Story of Surah Al Kahf
Every verse of Quran holds a unique set of content and the consequent reverence in the hearts of the Muslims. Surah Al Kahf is a Makki Surah. It was revealed when Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was in Mecca. Surah Al Kahf has 110 Verses and is the 18th Surah of the Quran. The Meaning of Al Kahf is “The Cave” named after the incident of people of the cave or the Ashabu al Kahf. Regarding the recitation of Surah al Kahf on Friday night, hadith narrates:
“Whoever reads Surah al Kahf on the day of Friday will have a light that will shine from him from one Friday to the next.” (Al-Jaami)
On this subject, Surah Al Kahf holds a specific position among Muslims and it is a Surah, which gives great lessons to Muslims. The surah covers four stories, which circulate four different lessons that every Muslim must learn.
You can download Surah Kahf for your suitable smartphone by checking the links provided below.
There are 4 Major stories in this Surah:
- Trial of Faith – People of the Cave (Verses 9 – 26)
- Trial of Wealth – The story of the rich and the poor (Verses 32 – 44)
- Trial of Knowledge – The story of Moses and Al-Khidr (Verses 60–82)
- Trial of Power – The story of Dhul-Qar-nayn with Yajuj Majuj (Verses 83–98)
1. The trial of Faith- People of the Cave: This is the first story mentioned in Surah Al Kahf. This is the story of young men who were believers and lived in the town of those who were not worshipping Allah (SWT). When the people and the king was against their belief and worship to Allah they decided to left their country or town where they used to live they escaped from there and found a cave and hide in there. They felt worried because everyone was against them but Allah (SWT) blessed them with peace and strengthened their belief (Imaan) at that time they made dua from Allah
“Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare us from our affair right guidance.”
Then after making dua Allah (SWT) bestowed sleep over them, they slept for years and years and when they woke up the entire city had become believers. From this story, we conclude that no matter what happens and where we are in what situation we have to worship Allah and should have a strong belief in Him. He always comes to the rescue and helps those in easing their difficulties.
2. A trial of the wealth-The story of rich and the poor: The second story is about two men one of them was rich having 2 gardens of grapes and the other one is poor. The man who was rich was a very proud man he took a lot of proud because of his gardens. He used to say his other friend who was poor that “I am greater than you in wealth and have more servants and attendants and also children”. One day he went to his garden and looked at it and said: “This will not going to vanish ever”. He forgot to say Insha Allah that means if Allah will! As a result of this Allah Almighty deprived all the worldly artifice and bounties of him, which made him realize the short-term nature of the things of this world but by then it was too late for him. Muslim can learn two lessons from this story. The first lesson is that all the wealth is also a test from Allah Almighty. Therefore, to those whom He grants, He is actually testing them whether they will be grateful to Him or not. Secondly, a Muslim must also learn the lesson that the things of this world are all temporary and short; therefore, when they are available one must thank Allah and spend on the ones who don’t have these worldly pleasures available to them.
3. The trial of Knowledge- The story of Moses and Al-Khidr: This story is about Hazrat Musa and Hazrat Khidr. Once someone asked Hazrat Musa who has the most knowledge in this world? Hazrat Musa thought of himself as he was the Prophet of Allah that’s why he thought he had most of the knowledge in this “World (dunya)”. So he replied “I”. As we all know there is one who has created this world who has all knowledge more than anyone and that is Allah (SWT). Allah alert Musa that don’t think you have more knowledge only just because you are a prophet, there is one man in the world who has more knowledge than you. Allah sent Musa to meet Khidr who has proved that he has more knowledge than him. So we learn from this story that no matter how much knowledge you get, there will always be someone who Allah has blessed with more. So seek Knowledge till you can and always ask Allah for more knowledge so that you can use it and teach it to others, Insha Allah!
4. The trial of Power – The story of Dhul-Qar-nayn with Yajuj Majuj: The fourth story is about great king Dhul-Qar-nayn who traveled all across the world to help the people who were in need and spread goodness wherever he went. He was the one who provided relief to people from the threat of Yajuj Majuj. He told the people that there is a wall that he constructed is the mercy of Allah that will fall down on the Day of Judgment and then Yajuj Majuj will come out. He was very humble and he knew that whatever he had given him by Allah. From this story, we learned a lesson that we should never think we are great whatever good we have, has been given to us by Allah. So Alhamdulillah for that! And we should use it for making life better for the people around us.
In a nutshell, Surah Al Kahf is one of the well-known Surahs of Quran. Besides the special rewards and benefits that come from its recitation, an understanding of its content can also help a Muslim extract valuable lessons that can help in shaping one’s life towards the path of righteousness. We have an app “Surah Al Kahf” with translation from which you can easily memorize and learn this Surah. Download now this great app and take benefits of this surah.
