سُوْرَةُ الْكَهْفِ
Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 14
وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُوا۟ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ لَن نَّدْعُوَا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ إِلَـٰهًا ۖ لَّقَدْ قُلْنَآ إِذًا شَطَطًا ﴿14﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And We made their hearts firm and strong (with the light of Faith in Allâh and bestowed upon them patience to bear the separation of their kith and kin and dwellings) when they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, never shall we call upon any ilâh (god) other than Him; if we did, we should indeed have uttered an enormity in disbelief.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَرَبَطْنَا
warabaṭnā
And We made firm
عَلَىٰ
ʿalā
[on]
قُلُوبِهِمْ
qulūbihim
their hearts
إِذْ
idh
when
قَامُوا۟
qāmū
they stood up
فَقَالُوا۟
faqālū
and said
رَبُّنَا
rabbunā
Our Lord
رَبُّ
rabbu
(is) the Lord
ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ
l-samāwāti
(of) the heavens
وَٱلْأَرْضِ
wal-arḍi
and the earth
لَن
lan
Never
نَّدْعُوَا۟
nadʿuwā
we will invoke
مِن
min
besides Him
دُونِهِۦٓ
dūnihi
besides Him
إِلَـٰهًۭا ۖ
ilāhan
any god
لَّقَدْ
laqad
Certainly
قُلْنَآ
qul'nā
we would have said
إِذًۭا
idhan
then
شَطَطًا
shaṭaṭan
an enormity
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim — Hafiz Abdus Salam Bin Muhammad Bhutvi
Tafsir al-Quran al-Karim is a 4-volume Quran commentary by Hafiz Abdus Salam bin Muhammad Bhutvi, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar and Sheikh ul-Hadith from Pakistan. Based on over 45 years of teaching and research, this tafsir follows the methodology of Tafsir bil-Ma'thur — interpreting the Quran through authentic Hadith, statements of the Companions, and the understanding of the early generations (Salaf). It is distinguished by its complete avoidance of Israeliyyat (Judeo-Christian narratives) and unverified reports. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
(Ayah 14) ➊ The meaning of {وَ رَبَطْنَا عَلٰى قُلُوْبِهِمْ : ’’ رَبْطٌ ‘‘ } is "to bind," that is, to protect them from the fear and anxiety that was expected due to the king and the people's intimidation, We bound their hearts, which made them strong. Just as scattered things are put into a bundle and tied tightly with a knot so that they do not scatter, similarly, by Allah binding their hearts, they were protected from every kind of fear at the time of speaking the truth.
➋ { اِذْ قَامُوْا فَقَالُوْا رَبُّنَا رَبُّ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ … :} means that when they stood before the king in his full court and openly declared that neither do we accept the king as our Lord nor your idols, but rather, we accept as our Lord the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who existed thousands and millions of years before them. This was a declaration of the Oneness of Lordship, that there is only one Lord. "And we will never call upon any deity other than Him"—this is a declaration of the Oneness of Worship, that we will worship only Him, pray only to Him, hope only from Him, and fear only Him. If we accept the king or his idols as Lord or deity, then at that time we would be saying something extremely excessive. The tanween on {’’ شَطَطًا ‘‘} is for emphasis, because there is no greater injustice or excess than shirk. Thus, this verse and the saying of Luqman (peace be upon him) in Surah Luqman (13): «اِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيْمٌ» have the same meaning. Another meaning of {’’ اِذْ قَامُوْا ‘‘} is that when they firmly resolved to abandon the false beliefs and actions of their people and stood up with the call to monotheism and delivered the speech that is mentioned ahead.
➋ { اِذْ قَامُوْا فَقَالُوْا رَبُّنَا رَبُّ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ … :} means that when they stood before the king in his full court and openly declared that neither do we accept the king as our Lord nor your idols, but rather, we accept as our Lord the Lord of the heavens and the earth, who existed thousands and millions of years before them. This was a declaration of the Oneness of Lordship, that there is only one Lord. "And we will never call upon any deity other than Him"—this is a declaration of the Oneness of Worship, that we will worship only Him, pray only to Him, hope only from Him, and fear only Him. If we accept the king or his idols as Lord or deity, then at that time we would be saying something extremely excessive. The tanween on {’’ شَطَطًا ‘‘} is for emphasis, because there is no greater injustice or excess than shirk. Thus, this verse and the saying of Luqman (peace be upon him) in Surah Luqman (13): «اِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيْمٌ» have the same meaning. Another meaning of {’’ اِذْ قَامُوْا ‘‘} is that when they firmly resolved to abandon the false beliefs and actions of their people and stood up with the call to monotheism and delivered the speech that is mentioned ahead.
