Surah Al-Kahf 18:32
سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ · Meccan · Verse 32 of 110
۞ وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلًۭا رَّجُلَيْنِ جَعَلْنَا لِأَحَدِهِمَا جَنَّتَيْنِ مِنْ أَعْنَٰبٍۢ وَحَفَفْنَٰهُمَا بِنَخْلٍۢ وَجَعَلْنَا بَيْنَهُمَا زَرْعًۭا
Translation
Tell them the parable of two men: for one of them We made two gardens of grape vines, surrounded them with date palms, and put corn fields in between;
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Set forth for them a parable of two men: for one of them We made two gardens of grapevines, bordered with palm-trees, with crops between them.' al-Saadi and Ibn Ashur note the story shifts from persecuted believers who had nothing to a man given everything, lush, complete, self-sufficient abundance, as a second kind of test. Ask yourself: the Surface just showed faith tested by hardship (the Cave); now it tests faith by success. I assume abundance is simply a blessing and hardship simply a trial, but here wealth is the exam, and the poor believer is the one who passes. Prosperity is not automatically a reward from God; it can be the harder test. When life gives me 'two gardens', comfort, security, plenty, do I recognise that ease itself is an exam, often more dangerous to my soul than lack?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Kahf 18:32 is discussed in 14 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Kahf 18:32 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.