Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:32

"And present to them," that is, to the believers who call upon their Lord morning and evening, and the disbelievers who demanded their expulsion, "a parable: two men." Both are objects of "present," but the second is not an object of the first; rather, it is the one requiring detail and clarification, as some have said. The verification of this position has already passed, so remember it. The intended meaning of the "two men" is either two hypothetical men—for the setting of a parable does not require their existence—or two actual men, which is the reliable view. It is said they were two brothers from the Children of Israel: one was a disbeliever named Fartus (some say Qatfir), and the other was a believer named Yehuda, according to Ibn Abbas. Muqatil said his name was Yamlikha. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that they were sons of a king from the Children of Israel; one spent his wealth in the way of Allah the Exalted, while the other disbelieved and busied himself with the adornment of the world and the growth of his wealth.

It is narrated that they were blacksmiths who earned wealth, and it is also narrated that they inherited eight thousand dinars from their father and divided them equally. The disbeliever bought land for a thousand, so the believer said: "O Allah, I buy from You land in Paradise for a thousand," and he gave it away as charity. Then his brother built a house for a thousand, and the believer said: "O Allah, I buy from You a house in Paradise for a thousand," and he gave it away. Then his brother married a woman for a thousand, and the believer said: "O Allah, I have set aside a thousand as a dowry for the Houris," and he gave it away. Then his brother bought servants and goods for a thousand, and the believer said: "O Allah, I buy from You the immortal youths for a thousand," and he gave it away. Then the believer fell into need, so he sat on his brother's path. When the brother passed by with his retinue, he confronted him, but the brother drove him away and rebuked him for giving away his wealth. It is also said that they were two brothers from the Banu Makhzum; the disbeliever was al-Aswad ibn al-Asad and the believer was Abu Salamah Abdullah ibn Abd al-Asad.

The intent of setting them as a parable is for the two groups—the believers and the disbelievers—not regarding their conditions derived from what was mentioned earlier (that the believers in the Hereafter are thus, and the disbelievers are thus), but rather regarding the disobedience of the disbelievers despite their enjoyment of Allah's blessings, and the obedience of the believers despite their enduring the hardships of poverty. That is, set forth for them a parable regarding disobedience amidst blessings versus obedience amidst poverty.

"We made for one of them"—who is the disbeliever—"two gardens." He—Glory be to Him—did not specify their location, as there is no great benefit in determining it. Ibrahim ibn al-Qasim al-Katib mentioned in his book Wonders of the Lands that Lake Tinnis was the site of these two gardens, and that what happened occurred, so Allah scattered them in a single night. Another view, from which one may learn, will follow, God willing.

The entire clause is an explanation of the parable, and thus has no place in grammatical parsing; however, it is permissible for it to be an adjective for "two men," in which case it is in the accusative case.

"Of grapevines," meaning of various kinds of vines. The speech, according to what is said, is either based on an implied addition, or the word "grapevines" is a metaphor for vineyards—which are the trees of the grapes. It is understood from the literal words of al-Raghib that "grape" is shared between the fruit and the vine itself; thus, it is intended to mean the vineyards without the need for implication or resorting to metaphor. The reason for intending this is that a garden is not made of fruit, but of trees.

"And We enclosed them with palm trees," meaning We made palm trees surrounding them, encircling their borders—that is, their sides—strengthening the vineyards with them. It is said, "He enclosed him with the people" if they surrounded him, and "I enclosed him with them" if you made them surround him; the ba adds a second object, as in your saying, "I covered him with it."

"And We placed between them," in their midst, "cultivation," so that they would be containers of both sustenance and fruits, continuously cultivated in a splendid manner and elegant arrangement.