Surah Al-Kahf 18:23
ﲊ ﲋ ﲌ ﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ
And never say of anything, "Indeed, I will do that tomorrow,"
Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:23-24
Tafsir
Al-Kashshaf
Verse range: 18:23-24
{ ولا تقولن لشيء } Do not say regarding anything you intend to do, { إني فاعل ذلك } "I will do that" { غدا } "tomorrow"—meaning at any time in the future, not specifically the day following today—{ إلا أن يشاء الله } "unless God wills."
This phrase is connected to the prohibition, not to the statement "I will do that." If it were connected to the latter, it would mean: "I will do it, unless God’s will prevents it." That is a matter that has no place in a prohibition. Its connection to the prohibition is understood in two ways:
- Do not say that statement at all, unless God wills that you say it by granting you permission.
- Do not say it except while accompanied by God’s will—meaning, do not say it without saying "If God wills." It is in the position of a state (ḥāl), meaning: do not say it unless you are in a state of invoking God’s will.
There is a third interpretation: that "If God wills" functions as a word of perpetuity, as if to say: "Do not say it ever." Similar to His saying: { وما يكون لنا أن نعود فيها إلا أن يشاء الله } (Al-Aʿrāf: 89), because their return to their former religion is something God will never will.
This is a disciplinary prohibition from God to His Prophet. When the Jews told the Quraysh to ask him about the Spirit, the People of the Cave, and Dhu al-Qarnayn, he replied, "Come to me tomorrow and I will tell you," without making an exception (istithnāʾ). Revelation was then withheld from him until it became difficult for him, and the Quraysh accused him of lying.
{ واذكر ربك } Meaning: Remember the will of your Lord and say, "If God wills," if you have neglected to do so out of forgetfulness. The meaning is: if you forget the word of exception, then realize it and rectify it by remembering.
- Ibn Abbas: You may say it even after a year, provided you have not broken your oath.
- Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: Even after a day, a week, a month, or a year.
- Ṭāwūs: It is valid as long as one remains in the same gathering.
- Al-Ḥasan: Similar to Ṭāwūs.
- ʿAṭāʾ: One may make the exception within the time it takes to milk a prolific camel.
- General Jurists: It has no legal effect unless it is connected (immediately).
It is narrated that it reached Al-Manṣūr that Abū Ḥanīfah disagreed with Ibn Abbas regarding the "separated exception." He summoned him to rebuke him. Abū Ḥanīfah said: "This argument turns against you. You take oaths of allegiance from people; would you be pleased if they left your presence, made an exception, and then rebelled against you?" Al-Manṣūr found his reasoning sound and was pleased with him.
It is also possible the meaning is: "Remember your Lord with glorification (tasbīḥ) and seeking forgiveness (istighfār) when you forget the word of exception," as an emphasis on the importance of it. Others say: "Remember your Lord if you neglect some of what He commanded you." Others say: "Remember Him when forgetfulness overtakes you so that He may remind you of what was forgotten," which has been applied to performing a forgotten prayer upon remembering it.
{ وهذا } This refers to the news of the People of the Cave. The meaning is: "Perhaps my Lord will grant me—through proofs and arguments that I am a truthful Prophet—something greater in evidence and closer in guidance than the news of the People of the Cave." And He did indeed do that, as He granted him stories of the Prophets and knowledge of the unseen that were greater and more indicative.
The apparent meaning is: If you forget something, remember your Lord. Remembering your Lord when you forget is to say: "Perhaps my Lord will guide me to something else, in place of this forgotten thing, that is closer in guidance and better in benefit." Perhaps the forgetfulness was for the best, as in His saying: { أو ننسها نأت بخير منها } (Al-Baqarah: 106).