ការបកប្រែអត្ថន័យគួរអាន - ការបកប្រែជាភាសាអង់គ្លេស - បណ្ឌិត វ៉ាលីទព្លីហាស្ហ អូម៉ើរី - កំពុងដំណើរការលើវា
وَإِذِ ٱعۡتَزَلۡتُمُوهُمۡ وَمَا يَعۡبُدُونَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ فَأۡوُۥٓاْ إِلَى ٱلۡكَهۡفِ يَنشُرۡ لَكُمۡ رَبُّكُم مِّن رَّحۡمَتِهِۦ وَيُهَيِّئۡ لَكُم مِّنۡ أَمۡرِكُم مِّرۡفَقٗا
[3762] The cave (kahf) is preceded with the definite article al (the) because it is either previously known to them as they might have worshipped God in it away from the prying eyes of their enemies, or by way of fact stating (taʿrīf al-ḥaqīqah) as caves are known as places to which people run away from harm (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3763] That they chose for home such an inhabitable place as a cave, and the justification they provide for it, goes on to show how firm their Faith really was (cf. Ibn ʿUthaymīn, Tafsīr Āyāt min al-Qur’ān al-Karīm, 5: 244).
[3764] The wording of their justification of choosing the cave as shelter is context significant and further highlights the greatness of their Faith. The word yanshuru (meaning; spread and make spacious (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Shawkānī) is significant as caves are usually not spacious enough for a group of men (most probably seven as we will see shortly) to live in comfortably and since they do not have the usual facilities that humans fit their homes with, they were rightly hopeful that their Lord would ‘make facile’ (mirfaq is what people have use for (cf. Ibn Qutaybah, Gharīb al-Qur’ān, Ibn Fāris, Maqāyīs al-Lughah)) their affair (cf. al-Shaʿrāwī).
This is not to distract us away from the general purport that their wording points out: that God Almighty ‘spreads out’ His Mercy thus saving their religion for them and delivering them from their people, and that He makes their living ‘facile’ and easy to gain (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī): “Whoever is Mindful of Allah, He will make his affair easy for him!” (65: 4).
۞ وَتَرَى ٱلشَّمۡسَ إِذَا طَلَعَت تَّزَٰوَرُ عَن كَهۡفِهِمۡ ذَاتَ ٱلۡيَمِينِ وَإِذَا غَرَبَت تَّقۡرِضُهُمۡ ذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِ وَهُمۡ فِي فَجۡوَةٖ مِّنۡهُۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنۡ ءَايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِۗ مَن يَهۡدِ ٱللَّهُ فَهُوَ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدِۖ وَمَن يُضۡلِلۡ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُۥ وَلِيّٗا مُّرۡشِدٗا
[3765] What follows shows how fruitful their hope in their Lord has proven to be and how greatly He spread out His Mercy for them and made facile their affair (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). They were provided with all the necessary means of preservation over such a great length of time as we shall momentarily see.
[3766] Exposure to the rays of the sun as it rises would heat and light up their cave and disturb their sleep, and over time, especially this long a period, would have had an impact on their visages and clothing (cf. al-Ṭabarī).
[3767] Although the meaning given here of the expression taqriḍuhum (it draws away from them) is the opinion of many exegetes, it is the opinion of a group of others that it means that the sun touches them when it sets and provides them and their cave with the necessary benefits of sunlight (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Abū Ḥayyān, Ibn ʿUthaymīn).
[3768] As such they get all the air and ventilation they need to sustain them (cf. al-Tafsīr al-Muyassar, al-Tafsīr al-Mukhtaṣar).
[3769] These just mentioned Signs testify to God Almighty’s Limitless Power and Authority and how He provides for His pious servants (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Baghawī, al-Qurṭubī).
[3770] Wondrous as these affairs of theirs are, being Signs of God Almighty, one has got to know the reason behind them to come to grips with them. That is that they were guided by God Almighty Himself (cf. al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar, Ibn ʿĀshūr).
[3771] That these youths were all of their people who were guided and the great and firm Faith they were given is a prime example of this fact (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Khāzin, Ibn Kathīr).
[3772] Besides the fact that it states, this home truth sends a timely comforting message to the Noble Messenger (ﷺ) who was greatly distressed by his people’s aversion to his call (cf. al-Biqāʿī, Naẓm al-Durar). The message that guidance is only in the Hands of God Himself is of-repeated in the Qur’an to impart the same effect (cf. 4: 88 and 143, 7: 178 and 186, 13: 33, 17: 97, 39: 23 and 36, 40: 33, 42: 44 and 46).
وَتَحۡسَبُهُمۡ أَيۡقَاظٗا وَهُمۡ رُقُودٞۚ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمۡ ذَاتَ ٱلۡيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِۖ وَكَلۡبُهُم بَٰسِطٞ ذِرَاعَيۡهِ بِٱلۡوَصِيدِۚ لَوِ ٱطَّلَعۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ لَوَلَّيۡتَ مِنۡهُمۡ فِرَارٗا وَلَمُلِئۡتَ مِنۡهُمۡ رُعۡبٗا
[3773] This aya further highlights how God Almighty cared for and safeguarded them in their vulnerable state (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). Should anyone happen on them, he would only see a band of fully awake men with a dog standing guard on them and would surely have been filled with horror over this sight (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[3774] Exegetes have it that their eyes were open (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn Kathīr, al-Zajjāj).
[3775] Exegetes opine that the reason for this was so that the ground did not affect their bodies (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-Manthūr). It is a common medical practice nowadays to turn bed-ridden patients on their sides every few hours so that they do not get bedsores (pressure ulcers) resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin.
[3776] Fear at their sight is an important factor in their preservation so that no one would be tempted to draw close to them (cf. Ibn ʿUthaymīn).
وَكَذَٰلِكَ بَعَثۡنَٰهُمۡ لِيَتَسَآءَلُواْ بَيۡنَهُمۡۚ قَالَ قَآئِلٞ مِّنۡهُمۡ كَمۡ لَبِثۡتُمۡۖ قَالُواْ لَبِثۡنَا يَوۡمًا أَوۡ بَعۡضَ يَوۡمٖۚ قَالُواْ رَبُّكُمۡ أَعۡلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثۡتُمۡ فَٱبۡعَثُوٓاْ أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُمۡ هَٰذِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلۡمَدِينَةِ فَلۡيَنظُرۡ أَيُّهَآ أَزۡكَىٰ طَعَامٗا فَلۡيَأۡتِكُم بِرِزۡقٖ مِّنۡهُ وَلۡيَتَلَطَّفۡ وَلَا يُشۡعِرَنَّ بِكُمۡ أَحَدًا
[3777] As amazingly norm-defying their long sleep was, their waking up after it in an intact state was equally so (cf. al- al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
When they came around to this world and its reality, where they have to fend for themselves, immediately after a three centuries-long sleep when God took great care of their well-being as we have just seen, there come worries, cares and calculations.
[3778] This answer shows how well-preserved their state was!
[3779] The one from which they fled, which was not far off (cf. al- al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[3780] Azkā ṭaʿāman could mean either the more that they could get for their money (from zakāh) or, which is the more likely of the two, the purest (from zakā’), i.e. that which is not mixed with what God prohibits (cf. al-Shinqīṭī, Aḍwā’ al-Bayān).
إِنَّهُمۡ إِن يَظۡهَرُواْ عَلَيۡكُمۡ يَرۡجُمُوكُمۡ أَوۡ يُعِيدُوكُمۡ فِي مِلَّتِهِمۡ وَلَن تُفۡلِحُوٓاْ إِذًا أَبَدٗا
[3781] Such is the doing of the crooked of all times. They just cannot tolerate the righteous in their midst: “The notables among his people who waxed arrogant said: “We shall expel you, Shuʿayb, and those who Believed with you from our town or you shall revert back to our way of life!” He said: “Even if we were detesting ˹of it˺!” *“We would be fabricating ˹abominable˺ lies against Allah should we revert back to your way of life when Allah delivered us from it. We would not ˹ever˺ revert back to it unless Allah, our Lord, wills it so; indeed our Lord encompasses everything with ˹His˺ Knowledge. On Allah we rely!” “Our Lord, decide between us and our people with the Truth—You are the best of those who decide”” (7: 88-89).
