Verse. 2158

١٨ - ٱلْكَهْف

18 - Al-Kahf

وَ تَحْسَبُہُمْ اَيْقَاظًا وَّہُمْ رُقُوْدٌ۝۰ۤۖ وَّنُقَلِّبُہُمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِيْنِ وَ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ۝۰ۤۖ وَكَلْبُہُمْ بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعَيْہِ بِالْوَصِيْدِ۝۰ۭ لَوِاطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْہِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْہُمْ فِرَارًا وَّلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْہُمْ رُعْبًا۝۱۸
Watahsabuhum ayqathan wahum ruqoodun wanuqallibuhum thata alyameeni wathata alshshimali wakalbuhum basitun thiraAAayhi bialwaseedi lawi ittalaAAta AAalayhim lawallayta minhum firaran walamulita minhum ruAAban

English

Ahmed Ali

You may have thought that they were awake, yet they were asleep. We made them turn right and left, while their dog lay with his forelegs stretched across the threshold. If you had looked at them you would have surely turned away and fled with horror at the sight.

18

Tafseer

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (and thou wouldst have deemed them) o muhammad (waking) not sleeping (though they were asleep, and we caused them to turn over to the right and the left) once each year so that the earth does not eat away their flesh, (and their dog) qatmir (stretching out his paws on the threshold) at the entrance of the cave. (if thou hadst observed them closely) in that state (thou hadst assuredly turned away from them in flight, and hadst been filled with awe of them) and you would have been sacred of them.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : and you would have supposed them — had you seen them — awake, that is, conscious, because their eyes were open (ayqāz, ‘awake’, is the plural of yaqiz), though they were asleep (ruqūd is the plural of rāqid). and we caused them to turn over to the right and to the left, lest the earth consume their flesh, and their dog [lay] stretching its forelegs, his paws, on the threshold, at the opening of the cave: whenever they turned over it would turn over just like them, both during sleep and consciousness. if you had observed them you would have turned away from them in flight and you would have been filled (read la-mulli’ta or la-muli’ta) with awe because of them (read ru‘ban or ru‘uban, ‘awe’): [it was] through this awe that god protected them from anyone entering upon them.

Sahl al-Tustari

تفسير : …if you had observed them you would have turned away from them in flight, and would have been filled with awe…this means: ‘if you had observed them through your self, you would have run away from them in fear, but if you had observed them through god, you would have come to know (waqafta) in them the realities of unicity (ḥaqāʾiq al-waḥdāniyya) from him.’his words, exalted is he: