18:1  All praise belongs to God, the One Who sent down the book to His servant, and did not place any distortion in it.

18:2  Straight (and without any distortion) to warn of a severe punishment from Him and to give good news to the believers who do good that there will be a good reward for them,

18:3  staying in it forever.

18:4  And warns those who say that God took a child.

18:5  They have no knowledge of it, and neither did their fathers. The word coming out of their mouths is (extremely) serious. They only say a lie.

18:6  And you may kill yourself from grief over their actions if they do not believe in this saying.

18:7  And We made all that is on the earth as decoration for it, so that We test them as to which one of them does better work.

18:8  And indeed (eventually) We shall make whatever is on it (into) a barren wasteland.

18:9  Did you think that inhabitants of the cave and the inscription were among Our amazing signs?

18:10  When the youths took shelter in the cave, then they said: “Our Lord, give us mercy from Yourself and prepare for us the right way in our affair.”

18:11  And We sealed their ears (and made them sleep) in the cave for a number of years.

18:12  Then We woke them up, so that We know which of the two parties was better at counting the time they stayed (asleep).

18:13  We tell you their story in truth. Indeed, they were youths who believed in their Lord and We increased their guidance.

18:14  And We strengthened their hearts with patience when they stood up, and they said: “Our Lord is the Lord of the skies and the earth, we will never call on any god other than Him, (for if we did) then we have certainly said an outrageous (word).

18:15  These are our people who have taken gods besides Him. Why do they not bring a clear reason for them?” Who is more wrong than someone who makes up a lie and attributes it to God?

18:16  And (they told each other:) “When you stay away from them and what they serve besides God, then take shelter in the cave, so your Lord opens up His mercy upon you and set up ease for you in your affair.”

18:17  And you would see the sun when it rose, it turned toward the right side of their cave, and when it set, it passed them from the left, while they were in the spacious part of it (in the middle of the cave). That is among God’s signs. Whomever God guides, he is guided, and whomever He misguides then you will never find any guardian for him guiding him to the right way.

18:18  And you would think of them as awake while they were sleeping, and We turned them to the right and to the left, and their dog stretched out its forelegs toward the entrance. Had you found out about them you would have turned away from them escaping and you would have been filled with fear of them.

18:19  And that is how We woke them up, so that they may ask each other (how long they were sleeping). A spokesperson among them said: “How long did you stay (like this)?” They said: “We stayed a day or part of a day.” They said: “Your Lord knows better how long you stayed. So, send one of you with this money of yours to the city, then he should see which of them has the cleanest food, then he should bring you a supply of it, and he should be careful and let no one find out about you.

18:20  Indeed, if they learn about you, they stone you or make you return to their faith and you will never ever prosper.”

18:21  And that is how We made (others) acquainted with them, so they know that God’s promise is true and that there is no doubt about the Hour. When they disputed about their affair among themselves, they said: “Build a structure over them, their Lord knows better about them.” Those who won (the argument) about their affair said: “We shall build a temple over them.”

18:22  (Some) will say: “Three, their fourth being their dog.” While (others) will say: “Five, their sixth being their dog.” Throwing stone in the dark, and (others) will say: “Seven, their eighth being their dog.” Say: “My Lord knows their number better, as only a few know them (their number), so do not argue about them except in a superficial argument, and do not ask opinion of any of them about them.”

18:23  And do not say about anything: “I will do that tomorrow.”

18:24  Unless (you say:) “If God wants.” And remember your Lord when you forget and say: “Perhaps my Lord will guide me to (a way) closer to the right way than this.”

18:25  And they stayed in their cave three hundred years, and add nine (if counting in lunar years).

18:26  Say: “God knows better how long they stayed, the unseen of the skies and the earth belongs to Him, and how well He sees and He hears! They do not have any protector other than Him, and He does not make anyone partner in His command (and statute).”

18:27  And read what has been revealed to you from your Lord’s book. No one can change His words, and you will never find any refuge besides Him.

18:28  And be patient with those who call on their Lord in the morning and the evening, looking for His pleasure (and His attention), and do not overlook them wanting luxury of this world’s life, and do not obey anyone whom We made his heart neglect remembering Us, and follows his desires and he is excessive in his affairs.

18:29  And say: “The truth is from your Lord, so anyone who wants (to believe) let him believe and anyone who wants (to disbelieve) let him disbelieve.” Indeed, We have prepared a fire for the wrongdoers that its canopy surrounds them. And if they ask for help, they will be helped with water like melted metal (or burning oil) that burns the faces. It is a miserable drink and a bad place to rest.

18:30  Indeed, those who believe and do good, (know that) We would not waste the reward of anyone who does good.

18:31  They will have eternal gardens, which rivers flow through them, in there they are decorated with bracelets of gold, and they wear clothes of green fine silk and heavy silk (brocade), and they lean on sofas in there. What a good reward and a good resting place.

18:32  And give them an example of two men. We gave two gardens of grapes to one of them and We enclosed them with date palms, and We placed a plantation between them.

18:33  Both gardens yielded their produce, and did not fail in that at all, and We made a river flow through them.

18:34  And (their) produce was for him. Then he said to his friend while talking to him: “I am wealthier than you and I am more powerful in (number of) men.”

18:35  And he entered his garden while he was wrong to himself, he said: “I do not think that this (garden) will ever ruin,

18:36  and I do not think the Hour will establish, and even if I am returned to my Lord, I shall certainly find better than this in return.”

18:37  His friend said to him while talking to him: “Do you disbelieve in the One Who created you from dust, then from fertilized egg (zygote), then He shaped you as a man?

18:38  But as for me, (I say:) “God is my Lord and I do not associate anyone (as partner) with my Lord.”

18:39  And when you entered your garden, why did you not say: “Whatever God wants, there is no power except by God”? If you see me (having) less than you in wealth and children,

18:40  then perhaps my Lord gives me better than your garden and sends a thunderbolt from the sky on it, so it becomes a slippery wasteland,

18:41  or its water dries up, and you can never reclaim it.”

18:42  And his produce was surrounded (by destruction), then he began to twirl his hands (in regret) over what he had spent in it, and now it had fallen down on its trellises, and he said: “I wish I had not associated anyone with my Lord.”

18:43  And there was not any group to help him besides God, and he could not help himself.

18:44  There (he realized that) the protection belongs to the true God, He is the best (in reward) and is the best (in) outcome.

18:45  And give them the example of this world’s life: “It is like rain that We send down from the sky, then the plants of the earth mix with it (and grow), then it becomes dry fragments of plants scattered by the wind. And God is able to do everything.”

18:46  Wealth and children are decoration (and luxuries) of this world’s life while the lasting good (works) are better as a reward from your Lord and better to hope for.

18:47  And on the day We set the mountains in motion, and you see the earth appears as a flatland, and We gather them, and We do not leave any one of them out,

18:48  and they are presented to your Lord in rows (and they will be told:) “You have certainly come to Us as We created you the first time, but you claimed that We would never make an appointment time for you.”

18:49  And the book (of records) is placed, then you see the guilty ones afraid of what is in it, and they say: “Woe to us, what is with this book that does not leave out any small or any large (deed) without taking it into account?” And they will find whatever they did present (in the book), and your Lord does not wrong anyone.

18:50  And (remember) when We said to the angels to be humble to Adam, then they (all) humbled except Iblis (Satan) who was of the Jinn, so He disobeyed his Lord’s order. Do you take him and his descendants as your supporters instead of Me while they are your enemies? What a miserable exchange for the wrongdoers.

18:51  I did not make them witness the creation of the skies and the earth or creation of themselves, and I did not take those who misguide as an assistant.

18:52  And on a day when He says: “Call out those whom you claimed to be My partners,” then they call on them, but they would not answer them, and We put a place of destruction between them.

18:53  And the guilty ones see the fire and they think indeed they are to fall into it, and they do not find any escape from it.

18:54  And in this Quran, We have certainly explained all kinds of examples in various ways for people. And human being, more than anything, is argumentative.

18:55  And nothing prevents people from believing when the guidance comes to them and asking forgiveness from their Lord except that (they expect) the ways of the earlier ones come to them, or the punishment comes to them face to face.

18:56  We did not send the messengers except as givers of good news and warners. And those who disbelieve argue with falsehood to disprove the truth with it, and they take My signs and what they were warned as a joke.

18:57  And who is more wrong than someone who is reminded of his Lord's signs then he stays away from them and forgets what his hands have sent ahead (what he did)? Indeed, We have placed a cover on their hearts that they do not understand it (Quran) and a deafness in their ears (so they do not listen to it), and if you call them to the guidance they will never ever be guided.

18:58  And your Lord is the forgiving, having mercy. If He was to take them to account for what they have done, He would have certainly rushed the punishment for them, but there is an appointed time for them, from which they never find a refuge.

18:59  And We destroyed those towns when they did wrong, and We set an appointed time for their destruction.

18:60  And (remember) when Moses said to his young companion: “I continue on until I reach the junction of the two seas, or I go on for a long time.”

18:61  So, when they reached the junction of the two (seas), they forgot their fish and it took its way drifting into the sea.

18:62  So, when they went beyond (the junction), he said to his young companion: “Bring us our meal, we have certainly got tired in this trip of ours.”

18:63  He said: “Did you notice that when we stayed on the rock, and I forgot the fish? Only Satan made me forget to mention it, and it amazingly took its way into the sea.”

18:64  He (Moses) said: “That is where we were looking for.” So, they returned backtracking on their footsteps.

18:65  Then they found a servant from Our servants whom We had given him kindness from Us and taught him (some) knowledge from Us.

18:66  Moses said to him: “May I follow you that you teach me from what you were taught of good sense (and knowledge)?”

18:67  He said: “You can never be patient with me,

18:68  how can you be patient about something that you do not completely understand it?”

18:69  He (Moses) said: “God willing, you are going to find me patient and I will not disobey you in any matter.”

18:70  He said: “So if you follow me, then do not ask me about anything until I bring up mentioning it for you.”

18:71  So, they went on until they got on the boat, and he made a hole in it. He (Moses) said: “Did you make a hole in it to drown its passengers? You have certainly committed a terrible thing.”

18:72  He said: “Did I not tell you that you can never be patient with me?”

18:73  He (Moses) said: “Forgive me for what I forgot, and do not make me suffer difficulty (and do not be hard on me) in my affair.”

18:74  So, they went on until they met a young man, then he killed him. He (Moses) said: “Did you kill an innocent person without (him killing) a person? You have certainly done an awful thing.”

18:75  He said: “Did I not tell you that you can never be patient with me?”

18:76  He (Moses) said: “If I ask you about anything after this, then do not keep me in your company, for you have got an excuse against me.”

18:77  So, they went on until they came to the inhabitants of a town, they asked its inhabitants for food, but they refused to entertain them. Then they found a wall in there which was about to fall down, so he set it up straight. He (Moses) said: “If you wanted, you could have taken a wage for it.”

18:78  He said: “This is the separation (time) between me and you. I am going to tell you the interpretation of what you could not be patient about.

18:79  As for the boat, it belonged to some needy people working in the sea, then I decided to damage it because a king was after them who would take every boat by force.

18:80  As for the young man, his parents were believers, and we feared (based on our knowledge) that he would push them to rebellious and disbelief.

18:81  So, we wanted their Lord to substitute a better (son) for them than him in integrity and closer to kindness.

18:82  And as for the wall, it belonged to two young orphan boys in the city, and under it there was a treasure for them, and their father was righteous, so your Lord decided that they should reach their maturity to take out their treasure as a kindness from your Lord. And I did not do that (all that you saw) on my own accord. This is the interpretation of what you could not be patient about.”

18:83  And they ask you about Zul-Qarnain. Say: “I will tell you something about him.”

18:84  Indeed, We established him on the earth, and we gave him the means of everything.

18:85  Then he followed a way,

18:86  until he reached where the sun sets, he found (perceived) it setting into a dark murky spring, and he found a (group of) people by it. We said: “Zul-Qarnain, would you punish them, or would you treat them with goodness?”

18:87  He said: “As for anyone who does wrong, I will punish him then he is returned to his Lord and He punishes him with an awful punishment,

18:88  and as for anyone who believes and does good, there is a good reward for him, and we are going to say an easy order for him.”

18:89  Then he followed (another) way,

18:90  until he reached where the sun rises, he found it rising on a (group of) people that We did not make them any cover other than it (the sun).

18:91  That is how it was, and We definitely had full knowledge of what he had (as well as his condition and state of mind).

18:92  Then he followed (another) way,

18:93  until he reached between the two obstacles (mountains), besides them he found a (group of) people who almost did not understand (his) word.

18:94  They said: “Zul-Qarnain, indeed Ya’juj (Gog) and Ma’juj (Magog) commit corruption on the land, so may we give you a payment that you make an obstacle between us and them?”

18:95  He said: “What my Lord established me in is better, so help me with manpower, I make a barricade between you and them,

18:96  bring me chunks of the iron.” Until he leveled between the two mountains. He said: “Blow (with bellows).” Until he made it (look) as fire. He said: “Bring me melted copper to pour over it.”

18:97  So, they (Ya’juj and Ma’juj) could not climb it and they could not dig through it.

18:98  He said: “This is a mercy from my Lord, then when the promise of my Lord comes, He will level it to the ground, and my Lord’s promise is true.”

18:99  And on that day, We leave some of them to ripple through the others, and the horn is blown, then We gather them altogether.

18:100  And on that day, We present hell to the disbelievers in plain view,

18:101  those whose eyes were in a cover from My remembrance, and they could not hear (the truth).

18:102  Do those who disbelieve think that they (can) take My servants as their protectors instead of Me? Indeed, We have prepared hell for the disbelievers as a reception.

18:103  Say: “Should We inform you about the worst losers' actions?

18:104  Those whose effort is lost in this world’s life, and they think indeed they do good.”

18:105  They are those who disbelieve in their Lord's signs and in meeting Him (in the Hereafter), so their works become useless, and We do not assign any weight to them on the Resurrection Day.

18:106  That is their payback, hell, because they disbelieved and took My signs and My messengers as a joke.

18:107  Indeed, those who believe and do good, they will have the gardens of paradise as a reception,

18:108  remaining in there forever, and they will not look for moving from it.

18:109  Say: “If the sea becomes ink for (writing) the words of my Lord, the sea will certainly run out before the words of my Lord run out, even if we bring another (sea) like it as help.”

18:110  Say: “I am only a human being like you, it is revealed to me that your god is the One god, so whoever is hoping to meet his Lord, then he should do good and he should not make any partner in serving his Lord.”