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Meccan · Surah 18 of 114

Al-Kahf 18:109

The Cave · ayah 109 of 110

قُل لَّوْ كَانَ ٱلْبَحْرُ مِدَادًۭا لِّكَلِمَٰتِ رَبِّى لَنَفِدَ ٱلْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَٰتُ رَبِّى وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِۦ مَدَدًۭا

Qul law kana albahru midadanlikalimati rabbee lanafida albahru qabla an tanfadakalimatu rabbee walaw ji/na bimithlihi madada

"Say, "If the sea were ink for [writing] the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it in [continual] supplement.""

Saheeh International translation

Recitation by Mishary Alafasy
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Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"Say [Prophet], ‘If the whole ocean were ink for writing the words of my Lord, it would run dry before those words were exhausted’- even if We were to add another ocean to it."

Pickthall (classic)+

"Say: Though the sea became ink for the Words of my Lord, verily the sea would be used up before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even though We brought the like thereof to help."

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

"Say: "If the ocean were ink (wherewith to write out) the words of my Lord, sooner would the ocean be exhausted than would the words of my Lord, even if we added another ocean like it, for its aid.""

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

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The Words of the Lord can never be finished

Allah says: `Say, O Muhammad, if the water of the sea were ink for a pen to write down the words, wisdom and signs of Allah, the sea would run dry before it all could be written down.

وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِ

(even if We brought like it) means, another sea, then another, and so on, additional seas to be used for writing. The Words of Allah would still never run out. As Allah says:

وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ مِن شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلاَمٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ مَّا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَـتُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

(And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea (were ink), with seven seas behind it to increase it, yet the Words of Allah would not be exhausted. Verily, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.) 31:27 Ar-Rabi` bin Anas said, "The parable of the knowledge of all of mankind, in comparison to the knowledge of Allah, is that of a drop of water in comparison to all of the oceans." Allah revealed that:

قُل لَّوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَاداً لِّكَلِمَـتِ رَبِّى لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَـتُ رَبِّى

(Say: "If the sea were ink for the Words of my Lord, surely, the sea would be exhausted before the Words of my Lord would be finished,) Allah says that even if those oceans were ink for the Words of Allah, and all the trees were pens, the pens would be broken and the water of the sea would run dry, and the Words of Allah would remain, for nothing can outlast them. For no one can comprehend the greatness of Allah or praise Him as He deserves to be praised, except the One Who praises Himself. Our Lord is as He says He is and He is beyond what we can say. The blessings of this world, the beginning and end of it, in comparison to the blessings of the Hereafter, are like a mustard seed compared to the entire world.

Tafsir Saʿdi

English translation, public domain

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О Мухаммад! Поведай людям о величии Творца и великолепии Его божественных качеств. Рабы Аллаха не способны объять знанием эти качества, потому что если бы мировой океан превратился в чернила, а все деревья материков, островов и пустынь превратились в письменные трости, то чернила иссякли бы, а письменные трости источились бы до того, как иссякли бы слова Аллаха. Воистину, это настолько удивительно, что люди не способны представить себе подобное. Всевышний также сказал: «Если бы все деревья земли стали письменными тростями, а за морем чернил находилось еще семь морей, то не исчерпались бы Слова Аллаха. Воистину, Аллах - Могущественный, Мудрый» (31:27). Подобные сравнения помогают людям лучше понять смысл откровений, потому что в них речь идет о творениях, каждому из которых суждено исчезнуть и прекратить свое существование, тогда как речь Аллаха относится к божественным качествам и не относится к творениям. И поэтому речь Аллаха не имеет конца и предела. Как бы люди ни представляли себе величие и совершенство Аллаха, они не смогут вообразить его надлежащим образом, и то же самое можно сказать обо всех качествах Всевышнего Аллаха: знании, мудрости, могуществе, милости. Если все обитатели небес и земли, жившие в древности и живущие по сей день, объединят воедино свои познания, то по сравнению с божественным знанием их познания будут подобны капле воды, которую удается подхватить своим клювом воробью, летящему над бескрайними морскими просторами. Все это означает, что Аллах обладает самыми величественными и самыми совершенными качествами, которые всегда будут оставаться непревзойденными.
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Maʿārif al-Qur'ān

Mufti Shafi Usmani, English

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The purpose of the last sentence: لَا يَبْغُونَ عَنْهَا حِوَلًا (and will not wish to move from there - 108) is to tell that this station of Jannah is a never-ending, ever-lasting blessing for them. The reason is that Allah Ta’ ala has promulgated His command to the effect that whoever has entered Jannah will never be expelled from there. But, there was the possibility of some doubt crossing someone's heart, for human beings naturally get fed up by living at one place. They wish to move out and go to other places. Now, if they were not allowed to go elsewhere out of Jannah, they might start feeling the pinch of a sort of restriction. This was answered in the verse by saying that taking Jannah on the analogy of other places is rank ignorance. Once a person goes into the Jannah, everything he saw and lived within the mortal world would find all that trifling in the presence of the bliss and beauty of Jannah and - so blessed in that manner - no one would ever even think of going out of here.

Tafsīr sourced from quran.com's open API. These are classical commentaries; for personal rulings consult a qualified scholar.

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