وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَعۡثَرۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ لِيَعۡلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّ وَعۡدَ ٱللَّهِ حَقّٞ وَأَنَّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ لَا رَيۡبَ فِيهَآ إِذۡ يَتَنَٰزَعُونَ بَيۡنَهُمۡ أَمۡرَهُمۡۖ فَقَالُواْ ٱبۡنُواْ عَلَيۡهِم بُنۡيَٰنٗاۖ رَّبُّهُمۡ أَعۡلَمُ بِهِمۡۚ قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ غَلَبُواْ عَلَىٰٓ أَمۡرِهِمۡ لَنَتَّخِذَنَّ عَلَيۡهِم مَّسۡجِدٗا
(21) [3782]And like so We made them chanced upon so that they may come to know that the promise of Allah is true and that there is no doubt about ˹the coming of˺ the Hour[3783]; ˹that˺[3784] as they were disputing their affair amongst themselves. They said: “Put up some building around them[3785]; their Lord Knows best about them!”[3786] ˹But˺ Those who prevailed over their affair[3787] said: “We shall have a place of prostration put up above them!”
[3782] As God Almighty oversaw the amazing affair of their extraordinary sleep and their waking up after it in an intact state, He made sure that people would come to see them so that they might come to realize God’s Ability over bringing the dead to life, and to which the bringing about to life of these long-considered dead youths is akin (cf. al- al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn al-Jawzī).
[3783] Realizing the Truth of the Day of Judgement is the moral of the story (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr): “Verily the Hour is surely coming; there is no doubt about it, but most people Believe not!” (40: 59)
[3784] They were made to find them out at a juncture when people started hotly disputing resurrection among themselves, i.e. this great affair of theirs; some believing in it while others denied it (cf. al- al-Ṭabarī, al-Rasʿanī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Shawkānī, Ibn al-Saʿdī). It is also said that ‘the affair’ they disputed over was that of the youths themselves (cf. Ibn Juzayy, Ibn ʿĀshūr, Ibn ʿUthaymīn).
[3785] They intended to afford them a dignified burial in their cave and hide them away from the gazing eye of the curious (cf. al-Wāḥidī, al-Rasʿanī, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3786] It is said that these were the concluding words meant to put an end to the disputes that arose after finding them when people could not agree as to who they exactly were, how many they were and how long they had stayed; or that these are the Words of God Almighty aimed at those who waddle in their affair not having any evidence as to what they hold to be true about them (cf. al-Rāzī).
[3787] That is, their heads and leaders who have the final say (cf. al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
That the ones who ruled over the matter and had their way are this kind of people goes to show that having places of worship over graves is an act resultant of force and coercion and not that of guidance based on Divine revelation (cf. Ibn Rajab, Fatḥ al-Bārī, 2: 397).
[3783] Realizing the Truth of the Day of Judgement is the moral of the story (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr): “Verily the Hour is surely coming; there is no doubt about it, but most people Believe not!” (40: 59)
[3784] They were made to find them out at a juncture when people started hotly disputing resurrection among themselves, i.e. this great affair of theirs; some believing in it while others denied it (cf. al- al-Ṭabarī, al-Rasʿanī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Shawkānī, Ibn al-Saʿdī). It is also said that ‘the affair’ they disputed over was that of the youths themselves (cf. Ibn Juzayy, Ibn ʿĀshūr, Ibn ʿUthaymīn).
[3785] They intended to afford them a dignified burial in their cave and hide them away from the gazing eye of the curious (cf. al-Wāḥidī, al-Rasʿanī, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3786] It is said that these were the concluding words meant to put an end to the disputes that arose after finding them when people could not agree as to who they exactly were, how many they were and how long they had stayed; or that these are the Words of God Almighty aimed at those who waddle in their affair not having any evidence as to what they hold to be true about them (cf. al-Rāzī).
[3787] That is, their heads and leaders who have the final say (cf. al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
That the ones who ruled over the matter and had their way are this kind of people goes to show that having places of worship over graves is an act resultant of force and coercion and not that of guidance based on Divine revelation (cf. Ibn Rajab, Fatḥ al-Bārī, 2: 397).
アラビア語 クルアーン注釈:
سَيَقُولُونَ ثَلَٰثَةٞ رَّابِعُهُمۡ كَلۡبُهُمۡ وَيَقُولُونَ خَمۡسَةٞ سَادِسُهُمۡ كَلۡبُهُمۡ رَجۡمَۢا بِٱلۡغَيۡبِۖ وَيَقُولُونَ سَبۡعَةٞ وَثَامِنُهُمۡ كَلۡبُهُمۡۚ قُل رَّبِّيٓ أَعۡلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِم مَّا يَعۡلَمُهُمۡ إِلَّا قَلِيلٞۗ فَلَا تُمَارِ فِيهِمۡ إِلَّا مِرَآءٗ ظَٰهِرٗا وَلَا تَسۡتَفۡتِ فِيهِم مِّنۡهُمۡ أَحَدٗا
(22) [3788]They would say: “˹They are˺ Three with their dog as their fourth!” And they say: “˹They are˺ Five with their dog as their sixth!” – merely shooting in the dark[3789] – And they say: “˹They are˺ Seven with their dog as their eighth!”[3790] Say ˹Muhammad˺: “My Lord Knows best their number!” [3791] None know ˹for sure˺ their number but a few[3792]. Do not ˹Muhammad˺ argue ˹with anyone˺ in their regard, except cursorily[3793]. Do not ˹neither˺ seek the counsel from any of those[3794] about them.
[3788] The much surmising that ensued from the story of these youths is highlighted here with the single most piece of advice not to engage in such disputes which are not based on true knowledge, but rather to take heed of their example and try to emulate it (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
It is not exactly stated as to who these disputants were, but mostly they are thought to be the contemporaries of the Noble Messenger (ﷺ), especially the people of the Torah who differed on their number and/or the Christians who came to the Messenger from Najran; the Jacobites (note: the Syrian Orthodox Church of Jacob Baradaeus) said they were three with their dog as their fourth and the Nestorians said that they were five and their dog being their sixth, whereas the Muslims said they were seven and their dog was their eighth (cf. al-Qurṭubī, al-Bayḍāwī, Abū al-Suʿūd).
[3789] Groundless knowledge is merely shooting in the dark (rajman bi al-ghayb, lit. shooting at what is hidden from the eyessight (cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt)); it hardly hits the target and if it does, it does so by mere chance (cf. Ibn Kathīr).
[3790] Most exegetes agree that this is the right number since God Almighty did not comment on this number as He did with the previous two (being merely ‘shooting in the dark’) (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Rasʿanī).
But it is left open so that people get used to not delving into what is of next to no use to them (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3791] God, the Knower of the Unseen, perfectly Knows for sure their exact number. His Knowledge is Perfect and far away from that which is based on mere conjecture and shooting in the dark, which may or may not hit the truth (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3792] Those few who have come to know their exact number come to it only through revelation (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). al-Shawkānī opines that this knowledge is not limited to their number but includes who they were.
[3793] Exegetes hold different opinions as to the exact nature of this mirā’an ẓāhiran (lit. plain argument) but they all boil down to roughly the same thing. Some say that it means limited to what the Qur’an says (cf. al-Wāḥidī, al-Basīṭ), others hold that the argument should be of an irrefutable nature which does not take long to be agreed upon, for example, God Knows best their number (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr), yet others deem it to mean that it should be argued lightly not heatedly since no great benefit is to be gained from the details being contested over (cf. Ibn Kathīr, Ibn ʿUthaymīn, Sūrat al-Kahf).
As with whom he is only to argue cursorily, these were most likely to be the pagans either based on their prompting by the people of the Book or out of their own accord (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). Since the Qur’an thwarted their plan by providing this account they naturally felt the urge to find fault with it.
[3794] Most exegetes hold that these are the People of the Book (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, al-Zamakhsharī, al-Saʿdī). This because their knowledge is only based on guesswork and not on infallible revelation (cf. Ibn Kathīr).
It is not exactly stated as to who these disputants were, but mostly they are thought to be the contemporaries of the Noble Messenger (ﷺ), especially the people of the Torah who differed on their number and/or the Christians who came to the Messenger from Najran; the Jacobites (note: the Syrian Orthodox Church of Jacob Baradaeus) said they were three with their dog as their fourth and the Nestorians said that they were five and their dog being their sixth, whereas the Muslims said they were seven and their dog was their eighth (cf. al-Qurṭubī, al-Bayḍāwī, Abū al-Suʿūd).
[3789] Groundless knowledge is merely shooting in the dark (rajman bi al-ghayb, lit. shooting at what is hidden from the eyessight (cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah, al-Iṣfahānī, al-Mufradāt)); it hardly hits the target and if it does, it does so by mere chance (cf. Ibn Kathīr).
[3790] Most exegetes agree that this is the right number since God Almighty did not comment on this number as He did with the previous two (being merely ‘shooting in the dark’) (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Rasʿanī).
But it is left open so that people get used to not delving into what is of next to no use to them (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3791] God, the Knower of the Unseen, perfectly Knows for sure their exact number. His Knowledge is Perfect and far away from that which is based on mere conjecture and shooting in the dark, which may or may not hit the truth (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3792] Those few who have come to know their exact number come to it only through revelation (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). al-Shawkānī opines that this knowledge is not limited to their number but includes who they were.
[3793] Exegetes hold different opinions as to the exact nature of this mirā’an ẓāhiran (lit. plain argument) but they all boil down to roughly the same thing. Some say that it means limited to what the Qur’an says (cf. al-Wāḥidī, al-Basīṭ), others hold that the argument should be of an irrefutable nature which does not take long to be agreed upon, for example, God Knows best their number (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr), yet others deem it to mean that it should be argued lightly not heatedly since no great benefit is to be gained from the details being contested over (cf. Ibn Kathīr, Ibn ʿUthaymīn, Sūrat al-Kahf).
As with whom he is only to argue cursorily, these were most likely to be the pagans either based on their prompting by the people of the Book or out of their own accord (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). Since the Qur’an thwarted their plan by providing this account they naturally felt the urge to find fault with it.
[3794] Most exegetes hold that these are the People of the Book (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Wāḥidī, al-Zamakhsharī, al-Saʿdī). This because their knowledge is only based on guesswork and not on infallible revelation (cf. Ibn Kathīr).
アラビア語 クルアーン注釈:
وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَاْيۡءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٞ ذَٰلِكَ غَدًا
[3795] Exegetes agree that reference here is made to the Noble Messenger’s reply to the Makkan pagans when they asked him about the Soul, the Companions of the Cave and the Two-Horned Sovereign. He replied to them that he would answer their queries tomorrow but without saying in shā’ Allāh (God willing) (cf. Introduction to this sura; Ibn al-Qayyim, Madārij al-Sālikīn, 2: 403).
The future is in God’s hands Alone and none can control it besides Him and none has a will over it without God’s permission (cf. al-Saʿdī): “You ˹people˺ cannot will none except that ˹which˺ Allah, the Lord of all beings Wills!” (81: 29)
The future is in God’s hands Alone and none can control it besides Him and none has a will over it without God’s permission (cf. al-Saʿdī): “You ˹people˺ cannot will none except that ˹which˺ Allah, the Lord of all beings Wills!” (81: 29)
アラビア語 クルアーン注釈:
إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُۚ وَٱذۡكُر رَّبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ وَقُلۡ عَسَىٰٓ أَن يَهۡدِيَنِ رَبِّي لِأَقۡرَبَ مِنۡ هَٰذَا رَشَدٗا
(24) Except that your Lord wills ˹it so˺. [3796]Remember your Lord when you forget and say: “May my Lord well direct me to what is nearer to guidedness than this!”
[3796] As soon as one remembers not saying in shā’ Allāh about doing a future action, one should say it. It is also taken to mean that when one forgets something, one should mention God as mentioning Him is a reason for remembering things (cf. Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī, al-Shinqīṭī).
アラビア語 クルアーン注釈:
وَلَبِثُواْ فِي كَهۡفِهِمۡ ثَلَٰثَ مِاْئَةٖ سِنِينَ وَٱزۡدَادُواْ تِسۡعٗا
(25) [3797]They remained in their cave for three hundred years and ˹another˺ nine more added to them[3798].
[3797] This nurturing interposition aside, God Almighty directs His Noble Messenger (ﷺ) to what is ‘nearer to guidedness’ by telling him in very precise terms the duration of their stay. This duration of their stay is of more significance than their number which gave rise to much argument (cf. al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar).
[3798] The duration of their stay is given in both the solar calendar (300 years) and the lunar calendar (300 and nine more years) (cf. al-Māwardī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Biqāʿī, al-Shinqīṭī). The reason behind stating the date in the two calendars is to leave no doubt whatsoever in the minds of any party who use one or the other of these two where this piece of information comes from (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). Such is precise knowledge, based on Divine revelation, from that which is a far cry from it and which is based on jabbing in the dark.
[3798] The duration of their stay is given in both the solar calendar (300 years) and the lunar calendar (300 and nine more years) (cf. al-Māwardī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Biqāʿī, al-Shinqīṭī). The reason behind stating the date in the two calendars is to leave no doubt whatsoever in the minds of any party who use one or the other of these two where this piece of information comes from (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). Such is precise knowledge, based on Divine revelation, from that which is a far cry from it and which is based on jabbing in the dark.
アラビア語 クルアーン注釈:
قُلِ ٱللَّهُ أَعۡلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثُواْۖ لَهُۥ غَيۡبُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِۖ أَبۡصِرۡ بِهِۦ وَأَسۡمِعۡۚ مَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ مِن وَلِيّٖ وَلَا يُشۡرِكُ فِي حُكۡمِهِۦٓ أَحَدٗا
(26) [3799]Say ˹Muhammad˺: “Allah Knows best the duration of their stay. To Him belongs the Unseen in the Heavens and Earth!” How Perfect His Sight and how Perfect His Hearing are![3800] They have no ally besides Him[3801]; He shares not His Decree with anyone![3802]
[3799] The One Who tells us the exact duration of their stay is none other than God Almighty, the Knower of the Unseen: “He ˹Allah˺ has the keys of the Unseen, only He knows them. He knows ˹all˺ what is there in the land and sea; not a leaf that falls without Him knowing about it, not a seed in the ˹deepest recess of the˺ darkness of Earth, not a thing moist nor dry except ˹it˺ being in a clarifying book” (6: 59).
[3800] Nothing escapes God’s Sight and Hearing (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Qāsimī): “Neither is a mote’s weight – nor smaller or greater – stashed away from your Lord in Earth nor in the sky without it being in a clarifying book” (10: 61).
[3801] God Almighty runs the affairs of all His creation with great care, as much as He cared for the Companions of the Cave. He delegates this to none (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[3802] He shares His Decree over His creation and runs their affairs with none. He creates, sets destinations and rules over His creation unchecked (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Saʿdī, al-Shinqīṭī).
[3800] Nothing escapes God’s Sight and Hearing (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Qāsimī): “Neither is a mote’s weight – nor smaller or greater – stashed away from your Lord in Earth nor in the sky without it being in a clarifying book” (10: 61).
[3801] God Almighty runs the affairs of all His creation with great care, as much as He cared for the Companions of the Cave. He delegates this to none (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[3802] He shares His Decree over His creation and runs their affairs with none. He creates, sets destinations and rules over His creation unchecked (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Saʿdī, al-Shinqīṭī).
アラビア語 クルアーン注釈:
وَٱتۡلُ مَآ أُوحِيَ إِلَيۡكَ مِن كِتَابِ رَبِّكَۖ لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَٰتِهِۦ وَلَن تَجِدَ مِن دُونِهِۦ مُلۡتَحَدٗا
(27) [3803]Recite ˹Muhammad˺ what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord; there is no changing His Words. You shall find no Shelter besides Him![3804]
[3803] The following are a string of reflective moralizing passages, up to the story of Moses and al-Khiḍr (q), carrying a number of messages to the Noble Messenger (ﷺ), the Believers around him, and crucially to the heedless Deniers so that they come to heed the Message.
The first of these is to the Noble Messenger (ﷺ) to deliver the Message as it is, heeding not the Deniers who incessantly kept on asking not only for things to be explained in it (like the story of the Companions of the Cave and the Two-Horned Sovereign), but also for it to be altered (cf. 17: 73 and 10: 15) so as to praise their so-called gods (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). This naturally irked the Messenger (ﷺ) who was keen on them becoming Muslims, even though the Call to Faith had almost met a dead-end at that juncture, so God tells him to ‘constrain himself in patience’ with the humble but true Believers, and not to listen to the haughty Deniers or their demands about the Message.
[3804] There is no escaping God’s Punishment, should the Message not be delivered, recited and followed as it is (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī): “O Messenger, convey what came down to you from your Lord ˹fully˺, but if you do not do ˹that˺, then you would have failed to deliver His Message; Allah will ˹certainly˺ shield you from people!” (5: 67)
The first of these is to the Noble Messenger (ﷺ) to deliver the Message as it is, heeding not the Deniers who incessantly kept on asking not only for things to be explained in it (like the story of the Companions of the Cave and the Two-Horned Sovereign), but also for it to be altered (cf. 17: 73 and 10: 15) so as to praise their so-called gods (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). This naturally irked the Messenger (ﷺ) who was keen on them becoming Muslims, even though the Call to Faith had almost met a dead-end at that juncture, so God tells him to ‘constrain himself in patience’ with the humble but true Believers, and not to listen to the haughty Deniers or their demands about the Message.
[3804] There is no escaping God’s Punishment, should the Message not be delivered, recited and followed as it is (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī): “O Messenger, convey what came down to you from your Lord ˹fully˺, but if you do not do ˹that˺, then you would have failed to deliver His Message; Allah will ˹certainly˺ shield you from people!” (5: 67)
アラビア語 クルアーン注釈:
クルアーンの対訳 - 英語対訳 - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - 作業中 - 対訳の目次
Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omaryによる訳。