Sūrat al-Kahf (Part 10)
Final part of observations on the organization and structure of Sūrat al-Kahf
See Part 9 in last week’s post.
The next part of Mūsā’s journey also appears to form a parallel structure.
CONNECTIONS
[AB]/[AB’] – Both sections are a parting of ways between Mūsā and his travel companion. In the first section it is subtle, as the language transitions from “they found…” to Prophet Mūsā saying, “May I follow you.” The later section is more explicit with Khidr explicitly saying, “This is a parting between me and you.”
[AC]/[AC’] – Mūsā asks to follow Khidr “so that you may teach me,” and the connected section is where Khidr finally begins to inform him “of the interpretation.”
[AD]/[AD’] – Khidr warns Mūsā that he will not be able to be patient with regards to what he will see if he follows, but Mūsā insists he will. The linked section is Khidr passing the verdict that after all their stops, Mūsā “could not have patience.”
[AE]/[AE’] – Khidr sinks the ship, then he explains why he did it.
[AF]/[AF’] – Khidr kills the young boy, then he explains why he did it.
[AG]/[AG’] – Khidr repairs the falling wall, then he explains why he did it.
In simpler terms:
It appears that āyāt 100-102 form a small mirror structure.
CONNECTIONS
[AH]/[AH’] – Allah ﷻ has “prepared Jahannam (Hell)” and He will “present Jahannam (Hell),” to the “kāfirīn (disbelievers).”
[AI]/[AI] – One possible interpretation might be that [AI] refers to the pagan Makkans, while [AI’] refers to the Christians.1 Another interpretation might be, rather, that both terms include both groups. If [AI]/[AI’] refers to Christians, what it might imply is that they only take to venerating saints because there is a covering on their eyes from Allah’s remembrance.
And, finally, there appears to be a possible ring structure for āyāt 100-106. The theme of the structure is the punishment of two kinds of people guilty of disbelief: those who associate partners with Allah ﷻ )the Christians) and those who associate partners with Allah ﷻ, take his signs and warnings and messengers in mockery, and disbelieve in the Day of Judgment.
CONNECTIONS
[AJ]/[AJ’] – In both sections, Allah ﷻ tells us that He prepared “Jahannam (Hell)” for the “kāfirīn (disbelievers)” and “bi-mā kafarū (for what they denied).”
[AK]/[AK’] – Both sections are about the pagan Makkan disbelievers.
[AL] – The center is a callback to the outer ring, though here it may be argued that the “kāfirīn (disbelievers)” being threatened with “Jahannam (Hell)” this time are specifically the Christians who, in the words of Allah ﷻ, “take My servants instead of Me as allies.”
And Allah ﷻ knows best.
And that concludes our study of Sūrat al-Kahf! See you next week for a new sūrah.
And if the study of this sūrah fascinated you, maybe consider upgrading to a paid subscription to show your support for this research :)
The argument is, would Allah ﷻ call those the pagans take as gods – Satan and his spawn – as “My servants”? Probably not, hence the interpretation that [AI’] refers to Christians specifically.