Tafseer of The Cave · Al-Kahf · 18:102
Then do those who disbelieve think that they can take My servants instead of Me as allies? Indeed, We have prepared Hell for the disbelievers as a lodging.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the word of Allah, exalted is He: أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنْ يَتَّخِذُوا عِبَادِي مِنْ دُونِي أَوْلِيَاءَ إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ نُزُلا (102)
He says, great is His remembrance: Did those who disbelieved in Allah — the worshippers of the angels and the Masīḥ — truly suppose that they could take My servants whom they had worshipped apart from Allah as protectors (awliyāʾ)? He says: By no means — rather, they are their enemies.
In a manner similar to what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His word أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنْ يَتَّخِذُوا عِبَادِي مِنْ دُونِي أَوْلِيَاءَ : he said: It means those who worshipped the Masīḥ, the son of Maryam, and the angels — and they are servants of Allah who were no protectors for the disbelievers.
With this reading — that is, with kasra on the sīn of أَفَحَسِبَ , in the meaning of supposing — the majority of the readers of the Islamic lands have read this word. But from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, ʿIkrima, and Mujāhid it is related that they read it as أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا with sukūn on the sīn and the raising of the word after it, in the meaning of: Is that enough for them — that is: Is it sufficient for them that they take My servants apart from Me as protectors, above My worship and friendship?
As was related to me on the authority of Isḥāq ibn Yūsuf al-Azraq, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr, on the authority of ʿIkrima — أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا : he said: Is that sufficient for them? The reading which we read is the reading that the readers of the Islamic lands follow, namely أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ with kasra on the sīn, in the meaning of: Did they suppose? — because of the unanimous agreement upon it of the authoritative readers.
His word إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا جَهَنَّمَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ نُزُلا : He says: We have prepared Hell (jahannam) as an abode for him who does not believe in Allah.
