Surah Al-Kahf 18:69
سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ · Meccan · Verse 69 of 110
قَالَ سَتَجِدُنِىٓ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ صَابِرًۭا وَلَآ أَعْصِى لَكَ أَمْرًۭا
Translation
Moses said, ‘God willing, you will find me patient. I will not disobey you in any way.’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'He said: You will find me, if God wills, patient, and I will not disobey you in any matter.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note Musa's sincere resolve, wisely qualified with 'in sha'Allah', he intends patience but knows it is not fully in his own power; it too depends on God's help. Ask yourself: Musa does not boast 'I will definitely be patient'; he says 'if God wills'. He commits fully while acknowledging that even his own steadiness is granted, not guaranteed by willpower. It is the balance I often miss: to resolve wholeheartedly and to lean on God for the strength to keep the resolve. My good intentions fail partly because I make them in my own name, 'I will do better', without 'if God wills'. Do I hold my resolutions the way Musa held his, genuine and determined, yet humbly aware that even my own follow-through is something I must ask God to grant?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Kahf 18:69 is discussed in 7 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 18:69 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.