Tafseer of The Cave · Al-Kahf · 18:38
But as for me, He is Allah, my Lord, and I do not associate with my 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 explanation of the word of Allah, the Exalted: لَكِنَّا هُوَ اللَّهُ رَبِّي (But as for me: He is Allah, my Lord [18:38])
He says: as for me, I am not a disbeliever in my Lord, rather I say: He is Allah, my Lord — the meaning is that he says: but I say: He is Allah, my Lord. وَلا أُشْرِكُ بِرَبِّي أَحَدًا (And I do not associate anyone as a partner with my Lord).
In the recitation of this word there are two approaches: the first is "lakinna huwa Allāhu Rabbī" — with a doubled nūn and without an alif in the joined pronunciation — just as one says "ana qāʾim" and therein drops the alif of "anā". This is the recitation of most of the reciters of Iraq. At the pause, the recitation of everyone is that the alif is retained in it, because the nūn is only doubled through the merging of the nūn of "lakinna" into the nūn that has sukūn in "anā" — after the hamza of "anā" had fallen away. When one pauses, the alif of "anā" reappears, so that one says "laknā", because at the pause upon "anā" one retains the alif and does not drop it. A group from the Ḥijāz recited it as "laknā" — retaining the alif both in joining and at the pause. Although this occurs in the necessity of poetry, as the poet said:
"I am the sword of the tribe, so acknowledge me, praised, I have climbed the mountain peaks."
— wherein he retained the alif of "anā" — that is not the most elegant usage of the language. The recitation that is, in our view, the correct one is the recitation of the Iraqis that we have mentioned: the dropping of the alif of "lakan" in joining and its retention at the pause.
