Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary * - Translations’ Index
Translation of the meanings Ayah: (45) Surah: Al-Kahf
وَٱضۡرِبۡ لَهُم مَّثَلَ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا كَمَآءٍ أَنزَلۡنَٰهُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَٱخۡتَلَطَ بِهِۦ نَبَاتُ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَأَصۡبَحَ هَشِيمٗا تَذۡرُوهُ ٱلرِّيَٰحُۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيۡءٖ مُّقۡتَدِرًا
(45) [3852]Set ˹Muhammad˺ for them[3853] the example of the worldly life as water[3854] which We send down from the sky, the plants of the land fuse with it, and soon it becomes brittle, ˹readily˺ scattered by the winds; Allah is ever Most-Able over everything.
[3852] This is the moral of the story of the two fellows. The thing that stood most between them and looking at the evidences of the Truth was their overindulgence in this ephemeral life with all its joys and their fallacy about the everlasting nature of the world coupled with the rejection of the Hereafter they espoused (cf. 45: 24). Hence God Almighty asked his Messenger (ﷺ) to give them this very potent example of the nature of life and worldly existence (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3853] These could be the haughty Deniers who asked the Noble Messenger (ﷺ) to expel the poor Believers from his company (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī) or all people (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[3854] This imagery beautifully captures the brevity and the transient nature of life. No sooner than rain hits the ground, it produces the plants which are a feast to the eye and mouth, they then turn into brittle debris readily blown away by the wind as if they never existed: “Indeed the example of the worldly life is nothing more than water that We send down from the sky; soon it gets mixed in the plants of the ground, the kind that people and animals consume, until when the land assumes its ornament and beautifies itself and its owners become sure that they are able over it, ˹there˺ comes upon it Our Command at night or in the morning and We make it mowed as if it did not thrive ˹only˺ yesterday—thus We detail the Signs for people who ponder!” (10: 24)
Life is like water: water hardly settles down and never remains static in one state, and nor does life. Water does not last forever and nor does life. No one enters into water without getting wet and everyone gets wet in life through its trials and temptations. If proportionate, water can be of great use but a deluge of it can be mightily destructive. In the same way, what is proportionate in life is useful, but overindulgence is harmful (cf. al-Qurṭubī).
[3853] These could be the haughty Deniers who asked the Noble Messenger (ﷺ) to expel the poor Believers from his company (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī) or all people (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[3854] This imagery beautifully captures the brevity and the transient nature of life. No sooner than rain hits the ground, it produces the plants which are a feast to the eye and mouth, they then turn into brittle debris readily blown away by the wind as if they never existed: “Indeed the example of the worldly life is nothing more than water that We send down from the sky; soon it gets mixed in the plants of the ground, the kind that people and animals consume, until when the land assumes its ornament and beautifies itself and its owners become sure that they are able over it, ˹there˺ comes upon it Our Command at night or in the morning and We make it mowed as if it did not thrive ˹only˺ yesterday—thus We detail the Signs for people who ponder!” (10: 24)
Life is like water: water hardly settles down and never remains static in one state, and nor does life. Water does not last forever and nor does life. No one enters into water without getting wet and everyone gets wet in life through its trials and temptations. If proportionate, water can be of great use but a deluge of it can be mightily destructive. In the same way, what is proportionate in life is useful, but overindulgence is harmful (cf. al-Qurṭubī).
Arabic explanations of the Qur’an:
Translation of the meanings Ayah: (45) Surah: Al-Kahf
Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - Translations’ Index
Translation of the meanings of the Noble Qur’an into English - in progress - translated by Dr. Walid Bleihesh Al-Omari.