18. Sūrat al-Kahf

١٨۔ سُورَةُ الكهْف

Qurʾān > Chapter 18 > Section 16
القرآن > كتاب ١٨ > باب ١٦

18.16 The story of the Prophet Moses and Khidhr.

١٨۔١٦ مقطع في سُورَةُ الكهْف

quran:18:75 –

˹Al-Khidh r˺ said, "Did I not tell you that with me you would never be able to have patience?"  

He said, ‘Did I not say to you that you would never be able to bear with me?’ (laka, ‘to you’, has been added to that ˹same statement˺ which was made before because this time there could not be any excuse ˹for Moses’s impatience˺.
القرآن:١٨:٧٥ –

قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكَ إِنَّكَ لَنْ تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِيَ صَبْرًا  

{قال ألم أقل لك إنك لن تستطيع معي صبرا} زاد لك على ما قبله لعدم العذر هنا.
quran:18:76 –

˹Moses˺ said, "If I should ask you about anything after this, then do not keep me as a companion. You have obtained from me an excuse."  

And for this reason, he said, ‘If I ask you about anything after this, after this instance, then do not keep me in your company, do not allow me to follow you, for truly you ˹will˺ have found from me (read ladunnī or ladunī), on my part, ˹sufficient enough˺ excuse’, for you to part company with me.
القرآن:١٨:٧٦ –

قَالَ إِنْ سَأَلْتُكَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ بَعْدَهَا فَلَا تُصَاحِبْنِي ۖ قَدْ بَلَغْتَ مِنْ لَدُنِّي عُذْرًا  

ولهذا {قال إن سألتك عن شيء بعدها} أي بعد هذه المرة {فلا تصاحبني} لا تتركني أتبعك {قد بلغت من لدني} بالتشديد والتخفيف من قبلي {عذرا} في مفارقتك لي.
quran:18:77 –

So they set out, until when they came to the people of a town, they asked its people for food, but they refused to offer them hospitality. And they found therein a wall about to collapse, so al-Khidh r restored it. ˹Moses˺ said, "If you wished, you could have taken for it a payment."  

So they set off, until, when they came to the folk of a ˹certain˺ town, namely, Antioch (Antākya), they asked its folk for food, they asked them for food by way of hospitality, but they refused to extend them any hospitality. They then found in it a wall, one hundred cubits high, about to collapse, that is, it was close to falling down because of its tilt; so he, al-Khidr, straightened it, with his ˹own˺ hands. He, Moses, said, to him, ‘Had you wished, you could have taken (a variant reading ˹for la-ttakhadhta˺ has la-takhidhta) a wage for it’, some ˹sort of˺ payment, since they did not extend us any hospitality despite our need for food.
القرآن:١٨:٧٧ –

فَانْطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا أَتَيَا أَهْلَ قَرْيَةٍ اسْتَطْعَمَا أَهْلَهَا فَأَبَوْا أَنْ يُضَيِّفُوهُمَا فَوَجَدَا فِيهَا جِدَارًا يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَنْقَضَّ فَأَقَامَهُ ۖ قَالَ لَوْ شِئْتَ لَاتَّخَذْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا  

{فانطلقا حتى إذا أتيا أهل قرية} هي أنطاكية {استطعما أهلها} طلبا منهم الطعام بضيافة {فأبوا أن يضيفوهما فوجدا فيها جدارا} ارتفاعه مائة ذراع {يريد أن ينقضَّ} أي يقرب أن يسقط لميلانه {فأقامه} الخضر بيده {قال} له موسى {لو شئت لاتخذت} وفي قراءة لتخذت {عليه أجرا} جُعْلاً حيث لم يضيفونا مع حاجتنا إلى الطعام.
quran:18:78 –

˹Al-Khidh r˺ said, "This is parting between me and you. I will inform you of the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience.  

Said he, al-Khidr, to him, ‘This is the parting, that is, the moment for parting, between me and you (baynī wa-baynika, here ˹the preposition˺ bayna has been annexed to a non-multiple ˹noun˺, but this is allowed ˹grammatically˺ because it is then repeated with ˹its other noun together with˺ the coordinating wāw). I will inform you, before I part company with you, the interpretation of that over which you were not able to maintain patience.
القرآن:١٨:٧٨ –

قَالَ هَٰذَا فِرَاقُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنِكَ ۚ سَأُنَبِّئُكَ بِتَأْوِيلِ مَا لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ عَلَيْهِ صَبْرًا  

{قال} له الخضر {هذا فراق} أي وقت فراق {بيني وبينك} فيه إضافة بين إلى غير متعدد سوغها تكريره بالعطف بالواو {سأُنبئك} قبل فراقي لك {بتأويل ما لم تستطع عليه صبرا}.
quran:18:79 –

As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working at sea. So I intended to cause defect in it as there was after them a king who seized every ˹good˺ ship by force.  

As for the ship, it belonged to poor people, ten ˹in number˺, who earned a living on the sea, with it, leasing it ˹to others˺, as a way of gaining ˹a living˺; and I wanted to make it defective, for behind them, whenever they returned — or ˹meaning˺ before them now — was a king, a disbeliever, seizing every ship, that was usable, by force (ghasban, is in the accusative as a verbal noun containing an explanation of the nature of such ‘seizure’).
القرآن:١٨:٧٩ –

أَمَّا السَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتْ لِمَسَاكِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ فِي الْبَحْرِ فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَعِيبَهَا وَكَانَ وَرَاءَهُمْ مَلِكٌ يَأْخُذُ كُلَّ سَفِينَةٍ غَصْبًا  

{أما السفينة فكانت لمساكين} عشرة {يعملون في البحر} بها مؤاجرة لها طلبا للكسب {فأردت أن أعيبها وكان وراءهم} إذا رجعوا أو أمامهم الآن {ملك} كافر {يأخذ كل سفينة} صالحة {غصبا} نصبه على المصدر المبين لنوع الأخذ.
quran:18:80 –

And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief.  

And as for the boy, his parents were believers and We feared lest he should overwhelm them with insolence and disbelief — for he is as ˹described˺ by the hadīth of Muslim, ‘He was ˹incorrigibly˺ disposed to disbelief, and had he lived ˹longer˺ this ˹disposition of his˺ would have oppressed them, because of their love for him, they would have followed him in such ˹a path of disbelief˺’.
القرآن:١٨:٨٠ –

وَأَمَّا الْغُلَامُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَا أَنْ يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا  

{وأما الغلام فكان أبواه مؤمنين فخشينا أن يرهقهما طغيانا وكفرا} فإنه كما في حديث مسلم طبع كافرا ولو عاش لأرهقهما ذلك لمحبتهما له يتبعانه في ذلك.
quran:18:81 –

So we intended that their Lord should substitute for them one better than him in purity and nearer to mercy.  

So We desired that their Lord should give them in exchange (read yubaddilahumā or yubdilahumā) one better than him in purity, that is, in righteousness and God-fearing, and closer, than him, to mercy (read ruhman or ruhuman, in other words ˹it is to be understood as˺ rahmatan, ‘by way of mercy’) namely, ˹closer to˺ dutifulness towards his parents. Thus God, exalted be He, gave them in exchange a girl, who ˹afterwards˺ married a prophet and gave birth to a prophet through whom God guided an entire community.
القرآن:١٨:٨١ –

فَأَرَدْنَا أَنْ يُبْدِلَهُمَا رَبُّهُمَا خَيْرًا مِنْهُ زَكَاةً وَأَقْرَبَ رُحْمًا  

{فأردنا أن يبدِّلهما} بالتشديد والتخفيف {ربهما خيرا منه زكاة} أي صلاحا وتقى {وأقرب} منه {رحْما} بسكون الحاء وضمها رحمة وهي البرّ بوالديه فأبدلهما تعالى جارية تزوجت نبيا فولدت نبيا فهدى الله تعالى به أمة.
quran:18:82 –

And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure for them, and their father had been righteous. So your Lord intended that they reach maturity and extract their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience."  

And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys ˹who lived˺ in the city, and beneath it there was a treasure, a buried trove of gold and silver, belonging to them. Their father had been a righteous man, and so because of his righteousness they were protected both in ˹terms of˺ their souls and their possessions, and your Lord desired that they should come of age, that is, ˹He desired for them˺ the attainment of maturity, and extract their treasure as a mercy from your Lord (rahmatan min rabbik is a direct object denoting reason, operated by ˹the verb˺ arāda, ‘He desired’). And I did not do it, namely, what has been mentioned of ˹his˺ making a hole in the ship, the slaying of the boy and the repair of the wall, of my own accord, that is, ˹out of˺ my own choosing; nay, it was because of a command in the form of an inspiration from God. This is the interpretation of that over which you could not maintain patience’ (one may say istā‘a or istatā‘a to mean ‘he had the capacity for ˹something˺’; in this instance and the previous one both forms ˹of the verb˺ have been used. Moreover, there is a variety of expression in the use of fa-aradtu, ‘I desired’, fa-aradnā, ‘We desired’, and fa-arāda rabbuk, ‘Your Lord desired’).
القرآن:١٨:٨٢ –

وَأَمَّا الْجِدَارُ فَكَانَ لِغُلَامَيْنِ يَتِيمَيْنِ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَ تَحْتَهُ كَنْزٌ لَهُمَا وَكَانَ أَبُوهُمَا صَالِحًا فَأَرَادَ رَبُّكَ أَنْ يَبْلُغَا أَشُدَّهُمَا وَيَسْتَخْرِجَا كَنْزَهُمَا رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ ۚ وَمَا فَعَلْتُهُ عَنْ أَمْرِي ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِعْ عَلَيْهِ صَبْرًا  

{وأما الجدار فكان لغلامين يتيمين في المدينة وكان تحته كنز} مال مدفون من ذهب وفضة {لهما وكان أبوهما صالحا} فحفظا بصلاحه في أنفسهما ومالهما {فأراد ربك أن يبلغا أشدهما} أي إيناس رشدهما {ويستخرجا كنزهما رحمة من ربك} مفعول له عامله أراد {وما فعلته} أي ما ذكر من خرق السفينة وقتل الغلام وإقامة الجدار {عن أمري} أي اختباري بل بأمر إلهام من الله {ذلك تأويل ما لم تسطع عليه صبرا} يقال اسطاع واستطاع بمعنى أطاق، ففي هذا وما قبله جمع بين اللغتين ونوعت العبارة في: فأردت، فأردنا فأراد ربك.