With the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful.

[18:1] Praise belongs to Allah who has sent down the Book to His servant, and allowed no crookedness in it,

[18:2] a straightforward Book to warn of severe punishment from Him, and to give the good news to the believers, who do righteous deeds, that they will have an excellent reward (Paradise)

[18:3] in which they will dwell forever,

[18:4] and to warn those who have said that Allah has had a son,

[18:5] while they have no knowledge about it, nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths. They say nothing but lie.

[18:6] So, (O Prophet) perhaps you are going to kill yourself after them, out of grief, if they do not believe in this discourse.

[18:7] Surely, We have made what is on earth an adornment for it so that We test them as to who among them is better in deeds.

[18:8] And surely, We are going to turn whatever is thereon into barren land.

[18:9] Do you think that the People of Kahf (The Cave) and Raqim (inscription) were unusual out of Our signs?

[18:10] When the young men took refuge in the Cave and said, Our Lord, bless us with mercy from Your own and provide us with guidance in our matters.

[18:11] So, We sealed up their hearing (putting them to sleep) in the Cave for a number of years.

[18:12] Thereafter We raised them up so that We know which of the two groups had better calculated the period in which they remained (sleeping).

[18:13] We narrate to you their story with truth. They were young men who believed in their Lord and We gave them more guidance.

[18:14] We made their hearts firm when they stood up and said, Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We shall never invoke any god other than Him, otherwise, we would be saying something far from the truth.

[18:15] These, our people, have adopted gods other than Him. Why do they not bring clear proof in their favor? So, who is more unjust than the one who fabricates a lie against Allah?

[18:16] When you have turned away from them, and those whom they worship, except Allah, then seek refuge in the cave, and your Lord will extend His mercy for you, and provide you ease in your matters.

[18:17] You would see the sun, when it rose, turning away from their Cave towards the right; and when it set, it bypassed them towards the left, and they were (lying) in the hollow thereof. That is one of the signs of Allah. Whomsoever Allah guides is the one who gets the right path and whomsoever He lets go astray, for him you will find no one to help, no one to lead.

[18:18] And you would think they were awake while they were asleep. We turned them on their sides, right and left. And their dog had its forelegs stretched out to the doorstep. If you had a look at them, you would have fled away from them and would have been filled with awe of them.

[18:19] In this way We raised them up until they asked each other. One of them said, How long did you tarry?. They said, A day, or part of a day. They said, Your Lord knows best how long you tarried. So, send one of you with this silver (coin) of yours to the city and let him look around which of the eatables are the purest and let him bring you some food from there. And he must act in a polite manner, and must not let anyone know about you.

[18:20] If they (the habitants of the city) will know about you, they will force you to revert to their faith, and in that case, you will never find success.

[18:21] And in this way, We made them known to the people (of the city), so that they realize that Allah‘s promise is true and that there is no doubt about the Hour (the Day of Resurrection). When they were disputing among themselves in their matter, they said, Erect a building over them. Their Lord knows them best. Said those who prevailed in their matter, We will certainly make a mosque over them.

[18:22] Some will say, (They were) three, the fourth of them being their dog, and some will say, Five, the sixth of them being their dog, just making conjectures. And others will say, Seven, the eighth of them is their dog. Say, My Lord knows best about their number. No one knows them except a few, so do not argue about them except an apparent argumentation. And do not ask anyone of these about them.

[18:23] And never say about anything; I will do this tomorrow,

[18:24] unless (you say if) Allah wills.‘ And remember your Lord if you forget, and say (to those who asked you about the story of the People of the Cave), Maybe, my Lord will lead me to something closer than this to guidance.

[18:25] They stayed in their Cave for three hundred years and added nine.

[18:26] Say, ‘Allah knows best how long they stayed. To Him belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth – how well He sees and how well He hears! They have no supporter other than Him and He lets no one share His authority’.

[18:27] And recite what has been revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no one to change His words, and you will never find a refuge beside Him.

[18:28] Keep yourself content with those who call their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure, and let not your eyes overlook them, seeking the splendor of the worldly life. And do not obey the one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, and who has followed his desire and whose behavior has exceeded the limits.

[18:29] And say, The truth is from your Lord. Now, whoever so wills may believe, and whoever so wills may deny. Surely, We have prepared for the unjust a Fire, whose tent will envelop them. And if they will beg for help, they shall be helped with water like oily dregs that will scald the faces. Vile is the drink, and evil is the Fire as a resting place.

[18:30] As for those who believe and do righteous deeds, of course, We do not waste the reward of those who are good in deeds.

[18:31] Those are the ones for whom there are eternal gardens, rivers flowing beneath them. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and they will be dressed in green garments, made of fine silk and thick silk, reclining therein on couches. Excellent is the reward and beautiful is Paradise as a resting place.

[18:32] Give them an example. There were two men; We gave one of them two gardens of grapes, surrounded both of them with date palms, and placed vegetation between them.

[18:33] Both the gardens brought forth their fruit and suppressed nothing from it, and We caused a stream to flow through them.

[18:34] And he had wealth. So, he said to his companion while conversing with him, I am greater than you in wealth and stronger in manpower.

[18:35] And he entered his garden while he was doing wrong to himself. He said I do not think that this will ever perish,

[18:36] and I do not think that the Hour (Day of Judgment) has to come. And even if I am sent back to my Lord, I will surely find a better place than this to resort to.

[18:37] Said his companion, as he was conversing with him, Do you deny Him who created you from dust, then from a drop (of semen), then He made you a perfect man?

[18:38] As for me, I believe that Allah is my Lord, and I do not associate anyone with my Lord.

[18:39] Why, when you entered your garden, did you not say, (Everything is) as Allah wills. There is no power except with Allah‘? If you see me inferior to you in wealth and children,

[18:40] then, it is likely that my Lord will give me (what is) better than your garden, and will send to it a punishment from the heavens, and it will become a barren land.

[18:41] Or, its water will sink deep in the earth so that you will never be able to search it out.

[18:42] And its produce was overwhelmed by calamities and he stood wringing his hands (in anguish) over what he had invested in it, while it was fallen down on its trellises and he was saying,I wish I had not ascribed any partner to my Lord!.

[18:43] There were no supporters for him besides Allah, who could come to his help, nor was he able to defend himself.

[18:44] That is where the power of protection rests with Allah, the True God. He is the best in rewarding and best in requiting.

[18:45] Give them the example of the worldly life; it is like water We sent down from the sky, then the vegetation of the earth was mingled with it, and then it turned into chaff that is blown by the winds, and Allah is powerful over everything.

[18:46] Wealth and children are the embellishment of the worldly life, and the everlasting virtues are better with your Lord, both in rewards and in creating good hopes.

[18:47] And (visualize) the Day when We will make mountains move, and you will see the earth fully exposed, and We shall gather them together, so as not to leave a single one of them.

[18:48] And they shall be presented lined-up before your Lord. (It will be said to them,) .Lo! You have come to Us just as We had created you for the first time, while you claimed that We would not make an appointed time for you.

[18:49] And the book (of deeds) will be placed (before them), then you will see the guilty people scared of its contents and saying, Woe to us! What a book is this! It has missed nothing, minor or major, but has taken it into account. Thus they will find whatever they did present before them, and your Lord will not wrong anyone.

[18:50] (Recall) when We said to the angels, Prostrate yourselves before ‘Adam. So, they prostrated themselves, all of them but Iblis (Satan). He was of the Jinn, so he rebelled against the command of your Lord. Do you still take him and his progeny as friends instead of Me, while they are enemies to you? Evil is a substitute (of obedience to Allah) for wrongdoers.

[18:51] I did not make them witnesses of the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor of their own creation. I was not such that I should take the misleaders as helpers.

[18:52] (Recall) the Day when He will say, Call My partners‘ whom you claimed as such. So, they will call them, but they will not respond to them, and We will put a destructive barrier between them.

[18:53] And the sinners will see the Fire; so they will know that they will have to fall into it, and they will find no way to bypass it.

[18:54] Indeed We have explained in this Qur‘an every subject in various ways for the benefit of the people, but out of all creation, man is most disputing.

[18:55] The only thing that prevented people from believing, even after the guidance had come to them, and from seeking forgiveness from their Lord, is (their demand) that what used to come to the earlier people should come to them as well, or that the punishment should visit them face to face.

[18:56] We send the messengers only as bearers of good tidings and warnings, and those who disbelieve raise disputes on the basis of the false (arguments), so that they may nullify the truth with it; and they have taken My signs, and the warnings given to them, as mockery.

[18:57] Who is more unjust than the one who was reminded through the signs of his Lord, but he turned away from them and forgot what his own hands sent ahead. Indeed We have put covers on their hearts that bar them from understanding it, and (We have created) deafness in their ears. And if you call them for guidance, even then they will never adopt the right path.

[18:58] Your Lord is the Most Forgiving, the Lord of Mercy. If He seizes them for what they did, He may cause the punishment to befall them sooner, but there is an appointed time for them, from which they can never find a place of refuge.

[18:59] These are the towns that We destroyed when they (i.e. their people) transgressed, and We had appointed a time for their destruction.

[18:60] (Recall) when Musa said to his young man, I shall not give up until I reach the meeting point of the two seas, or else I shall go on traveling for years.

[18:61] So, when they reached the meeting point of the two seas, they forgot their fish, and it made its way into the sea as in a tunnel.

[18:62] When they went further, he said to his young man, Bring us our morning meal; we have, indeed, had much fatigue from this journey of ours.

[18:63] He said, You see, when we stayed at the rock, I forgot the fish. It was none but Satan who made me forget it to tell you about it – and it made its way into the sea in an amazing manner.

[18:64] He said, That was what we were looking for. So they returned, retracing their footsteps.

[18:65] Then they found one of Our servants whom We blessed with mercy from Us and whom We gave knowledge, a piece of knowledge from Our own.

[18:66] Musa said to him, May I have your company so that you teach me some of the right knowledge you have been given.

[18:67] He said, You can never bear with me patiently.

[18:68] And how would you keep patient over something your comprehension cannot grasp?.

[18:69] He (Musa) said, You will find me patient if Allah wills, and I shall not disobey any order from you.

[18:70] He said, Well if you follow me, do not ask me about anything unless I myself start telling you about it.

[18:71] So, they both moved ahead, until when they boarded a boat, he sliced it (by removing one of its planks). He (Musa) said, Did you slice it to drown its people? In fact, you have done a terrible act.

[18:72] He said, Did I not say that you can never bear with me patiently?.

[18:73] He (Musa) said, Do not hold me punishable for what I forgot, and do not make my course too difficult for me.

[18:74] So, they moved ahead until when they met a boy, he killed him (the boy). He (Musa) said, Did you kill an innocent soul while he did not kill anyone? You have committed a heinous act indeed.

[18:75] He said, Did I not tell you that you can never bear with me patiently?

[18:76] He (Musa) said, If I ask you about something after this, do not allow me your company. You have now reached a point where you have a valid excuse (to part with me) from my own side.

[18:77] Then, they moved ahead until they came to the people of a town; they asked its people for food, and they refused to host them. Then, they found there a wall tending to fall down. So he (KhaDir) set it right. He (Musa) said, If you wished, you could have charged a fee for this.

[18:78] He said, Here is the point of parting ways between me and you. I shall now explain to you the reality of things about which you could not remain patient.

[18:79] As for the boat, it belonged to some poor people who worked at sea. So I wanted to make it defective, as there was a king across them who used to usurp every boat by force.

[18:80] As for the boy, his parents were believers. We apprehended that he would impose rebellion and infidelity upon them.

[18:81] We, therefore, wished that their Lord would replace him with someone better than him in piety, and more akin to affection.

[18:82] As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was a treasure beneath it belonging to them, and their father was a pious man. So your Lord willed that they should reach their maturity and dig out their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do it on my own accord. This is the reality of things about which you could not remain patient.

[18:83] They ask you about Dhul-Qarnain. Say, I shall now recite to you an account of him.

[18:84] Surely, We gave him the power on earth and gave him means to (have) everything (he needs).

[18:85] So he followed a course,

[18:86] until when he reached the point of sunset, he found it setting into a miry spring, and found a people near it. We said, O Dhul-Qarnain, either punish them or adopt good behavior with them.

[18:87] He said, As for him who does wrong, we shall punish him, then he will be sent back to his Lord, and He will punish him with severe punishment.

[18:88] As for the one who believes and acts righteously, he will have the best (life) as a reward, and we shall speak to him politely in our directions.

[18:89] Thereafter, he followed a course,

[18:90] until when he reached the point of sunrise, he found it rising over a people for whom We did not make any shelter against it.

[18:91] Thus it was, and Our knowledge fully comprehends whatever (wealth and equipment) he had with him.

[18:92] Thereafter he followed a course.

[18:93] until when he reached between the two mountains, he found by them a people who were almost unable to understand anything said.

[18:94] They said, ‘O Dhul-Qarnain, the (tribes of) Ya‘juj and Ma‘juj (Gog and Magog) are mischief-makers on the earth. So, should we assign a tax for you on the condition that you make a barrier between us and them?’

[18:95] He said, What my Lord has (already) given in my control is better enough (for me than the tax you are offering to me), so help me (only) with some (man) power, and I shall make a rampart between you and them.

[18:96] Bring me big pieces of iron.. (They proceeded accordingly) until when he leveled up (the gap) between the two cliffs, he said, Blow.. (They complied) until when he made it (like) fire, he said, Bring me molten copper, and I will pour it upon this.

[18:97] So they (Ya‘juj and Ma‘juj) were not able to climb it, nor were they able to make a hole in it.

[18:98] He said, This is mercy from my Lord. Then, when the promise of my Lord will come, He will make it leveled to the ground. The promise of my Lord is true.

[18:99] And on that day, (i.e. the Doomsday) We will leave them (all the people including Ya‘juj and Ma‘juj) surging over one another. And the Horn shall be blown, then We shall gather them together.

[18:100] And on that day We will bring Jahannam fully exposed before the infidels.

[18:101] whose eyes were under a cover against My reminders, and they were not able to listen.

[18:102] Do, then, the disbelievers deem (it fit) that they take My servants as patrons beside Me? Surely, We have prepared Jahannam as entertainment for the disbelievers.

[18:103] Say, Shall We tell you about the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds?

[18:104] Those are the ones whose effort in the worldly life has gone in vain, while they think they are doing well.

[18:105] Those are the ones who rejected the signs of their Lord and (the concept of) meeting with Him, so their deeds have gone to waste, and We shall assign to them no weight at all.

[18:106] That is their punishment, the Jahannam, for they disbelieved and made My signs and My messengers a mockery.

[18:107] Surely those who believed and did righteous deeds, theirs are the Gardens of Firdaus as entertainment.

[18:108] where they will live forever, and will not wish to move from there.

[18:109] Say, ‘If the ocean were to be ink for (writing) the Words of my Lord, the ocean would have been consumed before the Words of my Lord are exhausted, even though we were to bring another (ocean) like it in addition’.

[18:110] Say, ‘Surely, I am but a human being like you; it is revealed to me that your God is the One God. So the one who hopes to meet his Lord must do the righteous deeds and must not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord’.