تدبر سورة الكهف 1

Virtues of سورة الكهف 

1) النور - Light

"من قرأ سورة الكهف في يوم الجمعة أضاء له من النور ما بين الجمعتين " 

"Whoever reads Soorat 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. It was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6470) 

2) العصمة من فتنة المسيح الدجال - Protection from the Fitnah of Dajjal

"مَنْ حَفِظَ عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ مِنْ أَوَّلِ سُورَةِ الْكَهْف عُصِمَ مِنْ الدَّجَّالِ"

عَنْ قَتَادَةَ بِهَذَا الْإِسْنَادِ قَالَ شُعْبَةُ "مِنْ آخِرِ الْكَهْفِ"

Abu Ad-Darda reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever memorizes ten verses from the beginning of Surah Al-Kahf will be protected from the False Messiah.”

In the narration of Shu’bah, the Prophet ﷺ said, “…from the last ten verses of Surah Al-Kahf." [Muslim]

3) تنزل السكينة - Descending of Tranquility

Al-Bara reported: A man was reciting the chapter of the cave (Surah al-kahf) and there was a horse tied with two ropes at his side, a cloud overshadowed him, and it came nearer and nearer as his horse became frightened of it. He went to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in the morning and mentioned that to him. The Prophet said, “Continue reciting. Verily, that was tranquility which came down for the recitation of the Quran.” (Muslim)

Theme of سورة الكهف

الكهف من الفتن - A cave, a safeguard from the trials.

Division of the Surah into Parts

1) The Introduction -> Verses 1-8

2) The different types of trials -> Verses 9-98

a) Trial of the Deen (Verses 9 to 31)

b) Trial of Wealth (Verses 32 to 59)

c) Trial of the Shaytan (Verse 50) - This is mentioned in the middle of all trials to show us that the one inciting all these trials is the Shaytan.

d) Trial of Knowledge (Verses 60 to 82)

e) Trial of Power (Verses 83 to 98)

[For every trial mentioned, Allah provides us with the solution]

3) Conclusion -> Verses 99-110

The Introduction (Verses 1 to 8) 

According to the scholars, it's these verses which will protect you from the فتن. 

The first verse is about the Qur'an. It is a straight, upright book. Allah tells us that there is no crookedness in the Qur'an, in contrast to the trials which cause the path to become foggy and unclear. We need to praise Allah for this.

Allah also praises the Prophet ﷺ by calling him, "عبده". 

The Qur'an gives warnings and glad tidings, and is a safeguard from the trials. 

Allah mentioned that it is a warning before he mentioned glad tidings because of the severity of فتنة. 

The Qur'an gives glad tidings to those who have faith. They believe in all the pillars of faith and don't stop performing righteous good deeds. Their reward will be Paradise, where they will be forever, with nothing removing them from there.

Allah warns us again. Those who claim Allah has a son do so without any knowledge to back it up. And this shows us it's a cause of فتنة when people talk about things while they have no knowledge regarding it. 

Allah tells the Prophet ﷺ to not kill himself in grief over the people who are drowning in فتنة and whom you can't take out. 

These verses are about Tawheed and protecting yourself from Shirk; another safeguard.

Allah tells us about the reality of this world. Allah has made everything on earth - from the mountains, trees, plants, etc. as an adornment for the world. Why? In order for us to be tested. To be tested according to what? Who does the best of deeds. Who will fall back into the Dunya, and who will reach the level of إحسان. Tests distinguish and make apparent the good from the bad. We have attractions and adornments all around us, but don't be deceived by it. 

This world is merely an abode in which Allah tries us, and in the end it'll perish and become barren, so why should you attach your heart to it? The only thing that will remain are your deeds.

We are tested in the goodness of our deeds, not the quantity.

Every week we face many trials, and we need to hold fast to the Qur'an in order to see through them clearly, correct our beliefs, and know the reality of this world.