Surah Al-Kahf 18:91
سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ · Meccan · Verse 91 of 110
كَذَٰلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبْرًۭا
Translation
And so it was: We knew all about him.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Thus. And We had encompassed all that was with him in knowledge.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the quiet reminder threaded through the story of the mighty ruler, 'ahatna bima ladayhi khubra': God's knowledge fully encompassed everything Dhul-Qarnayn had and did. However great his reach, he was entirely within God's knowledge. Ask yourself: at the height of describing a man of vast power, the verse gently notes that God encompassed him, nothing he possessed or did fell outside God's full awareness. It is the truth that keeps the powerful humble: however far my reach extends, I am always the smaller, wholly known and contained by the One who granted the reach. The garden-owner forgot this and fell; Dhul-Qarnayn is framed by it and stands. Do I act as though my doings are seen and encompassed, or as though, in my little sphere of power, I am unobserved?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Kahf 18:91 is discussed in 3 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 18:91 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.