Surah Al-Kahf Ayat 55 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 55
And nothing has prevented the people from believing when guidance came to them and from asking forgiveness of their Lord except that there [must] befall them the [accustomed] precedent of the former peoples or that the punishment should come [directly] before them.
And what is there to keep back men from believing, now that Guidance has come to them, nor from praying for forgiveness from their Lord, but that (they ask that) the ways of the ancients be repeated with them, or the Wrath be brought to them face to face?
What is it that prevented mankind from believing when the guidance came to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, except that they would like to be treated as the nations of yore, or that they would like to see the scourge come upon them face to face?
And nothing prevents men from believing, now when the guidance (the Quran) has come to them, and from asking Forgiveness of their Lord, except that the ways of the ancients be repeated with them (i.e. their destruction decreed by Allah), or the torment be brought to them face to face?
And naught hindereth mankind from believing when the guidance cometh unto them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord unless (it be that they wish) that the judgment of the men of old should come upon them or (that) they should be confronted with the Doom.
And in no way did anything prevent mankind from believing (Literally: made them not to believe) as the guidance came to them and asking their Lord to forgive them, except that the enactment (for) the earliest (people) should come up to them, or that the torment should come up to them face to face.
Now that guidance has come to them, what stops these people believing and asking forgiveness from their Lord before the fate of earlier peoples annihilates them or their torment confronts them?
لوگوں کے پاس ہدایت آچکنے کے بعد انہیں ایمان ﻻنے اور اپنے رب سے استغفار کرنے سے صرف اسی چیز نے روکا کہ اگلے لوگوں کا سا معاملہ انہیں بھی پیش آئے یا ان کے سامنے کھلم کھلا عذاب آموجود ہوجائے
Quran 18 Verse 55 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Kahf ayat 55, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(18:55) What is it that prevented mankind from believing when the guidance came to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, except that they would like to be treated as the nations of yore, or that they would like to see the scourge come upon them face to face?[52]
52. This is to warn the people that the Quran has left no stone unturned in making the truth plain. It has employed all kinds of arguments, parables, similitude and used all the possible effective ways to appeal to the heart and the mind of man, and adopted the best possible style. If, in spite of this, they do not accept the truth, it is obvious that they are waiting for God’s scourge like the one that visited the former communities to make them realize their error.
Ibn-Kathir
55. And nothing prevents men from believing, while the guidance has come to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord, except that the ways of the ancients be repeated with them, or the torment be brought to them face to face. 56. And We send not the Messengers except as bearers of good news and warners. But those who disbelieve, argue with falsehood, in order to refute the truth thereby. And they take My Ayat and that which they are warned for jest!
Allah tells us about the rebellion of the disbelievers in ancient times and in more recent times, and how they rejected the obvious truth even when they witnessed clear signs and proofs. Nothing stopped them from following the truth except their demand to witness with their own eyes the punishment which they were being warned about. As some of them said to their Prophet:
(So cause a piece of the heaven to fall on us, if you are of the truthful!) ﴿26:187﴾, Others said:
(Bring Allah’s torment upon us if you are one of the truthful.) ﴿29:29﴾ The Quraysh said:
(O Allah! If this is indeed the truth from You, then rain down stones on us from the sky or bring upon us a painful torment.) ﴿8:32﴾
(And they say: “O you to whom the Reminder has been sent down! Verily, you are a mad man! Why do you not bring angels to us if you are of the truthful”) ﴿15:6-7﴾. There are other Ayat refering to the same thing. Then Allah says:
(except that the ways of the ancients be repeated with them,) meaning, their overwhelming punishment, destroying every last one of them.
(or the torment be brought to them face to face.) they see it with their own eyes, being directly confronted with it. Then Allah says:
(And We send not the Messengers except as bearers of good news and warners.) before the punishment they give good news to those who believe in them and follow them, and warnings to those who reject them and oppose them. Then Allah tells us about the disbelievers who argue:
(with falsehood, in order to refute the truth thereby.) they try to weaken the truth that the Messengers brought, but they cannot achieve that.
(And they take My Ayat and that which they are warned for jest!) they take the proof, evidence and miracles sent with the Messengers to warn them, and make them fear the punishment;
(as a jest and mockery) and they make fun of them, which is the worst type of disbelief.
Quick navigation links
