About
Al Kahf Institute
The Content of Surah Al Kahf
It was revealed after the Surah al-Ghashiyah in the Meccan period. Although there are narrations that verses 28, 83 and 101 were revealed in Medina, the content and style of the verses raise doubts about the authenticity of these narrations (M. İzzet Derveze, III, 475). It takes its name from the word al-Kahf (cave) in the story of the Companions of the Cave in verses 9-26. It consists of 110 verses and its interval is the letter ا.
A narration is recorded regarding the reason for its revelation as follows: The Quraysh polytheists, who had no knowledge of prophethood, sent Nadr ibn Haris and Ukba ibn Abu Muayt, who were known for their storytelling, to Jewish scholars to get information about Hz. Muhammad's claim of prophethood, and these scholars sent Hz. The Companions of the Cave advised Muhammad to ask questions about the person and the spirit who went to the east and west of the earth, and if they knew these, to believe and follow him.
The Messenger of Allah said that he would answer these questions the next day, but he forgot to say, “Inshallah.” When the revelation he was waiting for did not come, he started to speak against the polytheists, and the Prophet fell into great distress. Fifteen days later, the Surah of the Cave, which also included the warning, “Do not say, ‘I will do this tomorrow’ unless you say, ‘If Allah permits’” (verses 23-24), was revealed (Suyuti, Esbab al-Nuzul, p. 128). Elmalılı Muhammed Hamdi states that this narration should be taken with caution due to reasons such as the fact that one of the narrators mentioned in this narration is not a well-known person and the third of the questions in question was explained in a previously revealed surah (al-Isra 17/85) (Hak Dini, V, 3219-3220).
Sleeping Youngsters
About Cave friends - İsmet Ersöz
The incident of sleeping in a cave for a long time and waking up again, which is the essence of the story of the Companions of the Cave and is an example of resurrection after death, is also found in some religions and various legends other than Islam (ERE, XI, 429). Just as there is an incident of a single person staying asleep for a long time in India (Bhagavat Gita, Ramayana ...), it is narrated in the Mahabharata, one of the Indian holy books, that seven people, accompanied by a dog, turned away from the kingdom and the world for asceticism (DACL, XV/1, p. 1257).
2 Friends of the Garden
In the Qur’an, many subjects are covered in the stories. One of the subjects in these stories is worldly goods. The test of man with world property is as old as the history of humanity. The test of man with worldly goods is as old as human history. The common point of these verses is that the worldly goods created for humans turn out not as means but as an end for some people. In Surah al-Kahf 18/32-44, the parable covers all the related verses of worldly property. In this group of verses, the destruction of the property of a person with a fertile, large land after he claims superiority over his friend is narrated. Since the people, place, and time in the parable are ambiguous, it is possible that the same parable may happen again in any place at any time. In this study, we found it appropriate to examine the parable in the relevant verses separately. While doing our study, we first defined the parable. Afterwards, we tried to analyze the verses in accordance with both the order of the Mushaf and the time course of the event. During this research, we benefited from explanatory verses and hadiths, applied consulted tafsir sources and used of dictionaries for word explanations.
A Time Traveler
Dhul-Qarnayn
The meaning of the compound zü’l-karneyn, which is formed from the definite form of the word qarn, which means “owner, possessor” in the dictionary, and “horn, forelock, temple; generation living in the same period, peer” (Azhari, Tehẕîbü’l-luġa, “ḳrn” article), changes according to the meaning given to the word qarn (Hasan al-Mustafavî, IX, 274-278). The 83-98th verses of the Surah al-Kahf, which was revealed in the Meccan period as an answer to one of the three questions asked by the Jews, or more likely by the Quraysh polytheists under the guidance of the Jews, in order to test the Prophet. Although it is not clear whether the word Dhul-Qarnayn, which is mentioned three times in the story in the verses (Tabari, Jami'u'l-beyân, IV, 174, 271; İbn Kathir, Tefsîr, III, 100), is a proper name or a nickname, the prevailing view is that it is a nickname. The existence of words such as "Dhul-Qarnayn, Dhul-Yedayn", which indicate nicknames and attributes in the Arabic language, and the fact that Hz. Yunus is mentioned as "zennûn/zünnûn" in the Quran (al-Anbiya 21/87) suggest that Dhul-Qarnayn may be a nickname rather than a proper name; however, it is not clear what this nickname means.
Journey of Mozes
The word, which appears in Arabic sources as hadir (hadr, hıdr) and is considered to be of Arabic origin, is used in Turkish as Hızır and Hıdır. Hadır is synonymous with ahdar, meaning “green, a place with lots of greenery”. Based on this meaning, it can be said that the word hadir is considered a nickname and adjective rather than a proper name. Indeed, in some sources, it is recorded that this name was given to Hızır because when he sat on dry ground, grass would grow and wave under him (Bukhari, “Enbiyâʾ”, 29), and because he drank from the spring of heaven, everywhere he stepped on would turn green (Makdisî, III, 78). Although some orientalists claimed that the god of vegetation encountered in some primitive religions was behind the Hızır cult (Hasluck, I, 324), in fact, the Islamic perception of Hızır has nothing to do with this belief. In addition to the above claims, it has also been suggested that the belief in the “man named Filiz” (Zekarya, 6/12) in the Old Testament was influential in the origin of the name Hızır (İA, V/1, p. 461). According to some orientalists, the word Hızır is not of Arabic origin but is the Arabicized form of Hasistra or Hasisatra, the ancestor of Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Ocak, p. 61). According to Friedlaender, the name Hızır is related to the tale of Glaukos (green), which is similar to the Alexander legend, and this legend was translated as “hadır” when it was adapted into Arabic (ERE, VII, 694).