Study the Quran

Tafsir

Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

Al-Kahf 18:30

Word by word

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلًا

Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - indeed, We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds.

Ibn Kathir (Abridged) English Ma'arif al-Qur'an English Tafsir Muyassar Arabic Tafsir Ibn Kathir Arabic All sources

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Reward of those Who believe and do Righteous Deeds

When Allah mentions the state of those who are doomed, He follows that by mentioning the blessed who believed in Allah and believed what His Messengers brought, those who did the righteous deeds that they commanded them to do. They will have Jannatu `Adn. `Adn means lasting.تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهِمُ الاٌّنْهَـرُ(wherein rivers flow beneath them,) means, from beneath its rooms and dwellings. Fir`awn said:وَهَـذِهِ الاٌّنْهَـرُ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِى(and these rivers flowing beneath me...) 43:51يُحَلَّوْنَ(they will be adorned) means, with jewelry.فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ(with bracelets of gold,) Allah says elsewhere:وَلُؤْلُؤاً وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ(and pearls and their garments therein will be of silk) 22:23.

This is explained in more detail here, where Allah says:وَيَلْبَسُونَ ثِيَابًا خُضْرًا مِّن سُنْدُسٍ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٍ(and they will wear green garments of Sundus and Istabraq.) Sundus refers to a fine garment, like a shirt and the like, and Istabraq is thick and shiny velvet.مُّتَّكِئِينَ فِيهَا عَلَى الاٌّرَائِكِ(They will be Muttaki'in therein on Ara'ik.) The word Muttaki'in implies lying down, or it was said that it means sitting with one's legs crossed, which is closer to the meaning here. In a Sahih Hadith, the Prophet said:«أَمَّا أَنَا فَلَا آكُلُ مُتَّكِئًا»(As for me, I do not eat sitting with legs crossed (Muttaki'an)). Ara'ik is the plural of Arikah, which is a bed under a canopy. And Allah knows best.نِعْمَ الثَّوَابُ وَحَسُنَتْ مُرْتَفَقاً(How good is the reward, and what an excellent place of rest (Murtafaq)!) means, how blessed is Paradise as a reward for their good deeds. And what an excellent Murtafaq means, and how good a place to dwell and rest and stay.

Previously, Allah had said of Hell,بِئْسَ الشَّرَابُ وَسَآءَتْ مُرْتَفَقًا(Terrible is the drink, and an evil place of rest (Murtafaq)!) 18:29. In a similar way, He contrasts the two (Paradise and Hell) in Surat Al-Furqan, where He says:إِنَّهَا سَآءَتْ مُسْتَقَرّاً وَمُقَاماً (Evil indeed it (Hell) is as an abode, and as a place to rest in.) 25:66. Then He mentions the qualities of the believers, then says:أُوْلَـئِكَ يُجْزَوْنَ الْغُرْفَةَ بِمَا صَبَرُواْ وَيُلَقَّوْنَ فِيهَا تَحِيَّةً وَسَلَـماً - خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَا حَسُنَتْ مُسْتَقَرّاً وَمُقَاماً (Those will be rewarded with the highest place because of their patience. Therein they shall be met with greetings and the word of peace and respect. Abiding therein excellent it is as an abode, and as a place to rest in.) 25:75-76

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

Commentary

Da'wah and Tabligh admit of no discrimination

Some events have been mentioned in the background of the revelation of the verse: وَاصْبِرْ‌ نَفْسَكَ (And keep yourself content - 28). It is possible that all of them became the cause of this instruction. Al-Baghawi reports that ` Uyainah ibn Hisn al-Fazari, the chief of Makkah paid a visit to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Sitting there with him was Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi ؓ who was one of the poor Sahabah. His dress was tattered and his looks, that of a derwish. Then, there were some other poor and humble people like him sitting within the gathering. ` Uyainah said, 'these are the people who stop us from coming to you and listening to you. We cannot sit with such broken-down people. You should remove them from your gathering, or you should, at the least, have one separate gathering for us and another, for them.'Ibn Marduwayh reports on the authority of Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ that Umaiyyah ibn Khalaf al-jumahi advised the Holy Prophet ﷺ that he should not have poor and broken-down Muslims as those close to him.

Instead of that, he should prefer to have the chiefs of Makkah and the Quraysh tribe with him. If these people embraced the religion brought by him, it will advance the cause of religion.

Pursuant to events of this nature, came the Divine instruction that firmly stopped him from accepting their advice. Not only that he should not remove them from his company, in fact, the command given reads: وَاصْبِرْ‌ نَفْسَكَ (wasbir nafsak: translated as 'and keep yourself content' ). If translated literally, it could mean 'keep yourself tied with them,' not in the sense of not leaving them anytime, but meaning that he should attend to and relate to these very people, seeking their advice in essential matters and working in association with them alone. Why should he do that and what was the wisdom behind it? The words that follow spell the reason out. They call their Lord morning and evening, remembering Him under all conditions. And what they do is exclusively for the good pleasure of Allah. All these conditions around them are conditions that at-tract the help and support of Allah Ta` ala. And such are the people to whom comes the help of Allah. So, let them not worry about the loss of worldly support for the final victory shall be theirs.

The reason why he was prevented from accepting the advice of the Quraysh chiefs has been given towards the end of the verse. It was said that their hearts were heedless of the remembrance of Allah, everything they did was subservient to their physical desires and these conditions guaranteed that they would stand alienated far from the mercy and support of Allah Ta` ala.

Tafsir Muyassar

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia

إن الذين آمنوا بالله ورسوله وعملوا الأعمال الصالحات لهم أعظم المثوبة، إنا لا نضيع أجورهم، ولا ننقصها على ما أحسنوه من العمل.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

لما ذكر تعالى حال الأشقياء ، ثنى بذكر السعداء ، الذين آمنوا بالله وصدقوا المرسلين فيما جاءوا به ، وعملوا بما أمروهم به من الأعمال الصالحة ، فلهم ) جنات عدن ) والعدن : الإقامة .

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.