Tafseer of The Cave · Al-Kahf · 18:110
Say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone."
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 exposition of the meaning of the words of Allah, the Exalted: قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلا صَالِحًا وَلا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا (Say: I am only a man like you; it is revealed to me that your God is one God. So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him perform righteous deeds and associate no one in the worship of his Lord) (110)
Allah, the Exalted, says: say to these polytheists (al-mushrikīn), O Muḥammad: I am only a man like you, a descendant of Adam — I have no knowledge except what Allah has taught me — and Allah reveals to me that your worshipped One, Whom you are obligated to worship and to Whom you must associate nothing, is one worshipped One without a second, without any associate. فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ: that is to say: whoever fears his Lord on the day of meeting Him, and watches himself before Him regarding acts of disobedience, and hopes for His reward for obedience to Him — فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلا صَالِحًا: that is to say: let him keep the worship pure for Him and ascribe the sovereignty to Him alone.
In accordance with what we have said about this, the masters of interpretation have also spoken.
* Mention of those who said this: Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Abī Rāshid, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ — he said: the reward of his Lord.
His words وَلا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا: that is to say: he must not set up any associate for Him in his worship of Him. A person sets up an associate for Him in His worship when he makes a display (rāyā) with a deed that outwardly appears to be intended for Allah, but by which he in reality intends someone else.
In accordance with what we have said about this, the masters of interpretation have also spoken.
* Mention of those who said this: Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his words وَلا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, concerning his words وَلا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا: he said — he must make no display (lā yurāyī).
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Jazarī, on the authority of Ṭāwūs: he said — a man came and said: "O prophet of Allah, I love the jihād in the way of Allah, and I love that my place be seen and my position be noticed." Thereupon Allah, the Almighty, sent down: فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلا صَالِحًا وَلا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid and Muslim ibn Khālid al-Zanjī, on the authority of Ṣadaqa ibn Yasār: he said — a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned the same, adding to it: "I perform a deed, give alms, and love that the people see that." The rest of the narration is similar.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: ʿĪsā ibn Yūnus related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash: he said: Ḥamza Abū ʿUmāra — the mawlā of Banī Hāshim — related to us, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab: he said — a man came to ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit and asked him: "Tell me about what I ask you. How do you regard a man who performs the prayer seeking the face of Allah, but who also likes to be praised; and who fasts seeking the face of Allah, but who also likes to be praised?" ʿUbāda said: "He has nothing. Allah, the Almighty, says: I am the best of partners. Whoever has an associate alongside Me, that deed belongs entirely to him; I have no need of it."
Abū ʿĀmir Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAmr al-Sakūnī related to us, saying: Hishām ibn ʿAmmār related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, saying: ʿAmr ibn Qays al-Kindī related to us that he heard Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān reciting this verse: فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلا صَالِحًا وَلا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا — and he said: this is the last verse that was sent down of the Qurʾān.
End of the tafsīr of Sūrat al-Kahf.
