Surah Al-Kahf 18:26
سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ · Meccan · Verse 26 of 110
قُلِ ٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثُوا۟ ۖ لَهُۥ غَيْبُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ أَبْصِرْ بِهِۦ وَأَسْمِعْ ۚ مَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ مِن وَلِىٍّۢ وَلَا يُشْرِكُ فِى حُكْمِهِۦٓ أَحَدًۭا
Translation
Say [Prophet], ‘God knows best how long they stayed.’ His is the knowledge of all that is hidden in the heavens and earth- How well He sees! How well He hears!- and they have no one to protect them other than Him; He does not allow anyone to share His rule.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Say: God knows best how long they remained. To Him belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth. How well He sees and hears! They have no protector besides Him, and He shares His rule with no one.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note the verse closes the debate over the number of years by handing it entirely to God's knowledge, and expands into His total, unshared dominion over all the unseen. Ask yourself: the endless human wrangling over 'how long, how many, exactly when' is dissolved in a single move, 'God knows best', not as a dodge but as the truest answer to questions He alone can settle. It frees me from the compulsion to have a verdict on everything. There is deep rest in being allowed to say, sincerely, 'God knows best', and to stop straining after certainties that were never mine to hold. Where would 'God knows best' free me from an exhausting need to be right?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur.
Topics that discuss this verse
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