Surah Al-Kahf 18:30

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ﲃ ﲄ ﲅ ﲆ ﲇ ﲈ ﲉ ﲊ ﲋ ﲌ ﲍ ﲎ

Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - indeed, We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds.

Al-Kahf: (30-31) Indeed, those who believed...

After mentioning the warning for the futile/wrongdoers, the Almighty follows it up with the promise for the truthful ones.

Issues:

Issue 1: The statement: {Indeed, those who believed and did righteous deeds} indicates that righteous action is distinct from faith, because conjunction (the use of 'and') necessitates difference.

Issue 2: The statement: {Indeed, We do not allow the reward of any who did good work to be lost} apparently implies that the believer earns a reward from God through their good deeds. According to our scholars (Ash'ari school), this entitlement is established by God's promise. However, the Mu'tazila argue it is due to the action itself, which is false. This is because God's favors are numerous, necessitating gratitude and servitude. Gratitude and servitude do not then necessitate another reward, as fulfilling an obligation does not necessitate anything further.

Issue 3: A parallel to the verse {Indeed, those who believed and did righteous deeds...} is found in the saying of the poet: > Indeed, the Caliph, whom God has clothed > In the garment of kingship, by which good ends are hoped for.

The repetition emphasizes the actions and the recompense for them.

Issue 4: Ula'ika (Those) is the predicate of Inna (Indeed). {Indeed, We do not allow...} is an inserted clause. Alternatively, you could make both Ula'ika and the preceding statement the predicates. Or, Ula'ika can be treated as a new, explanatory sentence clarifying the vague reward mentioned earlier.

The Almighty, having established the vague reward, follows it up with specifics in several ways:

First: Describing their dwelling place: {Those will have Gardens of Eden beneath which rivers flow.}

Adn (Eden) linguistically means permanent residence, so it could mean "Gardens of permanent stay," similar to saying, "This is a dwelling place."
Alternatively, Adn could be the name of a specific, most noble location within Paradise, which we have detailed previously.
The use of the plural {Gardens} might refer to what is mentioned elsewhere: {And for him who feared the standing before his Lord will be two gardens} (Ar-Rahman: 46). Or, it could mean that the share of every responsible person is a separate garden.
It is mentioned that rivers flow beneath them because the most desirable residences in this world are gardens with flowing rivers.

Second: Describing their attire: Worldly attire is either for adornment or for covering.

For adornment: {They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold.} This means God adorns them, or the angels adorn them. Some scholars suggest each person will have three bracelets: one of gold (due to this verse), one of silver (due to {And they will be adorned with bracelets of silver} [Al-Insan: 21]), and one of pearl (due to {and their garments therein will be silk} [Al-Hajj: 23], implying pearls are part of the adornment).
For covering: {And they will wear garments of green fine silk and heavy silk.} This refers to the silk and heavy silk of the Hereafter. Sundus is thin silk/brocade, and Istabraq is thick brocade. Some say Istabraq is an Arabized Persian word meaning "thick."
- If one asks why God used the passive verb for adornment ({They will be adorned} - yuhallawna) but attributed the wearing of garments to them ({And they will wear} - yalbasuna), the answer is that the wearing might refer to what they earned through their deeds, while the adornments might refer to what God bestowed upon them initially as an excess of His generosity.

Third: Describing their manner of sitting: {Reclining therein on couches.}

Ara'ik is the plural of Urika, which is a couch/throne within a chamber (hujra). A mere couch without a chamber is not called an Urika.

After describing these aspects, God says: {Excellent is the reward, and good is the resting place.} This is in contrast to the previous mention of the wrongdoer: {and evil is the resting place}.

7 < {And present to them a parable of two men: We granted to one of them two gardens of grapevines and surrounded them with palm trees and placed between them [fields of] crops. * Each of the two gardens produced its yield and did not fall short thereof in anything, and We caused to flow between them a river. * And he had [abundant] fruit, so he said to his companion while he was conversing with him, "I am greater than you in wealth and mightier in [numbers of] men." * And he entered his garden while he was unjust to himself. He said, "I do not think that this will perish ever, * Nor do I think the Hour is coming. And even if I should be returned to my Lord, I will surely find [there] a better return than this." * His companion said to him while he was conversing with him, "Have you disbelieved in He who created you from dust and then from a sperm-drop and then fashioned you [into] a man? * But as for me, He is Allah, my Lord, and I do not associate with my Lord anyone. * And why did you not, when you entered your garden, say, 'What Allah willed [has occurred]; there is no power except in Allah'? Although you see me less than you in wealth and children, * It may be that my Lord will give me [something] better than your garden and will send upon it a thunderbolt from the sky and it will become a slippery plain, * Or its water will become sunken [into the earth], so you will never be able to seek it. * And his fruits were encompassed [by ruin], so he began to turn his hands over what he had spent on it, while it was fallen down upon its trellises, and he was saying, "Oh, I wish I had not associated with my Lord anyone!" * And there was for him no company to aid him other than Allah, nor was he of those who could [save] themselves. * There, authority belongs to Allah, the Truth. He is best in reward and best in outcome.} > 7

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Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:30-31

Mafatih al-Ghayb

Al-Kahf: (30-31) Indeed, those who believed...

Issues:

Issue 1: The statement: {Indeed, those who believed and did righteous deeds} indicates that righteous action is distinct from faith, because conjunction (the use of 'and') necessitates difference.

Issue 3: A parallel to the verse {Indeed, those who believed and did righteous deeds...} is found in the saying of the poet: > Indeed, the Caliph, whom God has clothed > In the garment of kingship, by which good ends are hoped for.

Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:30-31

Mafatih al-Ghayb

Al-Kahf: (30-31) Indeed, those who believed...

Issues:

Issue 1: The statement: **{Indeed, those who believed and did righteous deeds}** indicates that righteous action is distinct from faith, because conjunction (the use of 'and') necessitates difference.

Issue 3: A parallel to the verse **{Indeed, those who believed and did righteous deeds...}** is found in the saying of the poet: > Indeed, the Caliph, whom God has clothed > In the garment of kingship, by which good ends are hoped for.

Issue 1: The statement: {Indeed, those who believed and did righteous deeds} indicates that righteous action is distinct from faith, because conjunction (the use of 'and') necessitates difference.

Issue 3: A parallel to the verse {Indeed, those who believed and did righteous deeds...} is found in the saying of the poet: > Indeed, the Caliph, whom God has clothed > In the garment of kingship, by which good ends are hoped for.