سُوْرَةُ الْكَهْفِ
Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 25
وَلَبِثُوا۟ فِى كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَـٰثَ مِا۟ئَةٍ سِنِينَ وَٱزْدَادُوا۟ تِسْعًا ﴿25﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years, adding nine (for lunar years). (Tafsir Al-Qurtubi)
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَلَبِثُوا۟
walabithū
And they remained
فِى
fī
in
كَهْفِهِمْ
kahfihim
their cave
ثَلَـٰثَ
thalātha
(for) three
مِا۟ئَةٍۢ
mi-atin
hundred
سِنِينَ
sinīna
years
وَٱزْدَادُوا۟
wa-iz'dādū
and add
تِسْعًۭا
tis'ʿan
nine
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
25. 1. The majority of commentators have considered this to be the statement of Allah. According to the solar calendar, it amounts to three hundred years, and according to the lunar calendar, it becomes three hundred and nine years. Some scholars are of the opinion that this is the statement of those people who mention their various numbers, the evidence for which is Allah’s statement: "that Allah alone has full knowledge of their stay," which, according to them, negates the aforementioned period. But according to the majority’s interpretation, its meaning is that if the People of the Book or anyone else disagrees with the stated period, then you should say to them: Do you know better or Allah? When He has stated the period as three hundred and nine years, then this is authentic, because He alone knows how long they stayed in the cave.
