Surah Al-Kahf 18:5 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection

مَّا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍۢ وَلَا لِءَابَآئِهِمْ ۚ كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةًۭ تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَٰهِهِمْ ۚ إِن يَقُولُونَ إِلَّا كَذِبًۭا

English: They have no knowledge about this, nor did their forefathers––it is a monstrous assertion that comes out of their mouths: what they say is nothing but lies.

Bengali: এ সম্পর্কে তাদের কোন জ্ঞান নেই এবং তাদের পিতৃপুরুষদেরও নেই। কত কঠিন তাদের মুখের কথা। তারা যা বলে তা তো সবই মিথ্যা।

Meaning & Reflection

'They have no knowledge of it, nor did their forefathers. Monstrous is the word that comes from their mouths; they speak nothing but a lie.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note the claim rests on nothing — no knowledge, only inherited assertion — yet 'kaburat kalima', it is a *grave* word, weighty in its falsehood. Ask yourself: how many of my own convictions rest on exactly this — 'no knowledge', only what I inherited, absorbed, or never examined, repeated with confidence? The verse warns that a word can be spoken casually and yet be monstrous in weight. It presses me to trace my strongest claims about God and reality back to their source: are they built on real knowledge, or am I, too, confidently repeating what I never actually verified?

Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur.

Reflect with the Five Lenses

Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Al-Kahf 18:5:

• Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
• Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
• Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
• Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
• General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?