Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:48

"And they shall be brought before your Lord": They shall be summoned to the place of His judgment and decree—Exalted and Majestic is He—regarding them.

"In rows": Arranged in ranks or standing in line. Ibn al-Mundhir recorded in at-Tawhid from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah the Exalted will call out on the Day of Resurrection: 'O My servants, I am Allah, there is no god but Me, the Most Merciful of the merciful, the Wisest of judges, and the Swiftest of reckoners. Bring forth your proof and prepare your answer, for you shall be questioned and held to account. O My angels, set My servants in rows upon the tips of their toes for the reckoning.'"

In the authentic Hadith: "Allah the Exalted will gather the first and the last on a single plain, in rows, where the caller can be heard by them and the sight can penetrate them." It is also said that every nation and group will be set in a row. Some reports state that the people of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection will be one hundred and twenty rows, eighty of which are from you [the Muslim Ummah].

It is said that there is no "bringing before" in the known sense, nor any literal "lining up," and that the speech is meant as a metaphorical representation (isti'arah tamthiliyyah). Their state during the gathering is likened to the state of soldiers presented before a king so that he may issue his orders regarding them. It is also said that there is an implied metaphor (isti'arah taba'iyyah) by likening their gathering to the presentation of those soldiers. The meaning of "in rows" (saffan)—whether it is part of the metaphorical representation or a descriptive emphasis—is that they are neither scattered nor intermixed, so there is no contention regarding the unity or multiplicity of the row.

There is no need to claim that the singular is used for the plural as a verbal noun (meaning "in ranks"), or that the origin was saffan saffan (row by row). For aside from its remoteness, it is countered by the rule that an expression denoting multiplicity through repetition—such as baban baban (door by door) or saffan saffan—cannot have one of its parts omitted. The truth is that denying the lining up has no basis, given its possibility and the soundness of the reports regarding it. Perhaps our interpretation of the verse is one that is beyond reproach.

The shift to the third person (ghaibah) and the use of the passive voice for the verb, while mentioning the attribute of Lordship (Rabb) and attaching it to the pronoun of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), contains a display of majesty, adherence to the traditions of greatness, and the manifestation of divine kindness toward him—peace be upon him—that is evident. It is said concerning the words "before your Lord" that it is an indication of Allah’s wrath upon them and their expulsion from the court of acceptance due to their failure to live according to their knowledge of His Lordship.

"You have indeed come to Us": This is an address to the disbelievers who denied the Resurrection, based on an implied verb of saying. It acts as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) for what precedes it; thus, it is estimated as "saying [to them]," or we say it is an hal from the agent in "We gathered them," or the one saying it is the Lord, or it is a statement directed at them, or it is said to them if derived from the pronoun in "they were brought." It may also be estimated as an active verb like "We said" or "We say," in which case the clause has no specific grammatical place. Some allow the previous "Day" [of Resurrection] to be linked to it under this estimation, rather than the estimation of it being a state (hal).

Al-Khafaji said: This is because it becomes like [the phrase] "Zayd’s slave [as] a hitter" (ghulamu Zaydin dariban), in that "hitter" is an hal for Zayd, which is a corrupt structure. This is not because the former precedes the gathering and the latter succeeds it, nor because the object of an hal cannot precede it, as some might imagine. He then said: As for the objection raised against its connection to the verb in the second estimation—that it implies this statement is the primary intent—the imagination is spared the need for a rebuttal, for there is no harm in that. The truth is that its connection to an implied "saying," whether as an hal or otherwise, is not something the sound nature or upright intellect would accept; such a structure is hardly permissible under the assumption of it being an hal, even if one asserts the permissibility of the object of an hal preceding it. Ponder this.

The intended meaning of their coming to Him—Exalted is He—is their arrival to a place where no one else has authority, unlike the false deities in whom their worshippers supposed there to be benefit, harm, or otherwise. This is similar to what they said regarding the verse: "Master of the Day of Recompense."

"Just as We created you": This is an adjective (na't) for an omitted verbal noun, meaning: "a coming [that is] just as your coming [was] when We created you."

"The first time": Or it is an hal from the pronoun in "you have come to Us," meaning: "in the state as We created you the first time: barefoot, naked, and uncircumcised," or with nothing of what you prided yourselves upon in terms of wealth and followers. This is based on the verse: "And you have indeed come to Us alone as We created you the first time, and you have left behind you what We bestowed upon you."

It is permissible that the meaning is "alive, as in your first creation," and the grammatical analysis follows what was mentioned previously. However, the mode of comparison differs. The former is, as was said, more consistent with what precedes it, while the latter is supported by the verse:

"Nay, you claimed that We would not fix for you an appointment": This is a rejection (idrab) and a transition from one statement to another. Both are for the purpose of rebuke and censure. "Appointment" (maw'id) is a noun of time, and an is the lightened form of the heavy anna. The negative particle separated it from its predicate because the predicate is a verbal sentence whose verb is inflected and not an invocation. In such cases, it is necessary to separate them with one of the known separators, except in rare instances. "Fixing/Making" (ja'l) is either in the sense of "ordaining/rendering," in which case the prepositional phrase is the second object and "appointment" is the first; or it is in the sense of "creating/bringing into existence," in which case the prepositional phrase is in the place of an hal from its object, which is "appointment." That is: "You claimed in the world that We would not fix for you a time in which what We promised of the Resurrection and what follows it would be fulfilled."