Quranic reflections: Insights into Surat Al Kahf
First Sermon
“Praise be to Allah Who has sent down upon His bondman the Book and has not made to it any crookedness.” ( Al Kahf:1). Allah, the All-Merciful, has promised the faithful to relieve their distress. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone. He has no Associate. He has made the Quran a light and filled its readers with joy and pleasure. I also bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our master Muhammad, the bearer of Allah’s noble message, his family, his companions, and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
O Servants of Allah! I urge you and myself to be ever God-conscious and to construct your lives in the shadow of divine obedience. Allah, the Almighty, says, "O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul look to what (provision) He has sent forth for the morrow. Yea, fear Allah: for Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that ye do." (Al Hashr:18).
Dear Believers,
The Surat Al Kahf (the Cave), A Meccan sura, is named after the People of the Cave (Ahlu Al Kahf) and tells their story. Allah, the Most High, says, “or dost thou reflect that the Companions of the Cave and of the Inscription were wonders among Our Sign?” (Al Kahf:9). On the virtues of this sura, our Master Muhammad (pbuh) said, “Whoever recites Surat Al Kahf on Friday, light shall shine forth for him between the two Fridays (the Friday on which he recited the sura and the next Friday).”
Our Guide Muhammad (pbuh) also urged us to memorise the ten first or last verses of this sura when he said, "one who commits to his memory the first ten verses,” and in another version “the last ten verses of this sura will remain immune from the Dajjal (the Anti-Christ).” The importance of Surat Al Kahf is linked to the many lessons and morals we can learn from the events that it tells. This is because they are related to our daily life and reality.
The Surat Al Kahf begins with praising Allah, the Most Exalted, as is befitting to Him. This is in itself a lesson to us to understand the importance of remembering and paying tribute to Allah, the Almighty, before setting out and doing anything in all matters of life. We need to remember that Allah, the Ever Merciful, is the originator of the good and felicity as He says, “praise be to Allah Who has sent down upon His bondman the Book and has not made to it any crookedness.” ( Al Kahf:1).
Through this sura Allah, the Almighty, informs us of a group of youth, who were upon right guidance. In return for their piety, Allah, the Most Benefactor, protected them by putting them to sleep for a number of years. Allah, the Most Gracious, informed us: “and they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years, and add nine (for lunar years).” (Al Kahf:25).Throughout those years, Allah, the Most Exalted, guarded them from any harm and resurrected them after a lengthy slumber.
When they awoke they asked each other about how long they had slept. Some of them said to each other, “we have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day.” (Al Kahf:19). This is an important reminder for everyone to praise Allah, the Most Exalted, for the blessing of life He bestowed upon us. It is a godsend that we should always admire each time we get up from sleep. Our Master Muhammad (pbuh) taught us to say after waking up: “all praise is for Allah who gave us life after having taken it from us and unto Him is the resurrection.” Indeed, sleep is the minor death.
One of the other morals that the Surat Al Khaf highlighted is the story of a man blessed with money. His wealth however made him too arrogant while his belief in Allah, the Most High, was rather weak. He continued to ignore the advice of his companion to be careful not to be deceived by this ephemeral world and its adornments. Yet he ignored this call and went so far as to question the truth of the Day of Resurrection and claim he was better off than his friend, saying that Allah would grant him wealth in the hereafter as much as he had in this life. Allah, the Most Exalted, says, “nor do I deem that the Hour (of Judgment) will (ever) come: Even if I am brought back to my Lord, I shall surely find (there) something better in exchange.” (Al Kahf:36).
Servants of Allah,
The Surat Al Kahf informs us also of the story of Allah’s Messenger Musa (Moses) (pbuh), who was keen to pursue the path of knowledge and behaved in good manners with his mentor. Allah, the All Merciful, says, “Moses said to him: "May I follow thee, on the footing that thou teach me something of the (Higher) Truth which thou hast been taught?” This story taught us that it is necessary to be careful and avoid being hasty in taking actions as far as future matters. It urges us likewise not to rush and anticipate destiny because simply we are in no position whatsoever to predict it. Perhaps after all what we can see as evil is the good and what we hope for is not fit for us as Allah says, “it may be that ye dislike a thing, and Allah brings about through it a great deal of good.” So when the future facts became clearer for Apostle Musa (pbuh), the pious man reminded him by saying, “I did it not of my own accord.” (Al Kahf:82).
The good thing is what Allah, the Ever Merciful, has chosen for us and provided us with. That is why we should accept and believe in Allah’s lot alone.
Dear Muslims,
The other story in the Surat Al Kahf concerns Dhul Qarnayn (possessor of the two horns), who was a pious and righteous man. Allah, the Most Exalted, endowed him with the means and lots of blessings. Dhul Qarnayn taught us how to deal with people. He also invested wisely the blessings of Allah as he set on a journey from east to west and built a dam made of pieces of iron and molten lead. By doing this he made good use of people’s abilities and capacities to engineer Allah’s land. Allah, the Most Gracious, says, “bring me blocks of iron." At length, when he had filled up the space between the two steep mountain-sides, He said, "Blow (with your bellows)" Then, when he had made it (red) as fire, he said: "Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten lead.” (Al Kahf:96)
The Surat Al Kahf concluded with Allah, the Most High, promising believers high ranks in paradise and reminding them of the eternal bliss in reward for their good deeds and their noble quest. To obtain Allah’s ultimate reward and be granted the paradise we should thus be sincere in our work in the way of Allah. May Allah help us all to obey Him and those He ordained us to obey, as the Almighty says: "O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you." (An-Nisa:59).
May Allah bless you and me with the Holy Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger Muhammad (pbuh). I say this and ask Allah, the Almighty, to grant us forgiveness. Supplicate to Allah for forgiveness for He is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful.
Second sermon
Praise be to Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, the only God who has no partner, and I bear witness that our master Muhammad is His servant and messenger, who was true to his promise. May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our master Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.
Dear Muslims,
The Surat Al Kahf has guided us to the importance of good companionship as the kind of person we are with can either affect us positively or negatively. Allah, the Most Exalted, says, “and keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face; and let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life; no obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds.” (Al Kahf:28). Mingling with good people is therefore the best help for individuals in order to undertake both religious and worldly duties and obligations. Indeed, a good companion gives courage to the individual and helps him reach higher levels of piety.
Allah has commanded you an order to which He and His angels are both committed, when He says, "Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect." (Al-Ahzab:56). The Prophet (pbuh) said, "for everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah."
May Allah grant our leader HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his Deputy, HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, success and provide strength and support to his brothers, Their Highness the Rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. May Allah have mercy on Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Maktoum and all their brothers, the late UAE Sheikhs.
O Allah, send upon us helpful, wholesome and healthy rain. O Allah, give us rain and do not make us among the despondent. O Allah, relieve us, O Allah, relieve us, O Allah, relieve us. We pray to Allah, the most gracious, to continue blessing the UAE and all Muslim countries with safety and security, Amen.
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