سُوْرَةُ الْكَهْفِ
Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 65
فَوَجَدَا عَبْدًا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَآ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ رَحْمَةً مِّنْ عِندِنَا وَعَلَّمْنَـٰهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا ﴿65﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Then they found one of Our slaves, on whom We had bestowed mercy from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Us.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
فَوَجَدَا
fawajadā
Then they found
عَبْدًۭا
ʿabdan
a servant
مِّنْ
min
from
عِبَادِنَآ
ʿibādinā
Our servants
ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ
ātaynāhu
whom We had given
رَحْمَةًۭ
raḥmatan
mercy
مِّنْ
min
from
عِندِنَا
ʿindinā
Us
وَعَلَّمْنَـٰهُ
waʿallamnāhu
and We had taught him
مِن
min
from
لَّدُنَّا
ladunnā
Us
عِلْمًۭا
ʿil'man
a knowledge
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.
65. 1 By "this servant" is meant Khidr, as clarified in authentic ahadith. Khidr means green and flourishing; once he sat on a white piece of land, and that part of the land beneath him became green and lush, which is why he was named Khidr (Sahih Bukhari, Tafsir Surah Kahf).
65. 2 By رَحْمَۃ, the commentators have meant those special favors which Allah bestowed upon this special servant of His, and most commentators have taken this to mean prophethood.
65. 3 This refers to a knowledge other than the knowledge of prophethood, which Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) also possessed; it is a knowledge of certain special matters which Allah had granted only to Khidr, and even Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) did not have that knowledge. Based on this, some Sufis claim that Allah grants some people, who are not prophets, knowledge through inspiration, which is the result of a direct source of grace without a teacher, and this inner knowledge is different from the apparent knowledge of Shariah, which exists in the form of the Quran and Hadith, and sometimes even opposes and contradicts it. But this reasoning is not correct because, regarding Khidr, Allah Himself has clarified the granting of this special knowledge, whereas for anyone else, there is no such clarification anywhere. If this were generalized, then every trickster could make such a claim, and indeed, such claims are common in this group. Therefore, such claims have no validity.
65. 2 By رَحْمَۃ, the commentators have meant those special favors which Allah bestowed upon this special servant of His, and most commentators have taken this to mean prophethood.
65. 3 This refers to a knowledge other than the knowledge of prophethood, which Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) also possessed; it is a knowledge of certain special matters which Allah had granted only to Khidr, and even Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) did not have that knowledge. Based on this, some Sufis claim that Allah grants some people, who are not prophets, knowledge through inspiration, which is the result of a direct source of grace without a teacher, and this inner knowledge is different from the apparent knowledge of Shariah, which exists in the form of the Quran and Hadith, and sometimes even opposes and contradicts it. But this reasoning is not correct because, regarding Khidr, Allah Himself has clarified the granting of this special knowledge, whereas for anyone else, there is no such clarification anywhere. If this were generalized, then every trickster could make such a claim, and indeed, such claims are common in this group. Therefore, such claims have no validity.
