged in
State-sponsored lottery. This is the greatest act of wickedness (Dhulm)
that anyone could ever commit.
The heart of every Muslim
youth, male as well as female, should shiver with excitement and ecstasy as
they read these verses of Surah al-Kahf. For here is Allah Most High
Himself delivering a wake-up call to them that they should be inspired by the
youths of this story who had faith in Him, and who defiantly resisted every
effort of the godless world to break their faith. In consequence He blessed
them by increasing their faith for them.
Simple
translation:
“Hence, now that you have
turned away from them, and from all that they worship instead of Allah, take refuge in that
cave: your Lord-God will shower His mercy on you and take care of your affair
for you with comfort and ease!”
(18:16)
Explanatory
translation:
“Hence, now that you (my fellow Muslims) have
turned away (withdrawn and disconnected) from them, and from all that
they worship instead of Allah (i.e., from their mainstream godlessness), take
refuge in that cave (the modern day equivalent being the remotely located
Muslim Village): your Lord-God will shower His mercy on you and dispose of
your affair (i.e., take care of all your difficulties) for you (in
such wise as would give you) comfort and ease!”
Commentary:
Hence the implication is
that the ‘one in a thousand’ who, according to the Hadith al-Qudsi (quoted
elsewhere in the text of the book), would survive the storm of Gog and Magog
with faith intact, and would enter into heaven, would be the one who
disconnects from the godless melting pot. The verse also delivers a ringing
assurance of Divine assistance and protection for those who separate themselves
from the godless world in an effort to preserve their faith! The verse also
anticipates that when the believers attempt a withdrawal from the godless world,
those who would lead the way of that withdrawal and would go on to establish
remotely located ‘Muslim Villages’ would always be the Muslim youth.
Simple
translation:
“And (for many a year) you
could have seen the sun, on its rising, incline away from their cave on the
right, and, on its setting, turn aside from them on the left, while they lay in
the open space in the midst of the Cave, and this constituted a sign from Allah
(bearing witness to this) of Allah’s messages: (that) He whom
Allah guides, he alone has found the right way; whereas for him whom He lets go
astray you can never find any protector who would point out the right
way.”
