Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:45

"And present to them the parable of the worldly life," meaning: mention to them that which resembles it in its bloom, its freshness, and the speed of its demise, so that they may not be deluded by it nor turn away from the Hereafter entirely. Or, it means: mention to them its astonishing nature, which is in its strangeness like a parable, and clarify it for them:

"As water" — this is an inauguration to clarify the parable, meaning: it is like water "which We sent down from the sky." Some have suggested that it is a second object for the verb "present," taking it to mean "make" (i.e., make the parable this substance). This has been countered by the argument that the preposition ka (as) is incompatible with this, unless it is considered redundant. This was refuted by the assertion that there is no basis for such a claim, for the meaning would be "make the parable this wording," and "parable" here signifies the speech in which the analogy occurs. Al-Hawfi said the ka relates to an omitted word, acting as an adjective for an omitted verbal noun, meaning: "a presentation like water," but there is no merit to this.

"Then the vegetation of the earth mingled with it," meaning: it became intertwined, and some of it mixed with the rest due to its abundance and density caused by the profuse watering. Or, it means: the water entered into the vegetation until it was saturated and flourished. The apparent phrasing for this meaning would have been "mingled with the vegetation of the earth," because it is known in the custom of the language that the preposition ba (with) enters upon the thing that is numerous and not incidental—even if, according to the original setting, both intermingled things can be described as "mixed" and "mixed with." However, the phrasing in the Noble Order (the Quran) was chosen to emphasize the abundance of the water, as if the water were the original, abundant element; thus, there is a permissible inversion in the speech.

"And it became" — that dense vegetation, following its splendor and freshness — "hushayman," meaning: dry and crumbling. It is a fa'il form in the meaning of a passive participle (maf'ul); some say it is the plural of hashima. "Became" (asbaha) here means "turned into" (sara), so it does not necessarily restrict the predicate to the morning, as in the verse: "I have become unable to carry my weapon / And I possess not the head of the camel if it flees."

It has been said that it is taken literally, serving to restrict the predicate to that time because celestial disasters most frequently strike at night. This is countered by the argument that there is nothing in the verse indicating that its state of being hushayman was due to a celestial disaster; rather, the intent is to state what it reverts to after its freshness—namely, dryness and crumbling—as in the words of the Exalted: "And who brought forth the pasture, then made it dark stubble."

"Which the winds blow about," meaning: scatter it, as Abu 'Ubaydah said. Al-Akhfash said it means "it lifts it," and Ibn Kaysan said "it brings it and carries it away." Ibn Mas'ud recited "tadhrihi" from the form adhra (quadriliteral), which is a dialectal variation of dhara. Zayd ibn Ali, al-Hasan, al-Nakha'i, al-A'mash, Talha, Ibn Abi Layla, Ibn Muhaysin, Khalaf, Ibn 'Isa, and Ibn Jarir recited it as "tadhruhu al-rihu" in the singular.

The thing being compared is not the water itself, but rather the configuration extracted from the entirety, which is the state of the vegetation that grows with water—becoming green and vibrant, then turning dry, scattered by the winds as if it had never existed. The use of the particle fa (then/so) in the verse signals the speed of its demise and its transformation into that state; thus, it is not a "fa-fasihiyya" (an explanatory particle). It has been said, however, that it is a fa-fasihiyya, and the estimation is: "So it bloomed and remained for a time, then became dry stubble."

"And God is ever, over all things" — from among the things, which includes creation and annihilation — "powerful," possessing complete power.