Life-changing lessons from Surah Al-Kahf (The Cave)
At the beginning of the Chapter Al-Kahf (the cave) Allah opened it by attributing all praises to himself as all praises are due to him alone. He tells us that He is the one who sent down the Holy book (Quran) to His prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The book in which there is no doubt or error. Reflecting on how the surah was started in a powerful and catchy way, one ponders as it clearly entails to get the attention of the reader and clear away any doubt in the mind of the reader.
The chapter contains in itself stories that have powerful lessons for us as believers to learn from and apply in our daily lives. These lessons if well understood and applied can change a persons life in a tremendous way.
The first story is that of the people of the cave(Ashabul Kahf). The people of the cave were young men whom were tested in their faith. They found themselves in an environment of disbelief and deep within their hearts was an unwavering belief in their Lord. Thus, they found the way of their people to be disturbing. As fate had its own way of bringing people together, they each decided to leave their people and seek refuge in Allah from the ways of disbelief. Certainly, Allah has promised to guide and help those who believe and rely on Him. The people of the cave were guided by Allah saved from the ways of disbelief. The story of the cave sleepers is one of the miracles of Allah. He has revealed it to us to reflect on and apply it in our lives as believers.
The lesson we can learn from this story is that we all can get tested in our faith. Faith can increase and decrease and this can be seen in the different situations of our lives. There are moments we experience low faith and we feel like giving up, and there are moments when we feel really good and in high spirits. It is okay and normal to experience such feelings of low and high faith. We should always have it at the back of minds that it is only Allah that guides and inspires faith in the heart of His slaves. Whenever we find ourselves in such situations we should always seek refuge in Allah and have hope in his Mercy to guide us.
"O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah...".Quran 39:53
The second story is that of the two companions debating over the wealth of the other. The wealthy companion attributed all of his wealth to himself. He denied the bounties of his lord upon him and believed it was his hard work that earned him all his possessions. As his companion was advising and calling him to the truth, he became arrogant, he disbelieved and all his wealth vanished in the blink of an eye. He then became regretful and turned back in repentance to his Lord.
The beautiful lesson from this story is that of the test of wealth. All that we have and we will ever possess is from Allah and to Him we all belong. It is of great importance as believers we appreciate the bounties of our Lord upon us. We should be of those that are always in a state of gratitude. In the good and bad, the happy and sad moments. All of it is bestowed upon us by our Lord and to Him all the praises belong. No denial in the fact that hardwork does payoff , however we should be mindful of the fact that without our Lord, even the simplest of task would be difficult for us to do. We should not be of those that are arrogant and full of pride. Arrogance will only lead us to regrets.
“And Allah loves not those who are arrogant…”.Quran 16:22
The third story is that of the Prophet Musa and Al- Khidr. It was revealed to us that the Prophet Musa was sent to meet one of the most knowledgeable people of his time to gain more knowledge. During his encounter with Al Khidr, The Prophet Musa understood that he Al Khidr had been blessed with a different type of knowledge. It can be noted from the verses the attitude of Prophet Musa towards seeking knowledge. He was respectful in his speech and mannerisms. Even though Al-Khidr informed Musa that he will not be able to cope with him, he persisted. The journey began and Prophet Musa witnessed events that were beyond his comprehension and he found himself being impatient. He was astonished as to how one could commit such acts without knowing the implications. As Al-Khidr took it upon him to bear with Musa, the journey had to come to and end. Al-Khidr explained to Musa the reasons behind his actions which he couldn’t be patient with.
The encounter of Prophet Musa with Al Khidr is laced with many powerful lessons in it. There’s the lesson of knowledge, patience and character. We will focus on that of knowledge. In terms of knowledge we can deduce from the above story that Allah bestows the blessings of knowledge on whomever He wishes. Having knowledge is not a reason to be haughty on the contrary it should humble us. Being blessed with knowledge should pave way for us to become better people. Another point to mention is that in our journey called life, we will meet people with more knowledge than we have. It doesn’t mean we will be haughty and unaccepting of what they offer, rather we should be welcoming and willing to learn new things in our lives. We should aspire to be people of knowledge.
"My Lord, increase me in knowledge..." Quran 20:114
The fourth story is that of Dhul Qarnain. He was given authority, ability and power to rule and travel the whole world. He controlled what covered from the West to the East. Allah granted him dominion over the whole world. Despite all the power and authority that he had, he relied upon His Lord for sustenance and living. He was seen to have used his power for good. He helped those under him get out of distress. He did not help people except for the sake of his lord.
In our world today, those in power are the cause of distress and oppression to their people. They usurp the wealth of the masses. They disbelieve in their Lord and lead others to disbelief. They are the forerunners when it comes to mischief and corruption. Moreover people are heedless of their positions and power. They are neglectful of the right of their Maker and those under their rule. They are in denial of their return and accounting to Allah. They forget the day when all power will be taken away and nothing will be left of them. Unfortunately only a few are able to comprehend and understand that all we have is from Allah, He gives power to whom he wills and takes it away when he wills.
"O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will…” Quran 3:26
Beautifully stated in the middle of the chapter is the story of Iblis ( the devil). Allah informs us of the transgression committed by the devil against Adam, our father. He Iblis is our biggest and number one enemy. He will stop at nothing until he has driven us astray.
In conclusion there’s wisdom in everything we are ordered to do by our beloved Messenger (peace be upon him).Hence His sunnah of reciting this beautiful chapter every Friday is no less full of wisdom. As Muslims we will be faced with trails and tribulations in different aspects of our lives. It is what elevates our ranks with Allah. On the other hand there will be the devil and his evil plots. We should always strive to be on the right path, seek refuge in Allah from the devil and make it a habit to recite and ponder on the verses of the Quran. As we have been told in the Quran;
Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an?...Quran 4:58
