18:1  All praise belongs to ALLAH WHO has sent down the Book to HIS servant, and has not placed therein any crookedness

18:2  HE has made it a guardian, that it may give warning of a severe chastisement from HIM, and that it may give the believers, who do good works, the glad tidings that they shall have a goodly reward

18:3  Wherein they will abide forever

18:4  And that it may warn those who say, `ALLAH has taken unto Himself a son.

18:5  No knowledge have they thereof, nor had their fathers. Monstrous is the word that comes out of their mouths. They speak naught but a lie

18:6  So it may be, thou wilt grieve thyself to death sorrowing after them if they believe not in this Discourse

18:7  Verily, WE have made all that is on the earth an ornament for it, that WE may try them as to which of them is the best in conduct

18:8  And WE shall destroy all that is thereon and make it a barren soil

18:9  Dost thou think that the Companions of the Cave and the Inscription were a wonder among Our Signs

18:10  When the young men betook themselves to the Cave for refuge they said, `Our Lord, bestow on us mercy from Thyself, and furnish us with right guidance in our affair.

18:11  So WE prevented them from hearing in the Cave for a number of years

18:12  Then WE raised them up that WE might know which of the two parties would preserve a better reckoning of the time that they tarried

18:13  WE will relate to thee the story with truth. They were young men who believed in their Lord and WE increased them in guidance

18:14  And WE strengthened their hearts when they stood up and said, `Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Never shall we call on any god beside HIM; for if we did so, we would utter a preposterous thing

18:15  `These, our people, have taken for worship other gods beside HIM. Wherefore do they not bring a clear authority regarding them? And who is more unjust than he who invents a lie concerning ALLAH

18:16  `And now when you have withdrawn from them and from that which they worship beside ALLAH, then seek refuge in the cave; your Lord will unfold to you HIS mercy and will provide for you some easy and comfortable course in this affair of yours.

18:17  And thou couldst see the sun, as it rose, move away from their Cave on the right, and when it set, turn away from them on the left; and they were in a spacious hollow thereof. This is among the Signs of ALLAH. He whom ALLAH guides is alone rightly guided; but he whom HE leaves to go astray, for him thou wilt find no helper or guide

18:18  Thou mightest deem them awake, whilst they are asleep; and WE shall cause them to turn over to the right and to the left; their dog stretching out its forelegs on the threshold. If thou hadst had a look at them, thou wouldst surely be filled with awe of them

18:19  And so WE raised them up that they might question one another. One of them said, `How long have you tarried?' They said, `We have tarried a day or part of a day.' Others said, `Your Lord knows best the time you have tarried. Now send one of you with these silver coins of yours to the city; and let him see which of the inhabitants has the purest food, and let him bring you provisions thereof. And let him be courteous but let him not inform anyone about you

18:20  `For, if they should prevail against you, they would stone you or force you to return to their religion and then you will never prosper.

18:21  And thus did WE disclose them to the people that they might know that the promise of ALLAH was true, and that, as to the promised Hour, there was no doubt about it. And call to mind the time when people disputed among themselves concerning them, and said to each other, `Build over them a building.' Their Lord knew them best. `We will, surely, build a place of worship over them.

18:22  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.' 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

18:23  And say not of anything, `I shall do that tomorrow,

18:24  Unless ALLAH should will. And remember thy Lord when thou forgetest and say, `I hope my Lord will guide me to what is even nearer than this to the right path.

18:25  And they stayed in their Cave three hundred years and to that they added nine

18:26  Say, `ALLAH knows best how long they tarried.' To HIM belong the secrets of the heavens and the earth. How Seeing is HE, and how Hearing ! They have no helper beside HIM, and HE does not let anyone share in HIS judgment

18:27  And recite what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord. There is none who can change HIS words, and thou wilt find no refuge beside HIM

18:28  And keep thyself attached to those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking HIS pleasure; and let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the adornment of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart WE have made heedless of OUR remembrance and who follows his low desires, and his case exceeds all legitimate bounds

18:29  And say, `It is the truth from your Lord; wherefore let him who will, believe, and let him, who will, disbelieve.' Verily, WE have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire whose flaming canopy shall enclose them. And if they cry for help, they will be helped with water like molten lead which would scale their faces. How dreadful the drink and how evil the resting place

18:30  Verily, those who believe and do good works - surely WE suffer not the reward of those who do good works to be lost

18:31  It is these who will have Gardens of Eternity underneath which streams shall flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of fine silk and heavy brocade, reclining therein upon raised couches. How good the reward and how excellent the place of rest

18:32  And set forth for them the parable of two men - one of them WE provided with two gardens of grapes and surrounded them with date-palms, and between the two WE placed cornfields

18:33  Each of the gardens yielded its fruits in abundance and failed not the least therein. And in between the two WE caused a stream to flow

18:34  And he had fruit in abundance. And he said to his companion boastfully, arguing with him, `I am richer than thou in wealth and stronger in respect of men.

18:35  And he entered his garden while he was wronging his soul. He said, `I do not think that this will ever perish

18:36  `And I do not think the promised Hour will ever come. And even if I am ever brought back to my Lord, I shall, surely, find a better resort than this.

18:37  His companion said to him while he was arguing with him, `Dost thou not believe in HIM who created thee first from dust, then fashioned thee into a perfect man

18:38  `But as for me, I believe that ALLAH alone is my Lord, and I will not associate anyone with my Lord

18:39  `And why didst thou not say when thou didst enter thy garden, `Only that which ALLAH wills comes to pass. There is no power save in ALLAH,' if thou seest me as less than thyself in riches and offspring

18:40  `It may be, my Lord will grant me something better than thy garden, and will send on thy garden a thunderbolt from heaven so that it will become bare slippery ground

18:41  `Or its water will dry up so that thou wilt not be able to find it.

18:42  And his fruit was totally destroyed, and he began to wring his hands bewailing all that he had spent on it, and it had fallen down on its trellises. And he said, `Would that I had not associated anyone with my Lord

18:43  And he had no party to help him against ALLAH, nor was he able to defend himself

18:44  In such a case protection comes only from ALLAH, the True. He is Best in rewarding and Best in respect of the final outcome

18:45  And set forth for them the similitude of the life of this world. It is like water which WE send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth is mingled with it, and then it becomes dry grass broken into pieces which the winds scatter, and ALLAH has full power over everything

18:46  Wealth and children are ornaments of the life of this world. But enduring good works are better in the sight of thy Lord in respect of immediate reward, and better in respect of future hope

18:47  And bethink of the day when WE shall remove the mountains and thou wilt see the nations of the earth march forth against one another and WE shall gather them all together and shall not leave any one of them behind

18:48  And they will be presented to thy Lord standing in rows; and it will be said to them, `Now have you come to US as WE created you at first. But you thought that WE would not appoint a time for the fulfillment of OUR promise to you.

18:49  And the Book of their deeds will be placed before them, and thou wilt see the guilty ones fearful at what is therein; and they will say, `O woe to us ! What kind of Book is this ! It leaves out nothing small or great but has recorded it.' And they will find all that they did confronting them, and thy Lord does not wrong anyone

18:50  And call to mind the time when WE said to the angels, `Submit to Adam,' and they all submitted but Iblis did not. HE was one of the jinn; and he disobeyed the command of his Lord. Will you than take him and his offspring for friends instead of ME while they are your enemies? Evil is the exchange for the wrongdoers

18:51  I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation; nor could I take as helpers those who lead people astray

18:52  And remember the day when HE will say to them, `Call those whom you deemed to be MY partners.' Then will they call on them, but they will not answer them; and WE shall place a barrier between them

18:53  And the guilty shall see the fire and realize that they are going to fall therein; and they shall find no escape therefrom

18:54  And, surely, WE have explained in various ways in this Qur'an for the good of mankind all manner of similitudes, but of all things man is most contentious

18:55  And nothing hinders people from believing when the guidance comes to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, but that they wait for the fate of the ancients to overtake them or that punishment should come upon them face to face

18:56  And WE sent not the Messengers but as bearers of glad tidings and as Warners. And those who disbelieve content by means of falsehood that they may rebut the truth thereby. And they take MY Signs and what they are warned of only a jest

18:57  And who is more unjust than he who is reminded of the Signs of his Lord, but turns away from them, and forgets what his hands have sent forward? Verily, WE have placed veils over their hearts that they understand it not and in their ears a deafness. And if thou call them to guidance, they will never accept t

18:58  And thy Lord is Most Forgiving, Lord of Mercy. If HE were to seize them for what they have earned, then surely HE would have hastened the punishment for them. But they have an appointed time from which they will find no refug

18:59  And these towns - WE destroyed them when they committed iniquities. And WE appointed a time for their destruction

18:60  And remember the time when Moses said to his young companion, `I will not cease pursuing my course until I reach the junction of the two seas, though I may have to journey on for ages

18:61  But when they reached the place where the two seas met, they forgot their fish and it made its way into the sea going away quickly

18:62  And when they had gone beyond that place, he said to his young companion, `Bring us our morning meal. Surely, we have suffered much fatigue on account of this journey of ours.

18:63  He replied, `Didst thou see, when we betook ourselves to the rock for rest and I forgot the fish - and none but Satan caused me to forget to mention it to thee - it took its way into the sea in a marvelous manner

18:64  He said, `That is what we have been seeking.' So they both returned, retracing their footsteps

18:65  Then they found a servant of OURS, upon whom WE had bestowed mercy from US, and whom WE had taught knowledge from Ourselves

18:66  Moses said to him, `May I follow thee on condition that thou teach me some of the guidance which thou hast been taught?

18:67  He replied, `Thou canst not have patience with me

18:68  `And how can thou have patience about the things the knowledge of which thou comprehendest not?

18:69  He said, `Thou wilt find me, if ALLAH please, patient and I shall not disobey any command of thine.

18:70  He said, `Well, if thou wouldst follow me, then ask me no questions about anything till I myself speak to thee about it.

18:71  So they both set out till, when they embarked in a boat, he made a hole in it. Moses said, `Hast thou made a hole in it to drown those who are in it? Surely, thou hast done a grievous thing.

18:72  He replied, `Did I not tell thee that thou canst not have patience with me?

18:73  Moses said, `Take me not to task for what I forgot and be not hard on me for this lapse of mine.

18:74  So they journeyed on till when they met a young boy; he slew him. Moses said, `What ! hast thou slain an innocent person without his having slain anyone ! Surely, thou hast done a hideous thing.

18:75  He replied, `Did I not tell thee that thou couldst never bear with me patiently?

18:76  Moses said, `If I ask thee concerning anything after this, keep me not in thy company, for then thou shalt have got sufficient excuse from me.

18:77  So they went on till, when they came to the people of a town, they asked its people for food, but they refused to receive them as their guests. And they found therein a wall which was about to fall and he repaired it. Moses said, If thou hadst so desired, thou couldst have taken payment for it.

18:78  He said, `This is the parting of the ways between me and thee. I will tell thee the meaning of that which thou wast not able to bear with patience

18:79  `As for the boat, it belonged to certain poor people who worked on the sea and I desired to damage it, for there was behind them a king who seized every boat by force

18:80  `And as for the youth, his parents were believers, and we feared lest on growing up he should involve them into trouble through rebellion and disbelief

18:81  `So we desired that their Lord should give them in exchange one better than he in purity and closer in filial affection

18:82  `And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town, and beneath it was a treasure belonging to them, and their father had been a righteous man, so thy Lord desired that they should reach their age of full strength and take out their treasure, as a mercy from thy Lord and I did it not of my own accord. This is the explanation of that which thou could not bear with patience.

18:83  And they ask thee concerning Dhu'l Qarnain. Say, `I will recite to you something of his account.

18:84  WE established him in the earth and gave him the means to achieve everything

18:85  The he followed a certain way

18:86  Until when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting as if in a pool of murky water, and near it he found a people. WE said, `O Dhu'l Qarnain, you may punish them, or treat them with kindness.

18:87  He said, `As for him who does wrong, we shall certainly punish him; then shall he be brought back to his Lord, who will punish him with a dreadful punishment

18:88  `But as for him who believes and act righteously, he will have a good reward with his Lord, and We too shall speak to him easy words of Our command.

18:89  Then indeed he followed another way

18:90  Until he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom WE had made no shelter against it

18:91  Thus indeed it was. Verily, WE had full knowledge of all that he had with him

18:92  Then he followed another way

18:93  Until when he reached the open place between the two mountain mountains, he found, beneath them a people who could scarcely understand a word of what he said

18:94  They said, `O Dhu'l Qarnain, verily, Gog and Magog are creating disorder in the earth; shall we then pay tribute on condition that thou set up a barrier between us and them?

18:95  He replied, `The power with which my Lord has endowed me about this is better than the resources of my enemies but you may help me with strength of labourers, I will set up a rampart between you and them

18:96  `Bring me blocks of iron.' They did so till, when he had filled up the space between the two mountains sides, he said, `Now blow with your bellows.' They blew till, when he had made it red as fire, he said, `Bring me molten copper that I may pour it thereon.

18:97  So they (Gog and Magog) were not able to scale it, nor were they able to dig through it

18:98  Thereupon he said, `This is a mercy from my Lord. But when the promise of my Lord shall come to pass, HE will break it into pieces. And the promise of my Lord is certainly true.

18:99  And on that day WE shall leave some of them to surge against others, and the trumpet will be blown. Then shall WE gather them all together

18:100  And on that day WE shall present Hell, face to face, to the disbeliever

18:101  Whose eyes were under a veil, not heeding MY reminder and they could not even afford to hear

18:102  Do the disbelievers think that they can take MY servants as protectors instead of ME? Surely, WE have prepared Hell as an entertainment for the disbelievers

18:103  Say, `Shall WE tell you of those who are the greatest losers in respect of their works.

18:104  `Those whose labour is all lost in pursuit of the life of this world, and yet they imagine that they are doing good works.

18:105  Those are they who deny the Signs of their Lord and the meeting with HIM. So their works are vain, and on the Day of Resurrection WE shall give them no weight

18:106  That is their reward - Hell; because they disbelieved, and made a jest of MY Signs and MY Messengers

18:107  Surely, those who believe and act righteously, will have Gardens of Paradise for an abode

18:108  Wherein they will abide; having no desire to be removed therefrom

18:109  Say, `If every ocean become ink for the words of my Lord, surely, the ocean would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even though WE brought the like thereof as further help.

18:110  Say, I am but a man like yourselves; but it is revealed to me that your God is One God. So let him who hopes to meet his Lord, do good deeds, and let him join no one in the worship of his Lord