Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:12

"Then We awakened them that We might know..."

{ أي } (Any/Which): It contains the meaning of an interrogative, so it suspends the verb { لنعلم } (that We might know) from acting upon it. It is also recited as { ليعلم } (that it might be known), which is likewise suspended; this is because its nominative case is due to it being an ibtida’ (initial subject), not because the verb is attributed to it. The subject of { يعلم } is the content of the sentence, just as it is the object of { نعلم }.

{ أي الحزبين } (Which of the two parties): Those who differed among them regarding the duration of their stay. For when they awoke, they disagreed about that, which is His saying: "A speaker among them said, 'How long have you stayed?' They said, 'We have stayed a day or part of a day.' They said, 'Your Lord is most knowing of how long you stayed'" (Al-Kahf: 19). Those who said, "Your Lord is most knowing of how long you stayed," were those who knew that their stay had been prolonged, or it refers to which of the two parties—other than them—was more accurate.

{ أحصى } (Most accurate/better at counting): A past-tense verb, meaning: which of them was more precise regarding the times of their stay.

If you ask: What do you say about one who considers it an af‘al al-tafdil (superlative noun)? I say: It is not a sound position. Building it from a non-triliteral root is not analogically correct (qiyas). Expressions like a‘da min al-jarab (more contagious than mange) and aflas min ibn al-mudhalliq (poorer than the son of al-Mudhalliq) are irregular (shadh). Applying analogy to the irregular in contexts outside the Quran is forbidden, so how could it be done here? Furthermore, { أمدا } (a duration) must either be in the accusative case governed by the superlative—but the superlative does not govern—or governed by labithu (they stayed), but that does not satisfy the meaning. If you claim that I should make it accusative by implying a verb indicated by ahsa, as was implied in the verse: "And we strike with swords the helmets" (implying: we strike the helmets), you have taken a far-fetched approach when the simple one is near, by refusing to accept ahsa as a verb, only to be forced to estimate and imply it.

If you ask: How did Allah, the Exalted, make the knowledge of their counting the duration a purpose for "striking their ears" (causing them to sleep)? I say: Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has always known that. He only intended the manifestation of the matter to them, so that their faith and reflection might increase, and it would be a grace (lutf) for the believers of their time and a clear sign for the disbelievers.

"We relate to you their story in truth. Indeed, they were youths who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance. And We made firm their hearts when they stood up and said, 'Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Never will we invoke besides Him any deity. We would have certainly spoken, then, an excessive transgression. These, our people, have taken besides Him deities. Why do they not bring for them a clear authority? And who is more unjust than one who invents about Allah a lie?'"