Sūrat al-Kahf (The Cave) is a late Makkan sūrah which Muslims are encouraged to recite and study as a protection from al-Dajjāl (The False Messiah).1 Besides its focus on faith and belief, it is probably most well-known for the unique stories mentioned in it, such as the story of the companions of the cave, the owner of the two gardens, Mūsa and Khaḍr, and the story of Dhūl Qarnayn.
It can be argued that the sūrah forms a ring structure when viewed in totality.2
CONNECTIONS
[A]/[A’] – The outside passages share many parallels, which can be better illustrated through the following graphic.
[A1]/[A1’] – Allah ﷻ begins with the “revelation” which He sent down to His “slave,” Muhammad ﷺ. The ending two āyāt have callbacks to the Quran and the Messenger’s human status when He mentions the endless ocean of wisdom found in Allah’s word, as well as the Messenger ﷺ being commanded to say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God.”
The internals have many more parallels which can be shown as:
[A2.1]/[A2.1’] – The introduction begins with good news for the believers that their reward for good deeds will be a place in Paradise forever. In contrast, the ending passage speaks of Hell being prepared for the disbelievers who turned away from Allah’s remembrance.
[A2.2]/[A2.2’] – Both halves place blame on those misattributing qualities to Allah ﷻ. In the earlier section, they claim that Allah ﷻ has a son, while in that latter they claim guardianship from those other than Allah ﷻ. These reflect two sides of the same issue.
[A2.3]/[A2.3’] – Allah’s next criticism of those claiming He has a son is that they have absolutely no knowledge regarding Him. Similarly, there is a group of people who work in this life for what they falsely assume is a good cause, but they will find out on Judgment Day that all their deeds were for naught.
[A2.4]/[A2.4’] – Allah ﷻ calls their lie a great blasphemy, but does not immediately give the retribution associated with it. However, we find at the end of the sūrah Allah ﷻ describing a great punishment. All their deeds will be worthless and they will be entered into Hellfire.
[A2.5]/[A2.5’] – The Messenger ﷺ is saddened by the rejection of his people, but Allah ﷻ assures him in the end that this is how all disbelievers behave towards their messengers. They always reject Allah’s signs and mock those sent to them. The Messenger ﷺ is not a unique case.
[A2.6]/[A2.6’] – Allah ﷻ then tells us that He made all the adornments of the Earth as a test for us to see who is better in deed, though He does not explicitly state the prize for those who pass. It is not until near the end of the sūrah where Allah ﷻ describes the amazing reward of the highest garden of Paradise for those who believe and pass the test of deeds.
[A2.7]/[A2.7’] – Finally, Allah ﷻ reminds us that eventually this Earth with all its tests will be made barren as there is an inevitable end to this life. In contrast, the reward of the afterlife is everlasting, and so incredible a place that we will never want to leave from it.
And Allah ﷻ knows best.
Next week we’ll look at [B] versus [B’] in Part 2.
Al-Dajjāl is the Antichrist or the False Messiah. He is a false prophet that will emerge near the end of times and his emergence is considered to be one of the major signs of the Last Day. He will spread corruption and disbelief throughout the world primarily through material exploitation by claiming divinity, leading many people astray. Devout believers will be able to recognize him by the word “non-believer” written on his forehead. He will emerge shortly before the second coming of ʿIsā who will serve as the leader of the Muslims who will eventually defeat al-Dajjāl.
The overall structure is from my own research, but Nouman Ali Khan helped me see more connections than the ones I had originally noted. Thus, the “CONNECTIONS” section is a combination of both Nouman Ali Khan and my work.