Al-Kahf (The Cave): (29) And say, "The truth is from your Lord..."

Issues in the Verse:

There are several ways to understand the connection of this verse:

1. First View: Since Allah commanded His Messenger not to turn away from the rich men who said, "If you drive away these poor people, we will believe in you," He then said: {And say, "The truth is from your Lord"}. Meaning, tell them: This true religion comes from God. If you accept it, the benefit returns to you; if you reject it, the harm returns to you. Do not link acceptance or rejection to poverty or wealth, ugliness or beauty, obscurity or fame.

2. Second View: The intended meaning could be that the Truth comes from God, and the Truth that came to me (the Prophet) is that I must keep company with these poor people, not drive them away, and not pay attention to the chiefs and worldly people.

3. Third View: The meaning is that the Truth comes from God, so whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve. Allah did not permit driving away those who believed and did righteous deeds just so that a group of disbelievers might enter the faith.
   • Objection: Does not reason dictate preferring the more important matter over the less important? Driving away those poor people only results in the loss of their respect (a minor harm). But not driving them away results in the disbelievers remaining in disbelief (a great harm).
   • Response: It is true that not driving them away results in disbelievers remaining in disbelief. However, anyone who abandons faith out of fear of associating with the poor, their faith is not true faith but ugly hypocrisy. Therefore, a wise person must disregard the faith of someone whose condition and description are such.

The Mu'tazila argue that the verse {So whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve} explicitly states that commanding belief, disbelief, obedience, and sin is delegated to the choice and will of the servant. Whoever denies this contradicts the clear text of the Qur'an.

When some asked me about this verse, I replied: This verse is one of the strongest proofs for our position (of Ash'ari doctrine). This is because the verse clearly indicates that achieving belief and achieving disbelief depend upon achieving the will for belief and the will for disbelief. Reason also supports this, as voluntary action cannot occur without intending it and choosing it.

If this intention and choice were preceded by another intention and choice, it would necessitate an infinite regress of intentions and choices, which is impossible. Therefore, these intentions and choices must terminate in an intention and choice that Allah creates in the servant out of necessity. When this necessary intention and choice occur, they necessitate the action. Thus, whether a person wills or not, if that decisive will, free from contradiction, does not occur in his heart, the action does not follow. When that decisive will occurs, whether he wills or not, the action must follow. Therefore, the occurrence of the will is not dependent on the occurrence of the action, nor is the occurrence of the action dependent on the will. Man is compelled in the form of one who chooses.

Sheikh Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) established this meaning in the chapter on Reliance (Tawakkul) in Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din. He said: If you argue, "I find in myself an undeniable intuition that if I will the action, I am able to perform the action, and if I will to refrain, I am able to refrain; thus, the action and refraining are from me, not from another," he answered this by saying: Suppose you find this feeling in yourself. But do you find in yourself that if you will a will for the action, that will occurs, and if you do not will that will, it does not occur? Rather, reason testifies that one wills the action without a preceding will for that will. When he wills the action, the action must necessarily occur without any possibility or choice in that moment. Thus, the occurrence of the will in the heart is a necessary matter, and the consequence of the action upon the occurrence of the will is also a necessary matter. This indicates that everything is from Allah, the Exalted.

{So whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve} contains several benefits:

1. First Benefit: The verse indicates that the occurrence of an action from an agent without intention and motivation is impossible.

2. Second Benefit: The imperative form (command) in the Book of Allah often does not mean request. It is narrated from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) that this form is a threat and a warning, not a choice.

3. Third Benefit: It indicates that Allah is neither benefited by the belief of the believers nor harmed by the disbelief of the disbelievers. Rather, the benefit of belief returns to them, and the harm of disbelief returns to them, as He says: {If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, it is against yourselves} (Al-Isra: 7).

Know that when Allah described disbelief and belief, falsehood and truth, He followed it by mentioning the warning for disbelief and false deeds, and the promise for belief and righteous deeds.

Regarding the Warning: This is His saying: {Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire}. This means: We have prepared it for those who wronged themselves, placing worship in the wrong place and arrogance in the wrong context. When they favored their own desires and were too proud to accept the truth because those who accepted it were poor and needy—all of this is injustice and misplacing things. Allah informed them that He has prepared a fire for these people, which is the Hellfire.

Then Allah described that fire with two attributes:

• First Attribute: {Its enclosure will surround them}. Sardāq (enclosure/canopy) refers to the screens surrounding a tent. Thus, He established something similar to that for the Fire, surrounding them from all directions. This means they have no escape from it, nor any opening through which they can look outside the Fire; rather, it surrounds them from every side. Some scholars said that this Sardāq refers to the smoke mentioned in His saying: {Proceed to a shade with three columns} (Al-Mursalat: 30). They argued that this surrounding occurs before they enter the Fire, as this smoke covers and surrounds them like the canopy around the tent.

• Second Attribute: {And if they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten brass}. It is narrated in a hadith marfū' (attributed to the Prophet) that it is the dregs of oil. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the treasury, took out some residue, and ignited it until it glowed, then said: "This is Mahīl (molten brass)." Abu 'Ubaydah and Al-Akhfash said: "Anything melted from gold, copper, or silver is Mahīl." It is also said to be pus and corruption, or a type of tar.

This plea for relief might be because when they ask for water to drink, they are given this Mahīl (as He says: {They will be served from a boiling spring} [Al-Ghashiyah: 5]). Or, they might seek relief from the heat of Hell by asking for water to pour on themselves for cooling, and they are given this water (as they say: {Pour down upon us water} [Al-A'raf: 50]). In another verse, He says: {Their garments will be of pitch, and their faces covered with fire} (Ibrahim: 50). So, when they seek relief from the heat of Hell, pitch that covers their entire bodies like a shirt is poured upon them. His saying: {they will be relieved with water like molten brass} is a form of mockery, like the saying:

Then Allah says: {Evil is the drink}, meaning the water that is like molten brass is an evil drink, because the purpose of drinking is to quench thirst, but this substance reaches a great degree in burning the bodies.

Then Allah says: {and evil it is as a resting place}. Some commentators said: The Fire is an evil dwelling and gathering place for companions, because the people of Hell gather as companions, just as the people of Paradise are companions. Allah says regarding the people of Paradise: {and whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor - of the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions} (An-Nisa: 69). As for the companions of Hell, they are the disbelievers and the devils. The meaning is: evil are these companions, and evil is the place of companionship (Hell), just as the companions of Paradise are excellent, and the place of companionship (Paradise) is excellent.

Others said: Murtāfaqan means a place to recline upon. The place of reclining (mirfaq) is named so because one leans upon it, and reclining is for rest. Thus, the resting place is the place of rest. And Allah knows best.

7 < {Those will have Gardens of Eden beneath which rivers flow. They will abide therein with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of fine silk and brocade, reclining therein on adorned couches. Excellent is the reward, and good is the resting place.} > 7

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Translation:

Those will have Gardens of Eden beneath which rivers flow. They will abide therein with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of fine silk and brocade, reclining therein on adorned couches. Excellent is the reward, and good is the resting place.