Surah Al-Kahf 18:41
سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ · Meccan · Verse 41 of 110
أَوْ يُصْبِحَ مَآؤُهَا غَوْرًۭا فَلَن تَسْتَطِيعَ لَهُۥ طَلَبًۭا
Translation
or its water may sink so deep into the ground that you will never be able to reach it again.’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Or its water may sink deep into the earth, so you can never seek it out.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the specific fragility named, the water, the very lifeline of the gardens, could simply drain beyond reach, and with it everything the man built. Ask yourself: the whole flourishing estate depended on one thing continuing, the water, and that one thing was never in the owner's control. It is a parable of every success I build: it rests on some 'water' I did not create and cannot command, my health, the economy, a relationship, the mere continuation of my circumstances. This verse quietly names how a single, unnoticed dependency, if withdrawn, collapses everything. What is the 'water' beneath my own gardens, the one sustaining factor I take for granted, that God alone keeps flowing, and that would end everything if it sank away?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Kahf 18:41 is discussed in 5 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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