Surah 18. Al-Kahf

Wealth and children are an adornment of this world's life: but good deeds, the fruit whereof endures forever, are of far greater merit in thy Sustainer's sight, and a far better source of hope.⁴⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "are better in thy Sustainer's sight as regards merit, and better as regards hope". The expression al-baqiyat as-salihat ("good deeds, the fruit whereof endures forever") occurs in the Qur'an twice - in the above verse as well as in {19: 76}.

Likewise, wealth and children are an attraction of this worldly life; yet honorable deeds that last forever are better rewarded by your Rabb and hold for you a better hope of salvation.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Wealth and children are the adornment of this worldly life, but the everlasting good deeds are far better with your Lord in reward and in hope.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 This refers to good deeds that will benefit the believer in the Hereafter such as prayers or praises of Allah such as saying: ‘Subḥâna-Allâh’ (Glory be to Allah), ‘Alḥamdulillâh’ (Praise be to Allah), ‘Lâ ilâha illa-Allâh’ (There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Allah), and ‘Allâhu akbar’ (Allah is the Greatest).

Wealth and children are an ornament of life of the world. But the good deeds which endure are better in thy Lord's sight for reward, and better in respect of hope.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Wealth and sons are allurements of the life of this world: but the things that endure Good Deeds are best in the sight of thy Lord as rewards and best as (the foundation for) hopes. ²³⁸⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Other things are fleeting: but Good Deeds have a lasting value in the sight of Allah. They are best as (or for) rewards in two ways: (1) they flow from us by the Grace of Allah, and are themselves rewards for our Faith: (2) they become the foundation of our hopes for the highest rewards in the Hereafter.

Hence, [bear in mind] the Day on which We shall cause the mountains to disappear and thou shalt behold the earth void and bare: for [on that Day] We will [resurrect the dead and] gather them all together, leaving out none of them.

  - Mohammad Asad

You should prepare for that Day when We will set the mountains in motion and you will see the earth as a barren waste; when We shall assemble mankind all together, leaving not even a single soul behind.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'Beware of' the Day We will blow the mountains away, and you will see the earth laid bare. And We will gather all 'humankind', leaving none behind.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And (bethink you of) the Day when We remove the hills and ye see the earth emerging, and We gather them together so as to leave not one of them behind.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

One Day We shall remove the mountains and thou wilt see the earth as a level stretch and We shall gather them all together nor shall We leave out any one of them. ²³⁸⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

On the Day of Judgment none of our present landmarks will remain.

And they will be lined up before thy Sustainer, [and He will say:⁵⁰ ] "Now, indeed, you have come unto Us [in a lonely state], even as We created you in the first instance⁵¹ - although you were wont to assert that We would never appoint for you a meeting [with Us]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., to those who in their lifetime denied the truth of resurrection.

Cf. 6:94 .

They all will be brought before your Rabb standing in rows and Allah will say: "Well! You see that you have returned to Us as We created you at first: even though you claimed that We had not fixed any time for the fulfillment of this promise of meeting with Us!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They will be presented before your Lord in rows, 'and the deniers will be told,' 'You have surely returned to Us 'all alone' as We created you the first time, although you 'always' claimed that We would never appoint a time for your return.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And they are set before thy Lord in ranks (and it is said unto them): Now verily have ye come unto Us as We created you at the first. But ye thought that We had set no tryst for you.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And they will be marshalled before thy Lord in ranks (with the announcement) "Now have ye come to Us (bare) as We created you first: aye ye thought We shall not fulfil the appointment made to you to meet (Us)!": ^{2389 2390}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We shall stand as we were created, with none of the adventitious possessions that we collected in this life, which will all have vanished.

The sceptics will now at length be convinced of the Reality which will be upon them.

And the record [of everyone's deeds] will be laid open; and thou wilt behold the guilty filled with dread at what [they see] therein; and they will exclaim: "Oh, woe unto us! What a record is this! It leaves out nothing, be it small or great, but takes everything into account!" For they will find all that they ever wrought [now] facing them, and [will know that] thy Sustainer does not wrong anyone.

  - Mohammad Asad

Then the book of their deeds will be placed before them. At that time you will see the sinners in great terror because of what is recorded therein. They will say: "Woe to us! What kind of a book is this? It leaves out nothing small or large: all is noted down!" They will find all that they did recorded therein. Your Rabb will not be unjust to anyone in the least.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And the record 'of deeds' will be laid 'open', and you will see the wicked in fear of what is 'written' in it. They will cry, 'Woe to us! What kind of record is this that does not leave any sin, small or large, unlisted?' They will find whatever they did present 'before them'. And your Lord will never wrong anyone.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And the Book is placed, and thou seest the guilty fearful of that which is therein, and they say: What Kind of a book is this that leaveth not a small thing nor a great thing but hath counted it! And they find all that they did confronting them, and thy Lord wrongeth no one.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the Book (of Deeds) will be placed (before you); and thou wilt see the sinful in great terror because of what is (recorded) therein; they will say "Ah! woe to us! what a book is this! It leaves out nothing small or great but takes account thereof!" They will find all that they did placed before them: and not one will thy Lord treat with injustice. ²³⁹¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Personal responsibility, for all deeds in this life will then be enforced. But it will be done with perfect justice. Expressed in the forms of this world, it will amount to a clear statement of all we did in this life; the record will be put before us to convince us. As it will be a perfect record, with no omissions and no wrong entries, it will be perfectly convincing. Where there is punishment, it has been earned by the wrong-doer's own deeds, not imposed on him unjustly.

AND [remember that] when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam,"⁵² they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis: he too was one of those invisible beings,⁵³ but then he turned away from his Sustainer's command. Will you, then, take him and his cohorts⁵⁴ for [your] masters instead of Me, although they are your foes? How vile an exchange on the evildoers' part!⁵⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

This short reference to the oft-repeated allegory of God's command to the angels to "prostrate themselves before Adam" is meant, in the above context, to stress man's inborn faculty of conceptual thinking (see {2: 31-34} and the corresponding notes) and, thus, his ability and obligation to discern between right and wrong. Since man's deliberate choice of a morally wrong course - of which the preceding passages speak - is almost invariably due to his exaggerated attachment to the allurements of worldly life, attention is drawn here to the fact that this attachment is the means by which Satan (or Iblis) induces man to forgo all moral considerations and thus brings about his spiritual ruin.

Denoting, in this instance, the angels (see Appendix III).

Lit., "his offspring" - a metonym for all who follow him.

Lit., "for the evildoers". As regards Satan's symbolic "rebellion" against God, see note [26] on 2:34 and note [31] on 15:41 .

When We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourself before Adam," all prostrated themselves except Iblees (Shaitan), who was one of the Jinns and chose to disobey the command of his Rabb. Would you then take him and his children as your protectors rather than Me, even though they are your enemies? What a bad substitute the wrongdoers have chosen!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And 'remember' when We said to the angels, 'Prostrate before Adam,' so they all did- but not Iblîs,¹ who was one of the jinn, but he rebelled against the command of his Lord. Would you then take him and his descendants as patrons instead of Me, although they are your enemy? What an evil alternative for the wrongdoers 'to choose'!

  - Mustafa Khattab

 See footnote for 2:34.

And (remember) when We said unto the angels: Fall prostrate before Adam, and they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He was of the Jinn, so he rebelled against his Lord's command. Will ye choose him and his seed for your protecting friends instead of Me, when they are an enemy unto you? Calamitous is the exchange for evil doers!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold! We said to the angels "Bow down to Adam": they bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the Jinns and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrongdoers! ^{2392 2393 2394 2395}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. ii. 34, where the story is told of the fall of mankind through Adam. Here the point is referred to in order to bring home the individual responsibility of the erring soul. Iblis is your enemy; you have been told his history; will you prefer to go to him rather than to the merciful Allah, your Creator and Cherisher? What a false exchange you would make!'

Cf. vi. 100, n. 929.

Satan's progeny: we need not take the epithet only in a literal sense. All his followers are also his progeny.

Out of the limited free-will that man has, if he were to choose Evil instead of Good, Satan instead of Allah, what a dreadful choice it would be! It would really be an evil exchange. For man is Allah's creature, cared for and cherished by Him. He abandons his Cherisher to become the slave of his enemy!

I did not make them witnesses of the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor of the creation of their own selves;⁵⁶ and neither do I [have any need to] take as My helpers those [beings] that lead [men] astray.⁵⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., "since they are but created beings, and not co-existent with Me, how can you take them for your masters?"-an allusion to the beings, real or imaginary, to which men ascribe divine qualities, either consciously or (as in the case of one's submission to the "whisperings of Satan") by subconscious implication.

Since God is almighty, all-knowing and self-sufficient, the belief that any being or power could have a "helping" share in His divinity, or could "mediate" between Him and man, causes the latter to go utterly astray.

I did not call them to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation, nor do I take those who lead mankind astray as My supporters.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

I never called them to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth or 'even' their own creation, nor would I take the misleaders as helpers.

  - Mustafa Khattab

I made them not to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation; nor choose I misleaders for (My) helpers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

I called them not to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth nor (even) their own creation: nor is it for Me to take as helpers such as lead (men) astray! ²³⁹⁶

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Allah wants man's good: how can He take Evil for His partner?

Hence, [bear in mind] the Day on which He will say, "Call [now] unto those beings whom you imagined to have a share in My divinity!"⁵⁸ - whereupon they will invoke them, but those [beings] will not respond to them: for We shall have placed between them an unbridgeable gulf.⁵⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "those partners of Mine whom you supposed [to exist]": see note [15] on 6:22 .

Or: "a gulf [or "a barrier"] of perdition": an allusion to the wide gulf of unreality that separates those sinners from the blasphemous figments of their imagination or, more probably, the gulf that separates them from the saintly persons whom they were wont to worship despite the fact that the latter had never made any claim to divine status (Zamakhshari and Razi in one of their alternative interpretations, with specific mention of Jesus and Mary).

On the Day of Judgement Allah will say to them: "Call on those whom you thought to be My partners." They will call them but will receive no answer; and We shall cause animosity between them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And 'beware of' the Day He will say, 'Call upon those you claimed were My associate-gods.' So they will call them, but will receive no response. And We will make them 'all' share in the same doom.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And (be mindful of) the Day when He will say: Call those partners of Mine whom ye pretended. Then they will cry unto them, but they will not hear their prayer, and We shall set a gulf of doom between them.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

One Day He will say "Call on those whom ye thought to be My partners" and they will call on them but they will not listen to them; and We shall make for them a place of common perdition. ²³⁹⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Some Commentators construe: "And We shall make a partition between them": i.e., the Evil ones will not even be seen by their misguided followers, much as the latter may go on calling on them.

And those who were lost in sin will behold the fire, and will know that they are bound to fall into it, and will find no way of escape therefrom.

  - Mohammad Asad

The criminals will see the fire and realize that they are going to fall into it; but will find no place to escape.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

The wicked will see the Fire and realize that they are bound to fall into it, and will find no way to avoid it.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And the guilty behold the Fire and know that they are about to fall therein, and they find no way of escape thence:

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And the Sinful shall see the Fire and apprehend that they have to all therein; no means will they find to turn away therefrom.

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

THUS, INDEED, have We given in this Qur'an many facets to every kind of lesson [designed] for [the benefit of] mankind.⁶⁰ However, man is, above all else, always given to contention:

  - Mohammad Asad

Cf. note [104] on {17: 89}, explaining my translation of mathal, in this context, as "lesson".

We have given all kinds of examples in this Qur'an to make the people understand this Message, but man is exceedingly contentious.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We have surely set forth in this Quran every 'kind of' lesson for people, but humankind is the most argumentative of all beings.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And verily We have displayed for mankind in this Qur'an all manner of similitudes, but man is more than anything contentious.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We have explained in detail in this Qur'an for the benefit of mankind every kind of similitude: but man is in most things contentious. ²³⁹⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

If men had not cultivated the habit of contention and obstinacy, they would have found that the parables and similitudes of Scripture had fully met their difficulties, and they would gladly have obeyed the call of Allah.

for, what is there to keep people from attaining to faith now that guidance has come unto them, and from asking their Sustainer to forgive them their sins - unless it be [their wish] that the fate of the [sinful] people of ancient times should befall them [as well], or that the [ultimate] suffering should befall them in the hereafter?⁶¹

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "face to face" or "in the future" (Zamakhshari) - both these meanings of qubulan being comprised in the concept of "the hereafter" or "the life to come".

Nothing can prevent men from believing and seeking the forgiveness of their Rabb now that Guidance has come to them, unless they are waiting for the fate of former peoples to overtake them or the scourge to be brought to them face to face.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And nothing prevents people from believing when guidance comes to them and from seeking their Lord's forgiveness except 'their demand' to meet the same fate of earlier deniers or that the torment would confront them face to face.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And naught hindereth mankind from believing when the guidance cometh unto them, and from asking for forgiveness of their Lord, unless (it be that they wish) that the judgment of the men of old should come upon them or (that) they should be confronted with the Doom.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And what is there to keep back men from believing now that Guidance has come to them nor from praying for forgiveness from their Lord but that (they ask that) the ways of the ancients be repeated with them or the Wrath be brought to them face to face? ²³⁹⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

But man's obstinacy or contrariness asks or calls for a repetition of what happened to the wicked and those who rejected Faith in ancient times. Out of curiosity, or by way of challenge, they seem to court the Punishment and ask that it be brought to pass at once. But it will come soon enough, and then they will think it too early! Cf. xiii. 6 and n. 1810.

But We send [Our] message-bearers only as heralds of glad tidings and as warners - whereas those who are bent on denying the truth contend [against them] with fallacious arguments, so as to render void the truth thereby, and to make My messages and warnings a target of their mockery.

  - Mohammad Asad

We send the Rasools only to proclaim good news and to give warnings but with false arguments the unbelievers seek to defeat the Truth, through mocking at My revelations and My warnings.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We do not send the messengers except as deliverers of good news and warners. But the disbelievers argue in falsehood, 'hoping' to discredit the truth with it, and make a mockery of My revelations and warnings.

  - Mustafa Khattab

We send not the messengers save as bearers of good news and warners. Those who disbelieve contend with falsehood in order to refute the Truth thereby. And they take Our revelations and that wherewith they are threatened as a jest.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We only send the Apostles to give glad tidings and to give warnings: but the Unbelievers dispute with vain argument in order therewith to weaken the truth and they treat My Signs as a jest as also the fact that they are warned! ²⁴⁰⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The Prophets of Allah are not sent to humour us with dialectics or satisfy the vulgar curiosity for miracles or dark unusual things. There is no "crookedness" (xviii. 1) in their preaching. They come to preach the Truth,-not in an abstract way, but with special reference to our conduct. They give us the good news of salvation lest we despair in the presence of Sin, and to warn us clearly of the dangers of Evil. Vain controversies about words only weaken their mission, or turn it into ridicule. The ungodly have a trick also of treating the earnest preaching to them itself as a jest and ridiculing it.

And who could be more wicked than he to whom his Sustainer's messages are conveyed and who thereupon turns away from them, forgetting all [the evil] that his hands may have wrought?⁶² Behold, over their hearts have We laid veils which prevent them from grasping the truth, and into their ears, deafness; and though thou call them onto the right path,⁶³ they will never allow themselves to be guided.

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., persevering in his unrighteous behaviour (Razi).

Lit., "to guidance".

Who is more unjust than the one who, when reminded of the revelations of his Rabb, turns away from them and forgets what his own hands have done? In regards to such people, We have cast veils over their hearts, so they do not understand this Qur'an, and have become hard of hearing. Call them as you may towards the guidance, they will never be guided.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And who does more wrong than those who, when reminded of their Lord's revelations, turn away from them and forget what their own hands have done? We have certainly cast veils over their hearts- leaving them unable to comprehend this 'Quran'- and deafness in their ears. And if you 'O Prophet' invite them to 'true' guidance, they will never be 'rightly' guided.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And who doth greater wrong than he who hath been reminded of the revelations of his Lord, yet turneth away from them and forgetteth what his hands send forward (to the Judgment)? Lo! on their hearts We have placed coverings so that they understand not, and in their ears a deafness. And though thou call them to the guidance, in that case they can never be led aright.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And who doth more wrong than one who is reminded of the Signs of his Lord but turns away from them forgetting the (deeds) which his hands have sent forth? Verily We have set veils over their hearts lest they should understand this and over their ears deafness. If thou callest them to guidance even then will they never accept guidance. ²⁴⁰¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Considering the power of sin, and how it gets hold of the hearts of men, and considering all the wrongs that men have done, it is the height of folly and injustice on their part to turn away from warnings which are given expressly for their good. But a stage of callousness is reached, when, by their own choice, they have rendered themselves impervious to Allah's Grace. At that stage a veil is put over their hearts and they are left alone for a time, that they may commune with themselves and perhaps repent and seek Allah's Mercy again. If they do not, it is their own loss. See next verse.

Yet, [withal,] thy Sustainer is the Truly-Forgiving One, limitless in His grace. Were He to take them [at once] to task for whatever [wrong] they commit, He would indeed bring about their speedy punishment [then and there]:⁶⁴ but nay, they have a time-limit beyond which they shall find no redemption⁶⁵ -

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "He would indeed hasten the punishment for them"-the implication being that He invariably allows them time to repent and mend their ways.

Cf. somewhat similar passages in 16:61 and 35:45 . The "time-limit" (maw'id) signifies, in this context, the end of the sinners' life on earth or - as in the next verse - the "point of no return" beyond which God does not allow them to sin with impunity.

Your Rabb is Most Forgiving, the Lord of Mercy. Had it been His Will to seize them for their sins, He would have hastened their punishment, but for that there is an appointed time, after which they will not find any refuge.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Your Lord is the All-Forgiving, Full of Mercy. If He were to seize them 'immediately' for what they commit, He would have certainly hastened their punishment. But they have an appointed time, from which they will find no refuge.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Thy Lord is the Forgiver, Full of Mercy. If He took them to task (now) for what they earn, He would hasten on the doom for them; but their is an appointed term from which they will find no escape.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But your Lord is Most Forgiving Full of Mercy. If He were to call them (at once) to account for what they have earned then surely He would have hastened their Punishment: but they have their appointed time beyond which they will find no refuge. ²⁴⁰²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Min duni-hi: should we take the pronoun to refer to "the appointed time" or to "your Lord" mentioned at the beginning of the verse? Most Commentators take the former view, and I have translated accordingly. But I agree with those who take the latter view, and the better translation would be: "But they have their appointed time, and except with Allah, they will find no refuge." That means that even during the period allowed them, when they are left to wander astray as they have rejected Allah's Grace, Allah's Mercy is open to them if they will repent and return; but nothing but Allah's Mercy can save them.

as [was the case with all] those communities that We destroyed when they went on and on doing wrong:⁶⁶ for We had set a time-limit for their destruction.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "when [or "after"] they had been doing wrong" - i.e., persistently and for a long time.

All those nations whom We destroyed for their wrong doings were given respite and an appointed time for their destruction.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those 'are the' societies We destroyed when they persisted in wrong,¹ and We had set a time for their destruction.

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., the peoples of ’Ȃd and Thamûd.

And (all) those townships! We destroyed them when they did wrong, and We appointed a fixed time for their destruction.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Such were the populations We destroyed when they committed iniquities; but We fixed an appointed time for their destruction. ²⁴⁰³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The instances of exemplary Punishment in former times were also subject to this rule, that Allah gives plenty of rope to the wicked, in case they might turn, repent, and obtain His Mercy.

AND LO!⁶⁷ [In the course of his wanderings,] Moses said to his servant:⁶⁸ "I shall not give up until I reach the junction of the two seas, even I [have to] spend untold years [in my quest]!"

  - Mohammad Asad

The particle idh (which usually signifies "when", but is, I believe, properly rendered here as "lo!") often serves in the Qur'an to draw attention to a sudden turn in the discourse, without, however, involving a break in the continuity of thought. In this instance, it evidently marks a connection with verse {54} above ("many facets have We given in this Qur'an to every kind of lesson [designed] for [the benefit of] mankind"), and introduces an allegory meant to illustrate the fact that knowledge, and particularly spiritual knowledge, is inexhaustible, so that no human being- not even a prophet- can ever claim to possess answers to all the questions that perplex man throughout his life. (This idea is brought out fully in the last two verses of this surah.) The subsequent parable of Moses and his quest for knowledge (verses {60-82}) has become, in the course of time, the nucleus of innumerable legends with which we are not concerned here. We have, however, a Tradition on the authority of Ubayy ibn Ka'b (recorded in several versions by Bukhari, Muslim and Tirmidhi), according to which Moses was rebuked by God for having once asserted that he was the wisest of all men, and was subsequently told through revelation that a "servant of God" who lived at the "junction of the two seas" was far superior to him in wisdom. When Moses expressed his eagerness to find that man, God commanded him to "take a fish in a basket" and to go on and on until the fish would disappear: and its disappearance was to be a sign that the goal had been reached. - There is no doubt that this Tradition is a kind of allegorical introduction to our Qur'anic parable. The "fish" mentioned in the latter as well as in the above-mentioned hadith is an ancient religious symbol, possibly signifying divine knowledge or life eternal. As for the "junction of the two seas", which many of the early commentators endeavoured to "identify" in geographical terms (ranging from the meeting of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean at the Bab al-Mandab to that of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean at the Straits of Gibraltar), Baydawi offers, in his commentary on verse {60}, a purely allegorical explanation: the "two seas" represent the two sources or streams of knowledge - the one obtainable through the observation and intellectual coordination of outward phenomena ('ilm az-zahir), and the other through intuitive, mystic insight ('ilm al-batin) - the meeting of which is the real goal of Moses' quest.

Lit., "young man" (fata) - a term applied, in early Arabic usage, to one's servant (irrespective of his age). According to tradition, it was Joshua, who was to become the leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses.

Now tell them about the story of Khizr to whom Allah has given special knowledge. The Prophet Musa (Moses) was asked to go to him and learn from him. When Musa set out to meet him at an appointed place, he said to his young servant: "I will not give up my journey until I reach the junction of the two rivers, even if I have to spend ages in travel."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And 'remember' when Moses said to his young assistant, 'I will never give up until I reach the junction of the two seas, even if I travel for ages.'¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 It is reported in an authentic narration collected by Bukhâri that a man approached Moses after he gave a talk and asked him, “Who is the most knowledgeable person on earth?” Moses responded, “That would be me!” So Allah revealed to Moses that he should not have said this and there was in fact someone who was more knowledgeable than him. Moses was commanded to travel to meet this man, named Al-Khaḍir, at the junction of the two seas (which could be the northern part of Sinai between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, or the Southern part of Sinai where the Rea Sea splits into the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba).

And when Moses said unto his servant: I will not give up until I reach the point where the two rivers meet, though I march on for ages.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold Moses said to his attendant "I will not give up until I reach the junction of the two seas or (until) I spend years and years in travel." ^{2404 2405 2406}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This episode in the story of Moses is meant to illustrate four points. (1) Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. Even so that wisdom did not comprehend everything, even as the whole stock of the knowledge of the present day, in the sciences and the arts, and in literature, (if it could be supposed to be gathered in one individual), does not include all knowledge. Divine knowledge, as far as man is concerned, is unlimited. Even after Moses received his divine mission, his knowledge was not so perfect that it could not receive further additions. (2) Constant effort is necessary to keep our knowledge square with the march of time, and such effort Moses is shown to be making. (3) The mysterious man he meets (xviii. 65 and n. 2411), to whom Tradition assigns the name of Khidhr (literally, Green), is the type of that knowledge which is ever in contact with life as it is actually lived. (4) There are paradoxes in life; apparent loss may be real gain; apparent cruelty may be real mercy; returning good for evil may really be justice and not generosity (xviii. 79-82). Allah's wisdom transcends all human calculation.

The most probable geographical location (if any is required in a story that is a parable) is where the two arms of the Red Sea join together, viz., the Gulf of 'Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez. They enclose the Sinai Peninsula, in which Moses and the Israelites spent many years in their wanderings.

Huqub means a long but indefinite space of time. Sometimes it is limited to 80 years.