35. THE STORY OF THE TWO MEN: THE BELIEVER AND THE DISBELIEVER
Allah, Most High, says in Soorah Al-Kahf, after relating the story of the People of the Cave {And put forward for them the example of two men; unto one of them We had given two gardens of grapes, and We had surrounded both with date-palms; and had put between them green crops (cultivated fields, etc.). Each of those two gardens brought forth its produce, and failed not in the least therein, and We caused a river to gush forth in the midst of them. And he had property (or fruit) and he said to his companion, in the course of mutual talk, “I am more than you in wealth and stronger in respect of men.” (See Tafseer Qurtubi, Vol. 10, page 403). And he went into his garden while he was unjust to himself. He said, “I think not that this will ever perish. And I think not the Hour will ever come, and if indeed I am brought back to my Lord, (on the Day of Resurrection), I surely shall find better than this when I return to Him.” His companion said to him, during the talk with him, “Do you disbelieve in Him Who created you out of dust (i.e. your father Adam), then out of a nutfah (mixed semen drops of male and female discharge), then fashioned you into a man? But as for my part (I believe that) He is Allah, my Lord and none shall I associate as partner with my Lord. It was better for you to say, when you entered your garden, ‘That which Allah wills (will come to pass)! There is no power but with Allah.’ If you see me less than you in wealth and children, it may be that my Lord will give me something better than your garden, and will send on it husban from the sky, then it will be a slippery earth. Or the water thereof (of the gardens) becomes deep-sunken (underground) so that you will never be able to seek it.” So his fruits were encircled (with ruin). And he remained clapping his hands with sorrow over what he had spent upon it, while it was all destroyed on its trellises, he could only say, “Would that I had ascribed no partners to my Lord!” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer). And he had no group of men to help him against Allah, nor could he defend or save himself. There (on the Day of Resurrection), Al-Walayah (the protection, power, authority and kingdom) will be for Allah (Alone), the True God. He (Allah) is the Best for reward and the Best for the final end. (La ilaha ill-Allah – none has the right to be worshipped but Allah).} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:32-44)
Some of the people said that this is a parable set forth and it is not necessarily the case that it happened, but the majority are of the opinion that it actually happened. And His Saying: {And put forward for them the example} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:32). That is, for the disbelievers of Quraish, regarding their refusal to gather with the weak and the poor and their belittling of them and the arrogance they displayed for them, as He, Most High, says, {And put forward to them a similitude; the (story of the) dwellers of the town, when there came Messengers to them} (Soorah Ya Seen 36:13). {“I am more than you in wealth and stronger in respect of men.” (See Tafseer Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 10, page 403)} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:34). That is, I possess larger gardens; and what he meant by it was that he was better than his companion, i.e. what benefit do you gain from spending what you possess in the way that you do (i.e. giving in charity, etc.)? It would be better for you to do as I have done, so that you might be as I am (i.e. wealthy). So he behaved arrogantly toward his companion. {And he went into his garden while he was unjust to himself} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:35). means, he was not following the way that was pleasing to Allah. {He said, “I think not that this will ever perish.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:35). He said this when he saw how vast his lands were, how much water there was and how fine the fruits on its trees were; and if it has perished all of these trees, they would have been replaced by others better than these, which plants are productive, due to the plentiful supply of water. Then he said, {“And I think not the Hour will ever come.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:36). He placed his reliance in the splendor of the transient life of this world and denied the existence of the Hereafter, which everlasting and permanent. Then he said, {“…and if indeed I am brought back to my Lord, (on the Day of Resurrection), I surely shall find better than this when I return to Him.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:36). That is, even if there is a Hereafter and a Return, I will certainly find there something better than this. This was because he deluded by his earthly life and believed that Allah had not given him all that except because of His Love for him and His Benevolence toward him, as Al-‘As ibn Wa’il said to Khabbab ibn Al-Aratt, according to the information given to us by Allah in His Words: {Have you seen him who disbelieved in Our Ayat (this Qur’an and Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)) and (yet) says, “I shall certainly be given wealth and children (if I will be alive [again]).” Has he known the unseen or has he taken a covenant from the Most Beneficent (Allah)?} (Soorah Maryam 19:77,78). And Allah, Most High, tells us that when man is given Blessings from Allah, {…he is sure to say, “This is for me (due to my merit), I think not that the Hour will be established. But if I am brought back to my Lord, surely, there will be for me the best (wealth, etc.) with Him.”} (Soorah Fus And when this ignorant man was bedazzled by what he had been granted in this earthly life, denied the Hereafter and claimed that if there was an Afterlife, he would find therein with his Lord something better than that which he had been given in this life. His companion heard his words and {(he) said to him, during the talk with him} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:37). That is, while he was disputing with him. {“Do you disbelieve in Him Who created you out of dust (i.e. your father Adam), then out of a nutfah (mixed semen drops of male and female discharge), then fashioned you into a man?”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:37). That is, do you reject the Return, when you know that Allah created you from dust, then from a nutfah and then formed you into a man, blessed with hearing and sight, and you have knowledge, strength and understanding? So how can you reject the Return, when Allah is Able to create you from nothing? {“But as for my part (I believe) that He is Allah, my Lord.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:38). That is, but I say and believe something contrary to what you say and believe: {“He is Allah, my Lord and none shall I associate as partner with my Lord.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:38). That is, I do not worship anything except Him and I believe that He will send forth the bodies (of mankind) after they have rotted away, revive the dead and gather the remaining bones. And I know that Allah has no partners in His Creation or in His Dominion and that there is none worthy of worship but He. Then he guided him toward the thing that was more fitting for him to do whenever he entered his gardens, saying, {It was better for you to say, when you entered your garden, ‘That which Allah wills (will come to pass)! There is no power but with Allah’.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:39). For this reason, it is preferred for every person who sees something in his wealth, his family or his situation that favorably impresses him to say likewise.
Then the Believer said to the disbeliever, {“It may be that my Lord will give me something better than your garden.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:40). That is, in the abode of the Hereafter. {“…and will send on it husban from the sky.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:40). ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him), Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said that it means a punishment from the heaven; and it would appear that it refers to blinding, heavy rain, which ruins crops and trees. {“…then it will be a slippery earth.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:40). And that is smooth ground in which there is no vegetation. {“Or the water thereof (of the gardens) becomes deep-sunken (underground).”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:41). And that is the opposite of a free-flowing spring. {“…so that you will never be able to seek it.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:41). That is, you will never be able to reclaim it. Allah, Most High, says, {So his fruits were encircled (with ruin)} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:42). That is, a Command (from Allah) came to him which encircled all of his crops and ruined and destroyed his garden. {And he remained clapping his hands with sorrow over what he had spent upon it, while it was all destroyed on its trellises} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:42). That is, they were totally destroyed and could not be returned. And that was the opposite of what he had expected when he said, {“I think not that this will ever perish.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:36) and he regretted the words of disbelief in Allah, the Great, that he had spoken, saying, {“Would that I had ascribed no partners to my Lord!” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer)} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:42). Allah, Most High, says, {And he had no group of men to help him against Allah, nor could he defend or save himself. There (on the Day of Resurrection} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:43). That is, there was no one who could compensate him for what had befallen him and he himself had no ability to do such a thing, as Allah, Most High, says, {Then will (man) have no power, nor any helper there} (Soorah At-Tariq 86:10). And He says, {(On the Day of Resurrection) Al-Walayah (the protection, power, authority and kingdom) will be for Allah (Alone), the True God} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:44). Some of them understood this Verse to begin with the word ‘Hunalika’ (There), (rather than as the final word of the previous verse) and this is also correct, as He, Most High, says, {The sovereignty on that Day will be the true (sovereignty), belonging to the Most Gracious (Allah), and it will be a hard Day for the disbelievers} (Soorah Al-Furqan 25:26). So the Judgment which cannot be repelled, prevented or overcome is in that situation; and in every situation the true Judgment is for Allah. Others recited Al-Haqqu rather than Al-Haqqi, making the Word an adjective for Al-Walayah – and the meanings of both are inseparable. {He (Allah) is the Best for reward and the Best for the final end. (La ilaha ill-Allah – none has the right to be worshipped but Allah).} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:44). That is, His Treatment of a person is the best reward for him, which is the Recompense. As for being the Best for the final end, it refers to the end in this life and in the Hereafter. It may be inferred from this story that no one should depend on the life of this world, be misled by it or place one’s faith in it. Instead, he should direct his attention toward obedience to Allah and dependence on Him. And that which is in Allah’s Hand is more dependable than that which is in his hands. We may also understand from it that whoever gives precedence to something over obedience to Allah and spending in His Cause, he will be punished because of that and it might be taken from him, so that he receives the opposite of that to which he aspired. We may also infer from it that it is obligatory to accept the advice of one’s brother, when he is concerned for our wellbeing and that when one opposes good advice, it entails evil consequences and ruin for him. In addition, we can derive from it that regret does not benefit once Allah’s Ordainment has been fulfilled. And it is Allah from Whom we seek Help and upon Him we depend.
By Ibn Katheer
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