Tafseer of The Cave · Al-Kahf · 18:90
Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had not made against it any shield.
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 statement concerning the explanation of the word of Allah the Exalted: حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ مَطْلِعَ الشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَى قَوْمٍ لَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهَا سِتْرًا
Allah the Exalted says — He whose praise is exalted —: and Dhū al-Qarnayn found the sun rising over a people for whom We had made no covering besides it. This was because their land had no mountains, nor trees, nor capacity to bear cultivation for dwelling in houses; so they would plunge into the water, or withdraw into the underground passages.
As Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mustamirr related to me, he said: Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd and Abū Dāwūd related to us, he said: Sahl ibn Abī al-Ṣalt al-Sarrāj related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning (it rises over a people for whom We had made no covering besides it): he said: it was a land that could not bear cultivation; when the sun rose over them, they plunged into the water; when it set, they came out to graze as cattle graze. He said: then al-Ḥasan said: this is a narration of Samura.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning (until, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising over a people for whom We had made no covering besides it): it has been related to us that they were in a place where cultivation did not endure, and they had underground passages in which they stayed; when the sun had departed from them, they came out for their livelihood and their tillage.
