The following is an excerpt from al-Bahr al-Madid (The Immense Ocean), the extraordinary tafsir of the great Moroccan scholar Ahmed Ibn ‘Ajibah. We’ve also published Ibn ‘Ajibah’s tafsir of verses 1-10, 11-26, 32-44, 60-82, and 83-101 of Surah al-Kahf on the IGI blog, along with an introduction to the surah.
Tafsir of Verses 101-102
(101) Those whose eyes were veiled from My remembrance and were unable to hear. (102) Do those who disbelieve deem that they can take My slaves as partners apart from Me? We have certainly prepared Hell for the disbelievers as a place of lodging.
He (Exalted is He) mentioned the description of the disbelievers with His words:
“Those whose eyes” while they were in the world “were veiled” with a thick veil and an opaque curtain “from My remembrance” meaning from listening to the Qur’an and contemplating it. Or, it means they were veiled from remembering my Oneness and Majesty. Or, their eyes of their insight were veiled from My remembrance in a manner that befits My Status. “And were unable to hear” meaning they were, along with that, due to their extreme aversion from the Truth and their complete enmity towards the Messenger (may Allah bless him and give him peace), not at all able to listen to him reminding them of Me and reciting My Speech, which falsehood can approach neither from in front nor from the rear. This statement is a similitude of the incapacity of the disbelievers to listen to audible evidences, just as the first statement made clear their blindness from visible signs.
Then the Real (Exalted is His Majesty) said, in rebuke of the aforementioned disbelievers:
“Do those who disbelieve deem” when they have turned away from My Remembrance, and after their eyes have been veiled from witnessing the evidences of My Oneness, “that they can take My slaves” such as the Angels, ‘Isa and ‘Uzayr, or the devils - because, in reality, they are also slaves - “as partners apart from Me?” In other words, do they deem that they can take them as objects of worship apart from Me? Those who disbelieve ally themselves with them through worship. Do they believe that this worship will benefit them? Or, do they believe that We will not punish them for that? Of course We will punish them for that.
“We have certainly prepared” meaning facilitated and made ready “Hell for the disbelievers as a place of lodging” meaning something that they will enjoy at their first arrival at the Judgement. “Nuzul” is that which is placed before a guest. Hell was compared with an entertainment as a censure of them, and to give the feeling that it was prepared for them due to their disbelief. And it was expressed as preparation to mock and accuse them. Whereas their taking of allies is from the category of equipping oneself and preparation of provisions for the Day of Return, so it is as if it were said, “We have prepared a place for them that consists of that which the provisions and supplies that they did not prepare for themselves.” Hell is their provision. And the mention of the offering to the guest indicates that, beyond Hell, they have a punishment that is its archetype, and that Hell is the lower version of this archetype. And it has been said that “nuzul” is a place of descent. In that case, the meaning is, “We have prepared for them a home in which they will abide in.” And Allah (Exalted is He) knows best.
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “People will come on the Day of Judgement with works that they deem as great as the mountains of Tihama. But when they are weighted, they won’t weight a thing. And that is the meaning of His words ‘We will not assign for them on the Day of Judgement, any weight.’ (105)”
Subtle Indication of Verse 102
As long as you love something, you will be a slave to that thing. But Allah does not like that you should be a slave to anything other than Him. So, make your heart exclusively for Allah, and expel from it all apart from Him. At that point, you will be a slave of Allah and free from everything apart from him. Indeed, everything apart from Allah is false, a fading shadow. So, be like Ibrahim in his words, “I do not love those who fade.” (6:76) So, raise, o slave, your aspiration above the creation. And connect it with the Real King. And do not love anything except Allah. Don’t seek anything apart from Him, whatsoever it may be, from the category of personalities, or from the categories of states, stations, and miracles, so that it may not be affiliated with the path of those who take allies apart from Allah. In that case, you would be a liar in your claim to slavehood.
It is narrated that Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I recited Fatihah. I said, ‘All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.’
“And it was called out from the Presence of Allah (Exalted is He), ‘You have spoken the truth.’
“So, I said, ‘The Beneficent, the Merciful.’
“The caller said, ‘You have spoken the truth.’
“I said, ‘Sovereign of the Day of Judgement.’
“The callers said, ‘You have spoken the truth.’
“I said, ‘You alone do I worship and from You alone do I seek help.’
“But the caller said, ‘You have lied. For you worship miracles.’ So, He disciplined me, and I became firmly for Allah (Exalted is He).”
This was mentioned by Ibn al-Sabbagh in a longer story. I say, “Perhaps this was before he met his Shaykh. And that would be why his Shaykh rebuked him by saying, ‘O, Abu al-Hasan! Adjust your words, “Subjugate to me Your creation.” Say, “O, my Lord! Be for me.” If He is for you, do you think that you would lack anything?’”
This is the error of those who turn towards Allah and also towards others. They believe that they are doing good works. Yet, they are doing bad works.
That is why He (Exalted is He) said:
Tafsir of Verses 103-106
(103) Say: Shall I inform you of those who are worst in action? (104) Those whose effort is wasted in the life of this world, yet they assume that they are doing good works (105) They are those who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord and His meeting. Their works are destroyed. And We will not assign for them, on the Day of Judgement, any weight. (106) That is their requital: Hell, because they disbelieved and took My Signs and My Messengers in jest
The Real (Exalted is His Majesty) said:
Hafiz ‘Abd a-Ghani al-Maqdisi’s Reports on the Dajjal, collects over one hundred Prophetic narrations on this great trial of the End Times. This translation was published by Imam Ghazali Publishing in 2023.
“Say:” O, Muhammad! “Shall I inform you” o, party of disbelievers “of those who are worst in action?” meaning those who are losers regarding their works, such as charity, freeing of slaves, keeping the ties of kinship and consoling the sorrowful, because they did those works while they were disbelievers. So, none of their works were accepted of them.
They are “Those whose effort is wasted” meaning completely invalidated “in the life of this world” meaning all of their efforts and works in the life of this world were wasted, “Yet they assume” meaning they believe “that they are doing good works.” They believe that they have performed such works in a complete way. However, they have abandoned the precondition for their validity and completeness: belief. There is difference of opinion over who is being referenced by “they.” Some say that "they” refers to the polytheists among the Arabs. Others say that it refers to the People of the two scriptures. Thus, included in their works are those that have been established by abrogated rulings connected with worship. It has also been said that “they” refers to the monks who cloister themselves in the monasteries and subject them to difficult exercises. But, the best opinion is that the word “they” generally includes anyone, among the disbelievers, who performs corrupt acts, believing that these acts are sound. Evidence for this is in His words:
“They are those who disbelieve in the signs of their Lord” meaning the intellectual and textual evidences of His Oneness “and His meeting” i.e. the resurrection and other matters of the Hereafter that follows it. “Their works” which they performed, for that reason, “are destroyed” meaning completely brought to nothing. “And We will not assign for them” meaning those have been described as having their works destroyed “on the Day of Judgement, any weight” meaning We will degrade them. And We will not consider them to have any worth or standing. That is because the axis of nobility is good works. And theirs have been destroyed at once.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) has said, “A big, fat man will be brought on the Day of Judgement, not weighing as much as a mosquito. If you wish, recite, ‘We will not assign for them on the Day of Judgement, any weight.’” Or, it means, “We will not give any weight to their works in the scales, because their disbelief destroyed them.” Or, “We will not give them any beneficial weight.”
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “People will come on the Day of Judgement with works that they deem as great as the mountains of Tihama. But when they are weighted, they won’t weight a thing. And that is the meaning of His words ‘We will not assign for them on the Day of Judgement, any weight.’”
Then, He clarified the consequence of their disbelief, as He had clarified the consequences of their actions. He said:
“That” meaning the group whose works have been destroyed “their requital is Hell, because they disbelieved” i.e. because of their disbelief. And this disbelief includes all of their ugly actions. And among those included actions are His words “and took My Signs” meaning the signs that point to My Oneness. Or, it means “My words.” Or, it means “the miracles that I manifested.” “And My Messengers in jest” meaning they mocked the Messengers, because they were not satisfied to merely disbelieve. Rather, they committed the greater crimes of mocking the Signs and the Messengers. May Allah be our refuge from that.
The Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) has said, “A big, fat man will be brought on the Day of Judgement, not weighing as much as a mosquito. If you wish, recite, ‘We will not assign for them on the Day of Judgement, any weight.’ (105)”
Subtle Indication of Verses 103-106
Every verse that was revealed about the disbelievers in particular can also be applied to the negligent in general. If someone suffices himself with worship, without contemplation of witnessing and seeing, it will be true of him, inwardly, that his efforts were wasted, while he deems that he is doing good works. So, on the Day of Judgement, he will not be given a high status. So, the verse is proven against various groups. Among them are those who worship Allah to seek a status among people. And that is pure dissimulation.
It is narrated that ‘Uthman said upon the Minbar, “Dissimulation is of seventy types. The lightest of them is like a man who marries his mother.”
And among them are those who worship Allah to seek a compensation and reward from the elect. And among them are those who worship Allah seeking miracles and manifest signs. And among them are those who worship Allah with the physical limbs, but are veiled from the spiritual limbs, which refers to the worship of the heart. Indeed, an atom’s weight of worship of the heart is equal to mountains of worship of the physical limbs.
And among them are those who become complacently, occupied with didactic knowledge, and neglect the knowledge of the hearts. According to the realized folk, this is idleness. And among them are those who suffice themselves with the worship of the heart, such as contemplation and meditation, yet are negligent of the worship of the secret, such as contemplation of witnessing and seeing.
In summary, if someone stops short of witnessing and seeing, he is an idle person, even if he does not perceive that. This matter will only be unveiled to him at the time of death and after it. And, in the explanation of His words (Exalted is He) “And there will appear to them from Allah that which they had not taken into account” we will bring a more detailed explanation of this, if Allah so wills. And something may be worship according to one people and idleness according to others. The good deeds of the righteous are the mistakes of those drawn near. Only those who are raised above the worship of the physical limbs to the worship of the heart and secret will understand. And Allah alone give success.
Tafsir of Verses 107-110
Then, He mentioned the opposite of those who disbelieved. He said:
(107) Indeed, those who have believed and done good works, for them are the Gardens of Firdaws as a place of lodging (108) They will abide therein forever. They will not desire from it any transfer (109) Say: “If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if we were to bring the like of it as a supplement” (110) Say: “I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is One God. So, whoever was hoping to meet his Lord, then let him do good works. And let him not associate, in the worship of his Lord, anyone.
The Real (Exalted is His Majesty) said:
“Indeed, those who have believed” in the signs of their Lord and in His meeting “and done good works, for them” in the previous decree of Allah and His promise “are the Gardens of Firdaws.” Firdaws is the highest part of Paradise. Ka’b has related that there is no part of Paradise higher than the Gardens of Firdaws. In them are those who who commanded the good and forbid evil - the Gnostics who exhorted people and warned them.
It has been narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Paradise has one hundred levels. Between every two levels is a distance equal to that which is between the heaven and the earth. The highest of them is Firdaws. It is from there that the rivers of the Garden spring forth. And above it is the Throne of the Most Merciful. So, if you ask Allah for anything, ask him for Firdaws.”
He has also said, “The Gardens of Firdaws are four. The buildings and vegetation of two of them are made of silver. And the buildings and all what the second two contains are made of gold. And there is nothing between the people and looking at their Lord, except the Glory that veils His Countenance.”
Qatada said, “Firdaws is the highland of Paradise.”
Abu Umama said, “It is the navel of Paradise.”
Mujahid said, “Firdaws is Latin for ‘orchards.’”
Dahhak said, “It is the garden that is surrounded by trees.”
For them are the Gardens of Firdaws “as a place of lodging” meaning it will be placed before them when they are made to enter it. The associated word has been omitted. The meaning is, “For them are the fruits of the Paradise of Firdaws as provision.” Or, “We made Paradise itself a provision.” In the latter case, it is an expression of extreme generosity.
And this contains an indication of what Allah promised them, in the words of revelation upon the tongue of Prophecy, by His words, “I have prepared for My righteous slaves that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard and that which has not occurred to the heart of any human being.” And it is compared to that which is provided to a guest and the entertainment that follows it. And if it is given the meaning of a home, then the meaning is obvious.
“They will abide therein forever. They will not desire from it any transfer” In other words, they will not seek to be removed from it, since they cannot conceive of anything greater and more elevated than it, such that their souls should desire it or their eyes should yearn for it. Their bliss will be renewed for them with each breath. It will never be no exhausted. And it will not end because it is brought into being by the [Divine] word, “Be.”
“Say: “If the sea” any sea “were ink” meaning that which fills the inkwells “for the words of my Lord” - and this refers to that which Allah (Blessed is He) will say to the People of Paradise, of words of kindness and generosity, which cannot be conceived of in the minds of human beings, nor encompassed by thought
Allah (Exalted is He) said:
“Say: “If the sea” any sea “were ink” meaning that which fills the inkwells “for the words of my Lord” - and this refers to that which Allah (Blessed is He) will say to the People of Paradise, of words of kindness and generosity, which cannot be conceived of in the minds of human beings, nor encompassed by thought - if the sea were ink and the trees were pens, they “would be exhausted” and nothing of them would remain “before the words of my Lord were exhausted” because the seas are limited, but the words of Allah are without limit. Then, He emphasized this idea with His words, “even if we were to bring the like of it” In other words, whether one brings one sea, two sea, or many seas, they would be exhausted before His words (Exalted is He) are exhausted. “As a supplement” meaning as a helper and an increase, because that which is included in the created world is limited.
“Say:” to them “I am only a man like you.” This means, my words are limited. And my appointed time will come to an end. I have only been elected, above you, with revelation and Messengership. “It has been revealed to me” from those words of your Lord “that your God is One God.” He has no partner in creation, nor in any of the meanings of Divinity. “So, whoever was hoping to meet his Lord” meaning anticipating and waiting for it. Or, it means whoever fears it. Hope is to expect the arrival of good in the future. So, for whoever interprets this as hope, the meaning is, “Whoever hopes for a good meeting with his Lord, and that he meets Him in a state where his Lord is satisfied and accepting of him.” But if someone makes the meaning “fear,” then the meaning is that he fears meeting his Lord in a bad state.
Al-Qushayri said, “The people of outwards sciences preferred the first interpretation, because all the believers hope to meet Allah. However, the Knowers of Allah hope to meet Him and to see Him, while the ordinary believers hope to meet Him and find His generosity and everlasting bliss.”
And this verse was expressed with the imperfect verb (yarju) to indicate that the fitting state for the believers is for them to be perpetually and unceasingly hoping for this meeting. In other words, “So, whoever perpetually hopes for meeting with the generosity and satisfaction of Allah…”
“Then let him do” for the sake of that great objective “good works” meaning those works that meet the requirements for their validity and acceptance. And the manifest axis of that is the correctness [of said actions]. And the inward axis is sincerity. Sahl said, “Good works are conditioned upon the Sunnah.” And it has been said that this verse refers to believing in the possibility of seeing Him and waiting for the time when this will occur.
“And let him not associate, in the worship of his Lord, anyone.” This refers to apparent association, as was done by those whose efforts were wasted in this life, where they disbelieved in the signs and in the meeting of their Lord. And the verse also refers to hidden association, as is done by the people of dissimulation, and those who seek a wage or praise by performing their actions.
Shah b. Hawshab said, “A man came to Ubadah b. Samit and said, ‘What do you think about a man who prays seeking the Face of Allah, but also loves that he be praised for it; gives charity for the Face of Allah, but also love also loves to be praised for it; he performs Hajj in a like manner?’
Ubadah b. Samit replied, ‘He will have nothing. Indeed, Allah (Exalted is He) says, “I am the best partner. So, whoever has a partner, he belongs to him.”’”
And it is narrated that Jundub b. Zuhayr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace), “Indeed, I love to do works for the sake of Allah (Exalted is He). But, when people come to know of them, it elates me.”
He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) replied, “You have two rewards: the reward of happiness and the reward of being known.” But that was because Jundub b. Zuhayr (may Allah be pleased with him) sought that people should follow him in that, and he was sincere in his actions.
And it has been narrated that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Beware of minor polytheism.” The people asked, “And what is minor polytheism?” He replied, “It is dissimulation.”
And when this verse was revealed, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “That which I fear the most for my Community is hidden polytheism. Beware of hidden polytheism. For, indeed, polytheism in my community is more hidden than the crawling of an ant on a rock on a dark night.” That statement weighed heavy on the people, so the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Shall I not indicate to you that by which Allah will remove from you minor and major polytheism?” They replied, “Yes. Of course.” He said, “Say: ‘O, Allah! I seek refuge in You from my associating partners with You, while I am aware of it. And I seek forgiveness from You for that which I do not know.’”
And it has been narrated from him (may Allah bless him and give him peace) that he said, “If someone recites the end of Surah al-Kahf, from ‘Indeed, those who have believed’ until the end of the Surah, he will have a light from his forelock to his feet. If he recites the whole of it, he will have a light that reaches from the Earth to heaven.” It has also been narrated that he (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “If someone recites, when he lays down, ‘Say: I am only a man…’ until the end of the Surah, he will have a light that shines from his bed to Makkah. And Angels will fill that light, praying until he awakes. And if he is in Makkah, he will have that light from the Earth to Bayt al-Ma’mur.”
I [Ibn ‘Ajibah] say: “A practice proven through experience is that if someone recites the verse ‘Indeed, those who have believed…’ to the end of the Surah, intending to wake up at any specific time, Allah (Exalted is He) will wake him up by His will.” See al-Tha’labi.
Subtle Indication of verses 107-110
Those who have believed with an elect belief and do the acts of the elect - which are the acts that draw the heart near to the Presence - they will have the Paradise of Gnosis as a provision. They will abide therein forever. And they will never wish to be removed from that. That is because if someone becomes established in his gnosis, he will not be removed from it by the grace and generosity of Allah.
One of the poets said:
In the past, I gathered that from which I feared separation,
And today, I am connected and gathered.
Then, they will ascend through the ascents of Oneness and the Unique Secrets, forever and without cessation. There is no end, because their ascent is through the Word of sempiternal power, which is the Word of Creation. And that Word will never be exhausted. “Say: If the sea were ink for the words of my Lord…” This, even though their attribute of humanity is never removed from them. For, being established in election does not require the removal of the attribute of humanity. “Say: I am only a man like you” meaning an inspired, non-legislative revelation has been revealed to me. And it cast into my heart that your God is One God. There is no second [in existence], neither with His Essence nor with His Acts. So, whoever hopes to meet their Lord in this world, with the meeting of witnessing and seeing, the meeting of arrival at evident gnosis, let him do good works, in which there is no portion for the ego, neither immediate nor delayed. And let him not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone. Let him not seek by his worship anything except the veneration of Lordship and the upholding of the duties of his slavehood. And Allah (Exalted is He) knows best. May Allah bless our Master Muhammad and his family and extend them a worthy salutation. And there is no might nor power except in Allah, the Exalted, the Immensely Great.
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