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18. Al-Kahf
Verse 23

الكهف

Al-Kahf Surah 18

Verse 23

الكهف

The Cave • makkah

Context

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العربیّا عثمانی (Arabic Uthmani)

English - Hazrat Molavi Sher Ali ^ra

English - Five Volume Translation

English - Short Commentary Translation

English - Topics

18:23

سَيَقُولُونَ ثَلَٰثَةٌ رَّابِعُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ خَمْسَةٌ سَادِسُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ رَجْمًۢا بِٱلْغَيْبِ ۖ وَيَقُولُونَ سَبْعَةٌ وَثَامِنُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ ۚ قُل رَّبِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِم مَّا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ ۗ فَلَا تُمَارِ فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مِرَآءً ظَٰهِرًا وَلَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِم مِّنْهُمْ أَحَدًا

English - Hazrat Molavi Sher Ali ^ra

Some say, ‘They were three, the fourth was their dog,’ and others say, ‘They were five, the sixth was their dog,’ guessing at random. And yet others say, ‘They were seven, the eighth was their dog.’ Say, ‘My Lord knows best their number. None knows them except a few.’ So argue not concerning them except with arguing that is overpowering, nor seek information about them from any one of them.

English - Five Volume Translation

Some say, ‘They were three, the fourth was their dog,’ and others say, ‘They were five, the sixth was their dog,’ guessing at random. And yet others say, ‘They were seven, the eighth was their dog.’ Say, ‘My Lord knows best their number. None knows them except a few.’ So argue not concerning them except with arguing that is overpowering, nor seek information about them from any one of them.[2063]

Important Words:

فلا تمار (So argue not). تمار is derived from مری. They say مری حقه i.e. he disputed, doubted or questioned his right. امتری الشیء means, he elicited the thing. الریح تمری السحاب means, the wind draws forth the clouds. ماراہ means, he disputed or argued with him obstinately (Lane & Aqrab).

ظاھرا (plain) is derived from ظھر i.e. it was or became apparent, plain, manifest or obvious. ظھر البیت means, he got upon the top of the house; ظھر علیه means, he knew, became acquainted with or got knowledge of him or it; he overcame or subdued; gained the mastery or victory or prevailed over him. They say فلان لا یظھر علیه احد i.e. such a one is a person whom no one can overcome or overpower. (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse refers to a popular discussion about the number of the Dwellers of the Cave. The Quran regards all estimates about their number as futile surmises. The words, My Lord knows best their number, dismiss all such discussion as fruitless waste of effort because only God knows what their real number was. The Arabic expression مایعلھم الاقلیل means, (a) none knows their number; the Arabic word قلیل, being the equivalent of the English word 'few,' signifies 'none'; or (b) the expression means that a very few people have knowledge of the truth about them or are acquainted with their history. These fortunate few know that the Dwellers of the Cave were early Christians who in times of persecution under different Roman Emperors took refuge in the catacombs and that they were several thousands in number.

Towards the end of the verse Muslims are admonished not to try to know the details about the Dwellers of the Cave as any effort in this direction will lead them nowhere, rather it is likely to make confusion worse confounded.

English - Short Commentary Translation

Some say, ‘They were three, the fourth of them was their dog,’ and others say, ‘They were five, the sixth of them was their dog,’ guessing at random. And yet others say, ‘They were seven, the eighth of them was their dog.’[1684] Say, ‘My Lord knows best their correct number. None knows them except a few.’ So argue not concerning them except with unanswerable arguments, nor seek information concerning them from anyone of them.

These guesses seem to be based on inscriptions on the walls of some of the chambers in the catacombs; but each inscription has reference only to a particular family, party or group. The total number of those who took refuge in the catacombs at any time is not known. A dog seems, from the inscriptions, to have always accompanied a party of refugees.

اردو ترجمہ مرزا طاہر احمد خلیفة المسیح الرابعؒ

ضرور وہ کہیں گے کہ وہ تین تھے اور چوتھا ان کا کتا تھا اور وہ بن دیکھے تخمیناً کہیں گے کہ وہ پانچ تھے اور چھٹا ان کا کتا تھا اور کہیں گے کہ وہ سات تھے اور آٹھواں ان کا کتا تھا۔ تُو کہہ دے میرا ربّ ہی ان کی گنتی کو بہتر جانتا ہے اور (اس کے سوا) کوئی ایک بھی انہیں نہیں جانتا ۔ پس تُو ان کے بارہ میں سرسری گفتگو کے سوا بحث نہ کر اور ان سے متعلق ان میں سے کسی سے بھی کوئی بات نہ پوچھ۔

French

Certains disent : « Ils étaient trois, le quatrième était leur chien, » et d’autres disent, devinant au hasard : «Ils étaient cinq, le sixième était leur chien ; » etcertains encore disent : « Ils étaient sept, le huitième était leur chien. » Dis : « Mon Seigneur sait le mieux quel était leur nombre réel. Peu nombreux sont ceux qui possèdent des connaissances sûres à leur sujet. Aussi, n’argumentez pas à leur propos, excepté dans une discussion informelle, et ne cherchez pas non plus des renseignements les concernant de qui que ce soit parmi eux.

German

Manche sagen: "(Sie waren ihrer) drei, ihr vierter war ihr Hund", und (andere) sagen: "(Sie waren) fünf, ihr sechster war ihr Hund", indem sie herumraten im Dunkel, und (wieder andere) sagen: "(Sie waren) sieben, ihr achter war ihr Hund." Sprich: "Mein Herr kennt am besten ihre Zahl. Niemand weiß sie, außer einigen wenigen." So streite nicht über sie, es sei denn durch zwingendes Beweisen, und suche nicht Kunde über sie bei irgendeinem von ihnen.

Chinese

(那些不晓得他们真实情况的人), 他们对这未看见的任意推测, 有些人说: “他们仅是三个人, 第四个是他们的狗;” 有些人说: “他们是五个, 第六个是他们的狗,” 还有人说: “(他们) 是七个人, 第八个是他们的狗。”[754]你 (对他们) 说: “我的养主最知道他们的 (真实) 数目。除了少数人之外, 没有人是知道他们的。” 关於他们, 除非具有不能辩驳的论证, 不要作任何议论, 也不要向他们任何人询问他们的 (实况)。

这些猜测看来是根据那地下墓穴某些小室墙上所刻图像而产生的; 可是每一刻出的图像指的只是一个特定的家族、一伙人或小组。在墓穴中某一时期中避难的人数不得而知。从图像中看,似乎总是有一只狗陪伴着一伙避难者。

Italian

Alcuni dicono: «Erano tre; il quarto era il loro cane.» E altri dicono: «Erano cinque, il sesto era il loro cane», tirando a indovinare. Mentre altri ancora dicono: «Erano sette, l'ottavo era il loro cane.» Di': «Il mio Signore conosce meglio il loro vero numero. Ben pochi sono quelli che sanno di loro.» Perciò non discutere su di loro, se non casualmente, né cercare informazioni su di essi da qualcuno di loro.

Spanish

Algunos dicen: “Eran tres, el cuarto era su perro” y otros dicen: “Eran cinco, el sexto era su perro”, conjeturando al azar. Y algunos otros dicen: “Eran siete, el octavo era su perro”. Diles: “Mi Señor conoce perfectamente cuál era su número real. Nadie los conoce salvo unos pocos”. No discutáis, pues, respecto a ellos, salvo que se trate de una conversación casual, ni busquéis información sobre los mismos de ninguno de ellos.

اردو تفسیرِ صغیر

وہ (لوگ جو حقیقت حال سے بے خبر ہیں ضرور) غیب کے متعلق اٹکل پچو باتیں کرتے ہوئے (کبھی) کہیں گے (کہ وہ صرف) تین (آدمی) تھے۔ جن کے ساتھ چوتھا ان کا کتا تھا اور (کبھی یہ[2]) کہیں گے (کہ وہ) پانچ تھے جن کے ساتھ چھٹا ان کا[3] کتا تھا اور (ان میں سے بعض یوں بھی) کہیں گے (کہ وہ) سات تھے اور ان کے ساتھ آٹھواں ان کا کتا تھا۔ تو (انہیں) کہہ (کہ) ان کی صحیح گنتی کو اللہ (ہی) بہتر جانتا ہے۔ (اور) تھوڑے[4] لوگوں کے سوا انہیں کوئی نہیں جانتا۔ پس تو ان کے متعلق مضبوط بحث کے سوا کوئی بحث نہ کر۔ اور ان کے بارہ میں ان میں سے کسی سے حقیقت حال دریافت نہ کر۔

یہ پرانی غاروں کے مختلف کمروں کی کیفیت ہے بعض کمروں کے کتبے بتاتے ہیں کہ وہاں تین نے پناہ لی‘ بعض کتبے بتاتے ہیں کہ وہاں سات نے پناہ لی۔ اسی طرح مختلف کمروں کے متعلق مختلف تعداد بتائی گئی ہے۔

کیٹا کومبز(Catacombs) میں پناہ گزیں مسیحیوں کے ساتھ ہر جگہ کتا بھی دکھایا گیا ہے۔

تعجب ہے کہ قرآن مجید تو کہتا ہے کہ اصحاب کہف کی تعداد صرف تھوڑے لوگ جانتے ہیں مگر تفسیریں دیکھو تو معلوم ہوتا ہے کہ ان کی تعداد بچہ بچہ کو معلوم ہے۔

اردو ترجمہ مودودی

کچھ لوگ کہیں گے کہ وہ تین تھے اور چوتھا ان کا کتا تھا اور کچھ دوسرے کہہ دیں گے کہ پانچ تھے اور چھٹا اُن کا کتا تھا یہ سب بے تکی ہانکتے ہیں کچھ اور لوگ کہتے ہیں کہ سات تھے اور آٹھواں اُن کا کتا تھا کہو، میرا رب ہی بہتر جانتا ہے کہ وہ کتنے تھے کم ہی لوگ ان کی صحیح تعداد جانتے ہیں پس تم سرسری بات سے بڑھ کر ان کی تعداد کے معاملے میں لوگوں سے بحث نہ کرو، اور نہ ان کے متعلق کسی سے کچھ پوچھو

English - Sahih

They will say there were three, the fourth of them being their dog; and they will say there were five, the sixth of them being their dog - guessing at the unseen; and they will say there were seven, and the eighth of them was their dog. Say, [O Muhammad], "My Lord is most knowing of their number. None knows them except a few. So do not argue about them except with an obvious argument and do not inquire about them among [the speculators] from anyone."

اردو ترجمہ احمد علی

بعض کہیں گے تین ہیں چوتھا ان کا کتا ہے اور بعض اٹکل پچو سے کہیں گے پانچ ہیں چھٹا ان کا کتا ہے اور بعض کہیں گے سات ہیں آٹھواں ان کا کتا ہے کہہ دو ان کی گنتی میرا رب ہی خوب جانتا ہے ان کا اصلی حال تو بہت ہی کم لوگ جانتے ہیں سو تو ان کے بارے میں سرسری گفتگو کے سوا جھگڑا نہ کرو ان میں سے کسی سےبھی انکا حال دریافت نہ کر

English - Talal Itani

They say, (they were) three, the forth of them their dog; and they say (they were) five the sixth of them their dog - guessing about the unseen; and they say, (they were) seven and the eight of them their dog. Say, "My Lord, knows best their number. None knows them except a few. So (do) not argue about them except (with) an argument obvious, and (do) not inquire about them among them (from) anyone."

Chinese Commentary ^*

754

اردہ تفصیرِ صغیر نوٹس ^*

کیٹا کومبز(Catacombs) میں پناہ گزیں مسیحیوں کے ساتھ ہر جگہ کتا بھی دکھایا گیا ہے۔

English - Arberry

(They will say, 'Three; and 'their dog was the fourth of them.' They will say, 'Five; and their dog was the sixth of them, guessing at the Unseen. They will say, 'Seven; and their dog was the eighth of them.' Say: 'My Lord knows very well their number, and none knows them, except a few.' So do not dispute with them, except in outward disputation, and ask not any of them for a pronouncement on them.

English - Maududi

Some will say concerning them: "They were three and their dog, the fourth"; and some will say: "They were five, and their dog, the sixth" -- all this being merely guesswork; and still others will say: "They were seven, and their dog, the eighth." Say: "My Lord knows their number best. Only a few know their correct number. So do not dispute concerning their number, but stick to what is evident, and do not question anyone about them."

English - Ahmed Ali

Some will say: "They were three, and their dog was the fourth;" and some will also say: "They were five and their dog was the sixth," -- guessing in the dark. And some will even say: "They were seven, and their dog the eighth." Say: "My Lord alone knows best their number; none but only a few know of them." So do not argue about it with them but lightly, and do not enquire about them from any one of them.

English - Yusuf Ali

(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth,- doubtfully guessing at the unknown; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say thou: "My Lord knoweth best their number; It is but few that know their (real case)." Enter not, therefore, into controversies concerning them, except on a matter that is clear, nor consult any of them about (the affair of) the Sleepers.

English - Five Volume Commentary ^*

2063

Important Words:

Commentary:

English - Short Commentary Notes ^*

1684

English - Pickthall

(Some) will say: They were three, their dog the fourth, and (some) say: Five, their dog the sixth, guessing at random; and (some) say: Seven, and their dog the eighth. Say (O Muhammad): My Lord is Best Aware of their number. None knoweth them save a few. So contend not concerning them except with an outward contending, and ask not any of them to pronounce concerning them.

English - Muhammad Ali ^ra

(Some) say: (They were) three, the fourth of them their dog; and (others) say: Five, the sixth of them their dog, making conjectures about the unseen. And (others) say: Seven, and the eighth of them their dog. Say: My Lord best knows their number -- none knows them but a few. So contend not in their matter but with an outward contention, and question not any of them concerning them.

English - Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan ^ra

Those who have no definite knowledge concerning them will make guesses: They were three, the fourth was their dog; or they will say: They were five, the sixth was their dog; or they will say: They were seven, the eighth was their dog. Say to them: My Lord knows their number best; none knows them save a few. So argue about them only on the strength of knowledge, nor seek information about them from any of them.

Discover Related

#Dog (Kalb)#Number (‘Adad)#Seven / Or Seventy #Christians & Christianity #Companions Of The Cave (Ashabul-Kahf)

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