Tafseer of The Cave · Al-Kahf · 18:64
[Moses] said, "That is what we were seeking." So they returned, following their footprints.
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 meaning of the words of Allah the Exalted: قَالَ ذَلِكَ مَا كُنَّا نَبْغِ فَارْتَدَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِمَا قَصَصًا (verse 64)
Allah the Exalted says: Mūsā said to his young servant: "That" — by which he means the forgetting of the fish — مَا كُنَّا نَبْغِ: "is what we were seeking and pursuing," for it had been said to Mūsā: the companion you are seeking is at the place where you forget the fish.
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us — and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najiḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said concerning ذَلِكَ مَا كُنَّا نَبْغِ: "Mūsā said: this is the moment about which I was informed that I would find al-Khaḍir at the place where the fish would slip away from me."
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 — with the same purport, except that he said: "at the place where the fish leaves me."
And His words فَارْتَدَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِمَا قَصَصًا: that is to say: they returned along the way they had traveled, retreating upon their heels, and followed their own tracks which they had walked.
In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also said.
The narration of those who said this: Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us — and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najiḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said concerning قَصَصًا: "Mūsā and his young servant followed the track of the fish and cleaved through the sea in their return."
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, who said concerning فَارْتَدَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِمَا قَصَصًا: "Mūsā and his young servant followed the track of the fish by the cleaving of the sea, while Mūsā and his young servant returned, and Mūsā marveled at the track of the fish in the sea and at its circular movements within which it had disappeared."
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: "They returned along the same way by which they had come — فَارْتَدَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِمَا قَصَصًا."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to me, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, who said: The Prophet of Allah ﷺ said concerning ذَلِكَ مَا كُنَّا نَبْغِ فَارْتَدَّا عَلَى آثَارِهِمَا قَصَصًا: "That is to say: they followed their tracks until they reached the entrance [of the place] where the fish [had gone into the water]."
