Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:16

"And when you have withdrawn from them" — its meaning is: when you have distanced yourselves from them and from what they worship. "Then seek refuge" — meaning: then dedicate worship sincerely to Him in a place where you are able to do so. This insertion indicates that they were truthful and that they fulfilled what they had enjoined upon one another; thus, it confirms the content of the sentence.

Regarding "seek refuge" being the answer to "when" (idha): Al-Farra’ held this view. It is also said that it is an indication of the answer—meaning: "And when you have withdrawn from them a withdrawal of belief, then withdraw from them a physical withdrawal, and when you intend the physical withdrawal, then do that." Both statements have been challenged on the basis that idha, without the particle ma, does not function as a conditional particle. In Ham‘ al-Hawami‘, it is stated that the view that it does so is a weak position held by some grammarians, or it is considered a laxity because it carries that meaning. Therefore, it is either causative or temporal here. Its attachment is said to be to a deleted "seek refuge," indicated by the stated one—not to the stated one itself, because of the fa (the 'then'). Or it is attached to the stated one, as the prepositional phrase (zarf) allows for a flexibility not permitted elsewhere.

Abu al-Baqa’ said: "When" (idh) is a zarf for a deleted verb, i.e., "And some of them said to others." The apparent meaning is that he intended the deleted verb "said." I say: this is one of the strangest of wonders.

In the codex of Ibn Mas‘ud, as narrated by Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Abi Hatim from Qatada, it is: "And what they worship other than Allah." Harun said: In some codices, it is: "And what they worship other than us." This supports the insertion. In al-Bahr, it is mentioned that these two codices are interpretations, not recitations, because they contradict the standard script of the Imam (Uthmanic codex). It is asserted that the authentic narration from Ibn Mas‘ud is as it is written.

"Will spread for you" — meaning: will expand for you and make ample for you.

"Your Lord" — the Master of your affair who guided you to faith.

"Of His mercy" — in both abodes.

"And will facilitate for you" — meaning: will make easy for you.

"From your affair" — which you are currently engaged in regarding fleeing with your religion and turning completely toward Allah, the Exalted.

"Ease" (mirfaq) — that which you use for comfort and benefit. It is the object of "facilitate." The object of "spread" is deleted, meaning: goodness and the like. Regarding "from your affair," some marginalia state it relates to "facilitate," and min (from) indicates the beginning of the goal or is for partitive purposes. Ibn al-Anbari said: It is for substitution (badal), and the meaning is: "He will facilitate for you, in place of your difficult affair, ease," as in His saying: "Are you satisfied with the life of this world instead of the Hereafter?" and the saying: "Would that we had from the water of Zamzam a cold drink that had spent the night..." It is also permitted that it be a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for "ease," thus relating to a deleted term.

The placing of "for you" first is due to what has been mentioned repeatedly: to signal from the beginning that the delayed part is of their benefits, and to incite longing for its arrival. It is apparent that they said this out of trust in the bounty of Allah, the Exalted, and strength in their hope due to their reliance upon Him, the Glorified, and the clarity of their certainty. For they were scholars of Allah, the Exalted.

Al-Tabarani and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Ibn Abbas: "Allah, the Exalted, did not send a prophet except that he was a young man, and no scholar was given knowledge except that he was a young man." He then recited: "They said, 'We heard a young man mentioning them, who is called Ibrahim,' and 'When Musa said to his young man,' and 'Indeed, they were young men who believed in their Lord.'" It is possible that they said this based on a report from a prophet in their era, or that some of them were prophets to whom this was revealed, so he said it. It is not hidden that what has been mentioned is merely a possibility without a compelling reason.

Abu Ja‘far, al-A‘raj, Shaybah, Humayd, Ibn Sa‘dan, Nafi‘, Ibn ‘Amir, Abu Bakr (in the narration of al-A‘sha, al-Burjami, and al-Ju‘fi), and Abu ‘Amr (in the narration of Harun) recited marfaqan with a fatha on the mim and a kasra on the fa’. There is no difference in meaning between this and the one with a kasra on the mim and a fatha on the fa’ according to what al-Zajjaj and Tha‘lab narrated, as both are used for something one benefits from, as well as for the limb (the elbow). Makki reported from al-Farra’ that he said: "I do not recognize it in the context of an affair, nor in the hand, nor in anything else, except with a kasra on the mim." Al-Kisa’i denied that mirfaq (the limb) could be anything but mim with a fatha and fa’ with a kasra. Abu Hatim disagreed with him and said: "Marfaq with a fatha on the mim is the place (like masjid)." Abu Zayd said: "It is a verbal noun coming in the form of maf‘al, like marja‘." It is also said: They are two dialects for what is benefited from, but for the hand (elbow), it is only with a kasra on the mim and a fatha on the fa’. From al-Farra’, it is reported that the people of Hijaz say marfaq with a fatha on the mim and kasra on the fa’ for that by which one is benefited, and they use a kasra for the human elbow. As for the Arabs, they sometimes use a kasra on the mim for all of them. Mu‘adh permitted a fatha on both the mim and the fa’.

Furthermore, the verse is used as evidence for the excellence of migration (hijrah) for the sake of preserving one's religion, and the blameworthiness of remaining in the abode of disbelief if staying there is not possible except by manifesting the word of disbelief. And with Allah, the Exalted, is success.