Authentic narrations about the virtues of Surat al-Kahf

1. Usayd Ibn Khudayr was praying in his house, reciting Surah Kahf, when his
horse started to jump and become excited. When he looked up he saw that a
cloud had descended upon him. The next day he told his story to the Prophet
who told him: read, for that was sakeena (serenity/tranquility),
which descended because of the Quran. (Bukhari & Muslim). However, this is
a virtue of the entire Quran and is not specific to Surat al-Kahf, because there
are other narrations like it that mention a similar virtue, e.g. "A people do not
sit to remember Allah except that the angels surround them and the mercy of
Allah envelops them and sakeena descends upon them."
2. The second narration about the virtue of Surat al-Kahf talks about how it can
protect you from the Dajjal. It is narrated by Abu Darda: "Whoever preserves
the first ten ayat of Surat al-Kahf will be protected from the fitna of Dajjal."
(Sahih Muslim). However there are two other narrations like this, which say
that preserving certain verses from this Surah will offer protection from Dajjal,
however they differ in which verses to preserve. One says to preserve the first
ten, while another says to preserve the last ten. Abu Darda narrates all these
three Ahadith about Surat al-Kahf protecting one from the fitna of the dajjal.
However the strongest out of the three mentions the first ten.
There are many indications which suggest that the Hadith about the first ten
ayat offering protection against Dajjal are the strongest:
Sahih Muslim mentions this Hadith first, before the Hadith about the last ten
ayat, which is done to show it is more authentic (a subtle point by the author).
The first ten ayat are more relevant to the topic of Dajjal then the last ten,
for example we are told in Ahadith that the people will flee to the mountains
from the Dajjal, and in the first ten ayat we are introduced to the story of the
people of the cave, which is also found at the top of a mountain.
The first ten ayat also mention that the earth will be made barren & flat, and
this links with the time of Dajjal where the earth will become barren without
any food or vegetation. The first ten ayat also make references to lying and
we know Dajjal is called the one-eyed liar in other Ahadith.
Moreover there is a dua at the end of these ten ayat, which is perfect for the
situation of the people at the time of Dajjal.
One of the benefits of this Surah is that the understanding of the first ten ayat,
(and the rest of the Surah as well) offers protection against the fitna of Dajjal.

There is another Hadith regarding Surat al-Kahf narrated by Sa'eed al Khudry,

however there are many versions of this Hadith and only 2 of these are not weak.
One is narrated by Sufyan at-Thawri and the other one by Hushay. The one that
is narrated by Sufyan at-Thawri is: "Whoever reads Surat Kahf as it was revealed
and then meets the Dajjal, the Dajjal will not have power over him, and he will be
given a light from where he reads to Makkah." The second narration from Sa'eed
al Khudry, narrated by Hushay Ibn Bashir is: "Whoever reads Surat al-Kahf on a
Friday will be given a light from him to the ancient house (Ka'ba)." From a hadith
point of view, the preferred version is the version of Sufyan at-Thawri, which does
not mention Friday. It should be noted that it was never the practise of the salaf to
recite Surah Kahf specifically on Fridays, and it only became popular after Imam
Shafi. We also need to realise that these ahadith do not just refer to people who
simply memorise the Quran - it is talking about those people who read the Quran
with contemplation and act upon it. If we want protection from the Dajjal and
tranquility to descend upon us, then we have to live by the Quran.
The Dajjal
The Dajjal will be one eyed, or blind in one eye: some narrations say it is like a
floating grape, other narrations say that it is covered by a thick layer of skin.
He will have the letter: on his forehead and every believer will be able to
read this, meaning disbeliever. Even the word Dajjal means deception, a liar.
He is the false messiah, and he will be able to bring people back to life and do
other things because Allah will allow him to do this as a test, and because of
this, many people will believe in him and go astray.
The Hadith of Tamim ad-Dari:
Rasoolullah once gathered the Muslims in the masjid and said: I
have kept you here because Tamim ad-Dari, a Christian man who has embraced
Islam, told me something which agrees with what I have told you about the Dajjal.
He told me that he had sailed in a ship with thirty men from Banu Lakham and
Banu Judham. The waves tossed them about for a month, then they came near an
island at sunset. They approached the island on the ships rafts, and landed. They
were met by a beast that was so hairy that they could not tell its front from back.
They said: Woe to you! What are you?
It said: I am al-Jassasah. They said: What is al-Jassasah?
It said: O people, go to this man in the monastery, for he is very eager to know
about you.
Tamim said that when it named a person to us we were afraid lest it be a devil.
Tamim said, We quickly went to the monastery. There we found a huge man with

his hands tied up to his neck and with iron shackles between his legs up to ankles.
We said: Woe to you, who are you?
It said: You will soon know about me. Tell me who you are.
We said: We are people from Arabia. We sailed on a ship, but the waves have
been tossing us about for a month, and they brought us to your island, where we
met a beast which was so hairy that we could not tell its front from its back.
We said to it: Woe to you what are you? She said: I am al-Jassasah.
We asked: What is al-Jassasah? and it told us: Go to this man in the monastery,
for he is very eager to know about you. So we came to you quickly, fearing that it
might be a devil.
The man said: Tell me about the date-palms of Beisan.
We said: What do you want to know about them?
He said: I want to know whether these trees bear fruits or not.
We said Yes.
He said: Soon they will not bear fruits.
Then he said: Tell me about the lake of Tabariyah (in Palestine).
We said: What do you want to know about it?
He said: Is there water in it?
We said: There is plenty of water in it.
He said: Soon it will become dry.
Then he said: Tell me about the spring of Zughar.
We asked: What do you want to know about it?
He asked: Is there water in it, and does it irrigate the land?
We said: Yes, there is plenty of water, and the people use it to irrigate the land.
Then he said: Tell me about the unlettered Prophet, what has he done?
We said: He has left Makkah and settled in Yathrib (Madinah).
He said: Do the Arabs fight against him?
We said Yes.
He said: How does he deal with them?
So we told him that Rasoolullah ( ) had overcome the Arabs around
him and that they had followed him.
He asked: Has it really happened?
We said yes.
He said: It is better for them that they follow him. Now I will tell you about
myself. I am the Dajjal. I will soon be permitted to leave this place. I will emerge
and travel about the Earth. In forty nights, I will pass through every town, except
Makkah and Madinah, for these have been forbidden to me. Every time I try to
enter either of them, I will be met by an angel bearing an unsheathed sword, who
will prevent me from entering. There will be angels guarding them at every
passage leading to them.

Themes of Surat al-Kahf

1. Salah (Righteousness) - the word Salih and its derivatives occur more in this
chapter than any other chapter of Quran. The meaning of Salah is very close
to Taqwa, except that taqwa places more emphasis on keeping away from what
displeases Allah, whereas Salah has more emphasis on doing good actions. The
Surah begins with Salah and ends with Salah. This Surah teaches us that there
are two approaches to life. One approach is short-term and superficial - those
who seek the superficialities of life and want instant gratification, find that they
don't last and are mere illusions. The other approach is acting righteously, and
this teaches us that righteous is more permanent and better than anything else
we seek. This Surah changes and adjusts our values, influencing how we view
things, measure things and make decisions.
2. Space - The other theme of this Surah is about space and whatever conditions
we have been conferred upon by Allah. Surat al-Kahf teaches us that whatever
space you've been given and whatever circumstances you find yourself in, it is
possible to be righteous: whether you're a slave, whether you're in cave, whether
you're a king like Dhulqarnain - it is possible to be righteous. This Surah moves
you away from focussing on your condition and circumstances to focus on what
you are going to do in your life. This is very important because each and every
person has a unique context they have, and it is not your space or circumstance
that defines you. This is not who you are. Who you are is what you do and how
you respond to what you have been given. Allah has given us space but we have
not exhausted that space in the worship of Allah. There are a lot of movements
that want more space and they are fighting for their rights in protests, but the
rights that Allah has given them and the space that Allah has given them, have
not been used properly.
3. Allah's help - Another theme of this Surah is that if you are righteous, you
receive the help of Allah. If the people have forsaken you and you've lost your
home, but you are righteous - Allah will never forsake you, and He will protect
you and He will make a way out for you. If you die and leave your children as
orphans, but you are righteous - Allah will protect them. This Surah teaches us
that if you want Allah's help, then be righteous; if you want Allah to intervene
in your life for your benefit whether you're alive or dead, then be righteous; if
you want Allah to guide you in your footsteps, so that these footsteps affect you
positively many years down the line, then be righteous. It moves us away from
the stressed mindset of being a control-freak where you have to plan every little
second in your life, to a mindset and attitude where you have complete trust in
Allah. This is why this Surah says in ayat 44: "All protective power is from Allah
Alone The True, He is the Best to reward and Best to give success."

4. Life is a Test - The purpose of life is not to enjoy yourself, the purpose of life,
and what we are given and anything that happens to us, is that it is a test. This
is what is said in verse 7 of this Surah: "Indeed we have placed whatever is on the earth
as a glittering show, so that We may test which one of them is the best in deeds." Whenever
you see other people enjoying comfort, wealth or power - then never think that
Allah has favoured them. That is never the case, because this life is not the life
of reward, so when people are given wealth and happiness, it does NOT mean
that they have done something right and you have done something wrong. The
people of the cave were tested and they passed, whereas the man with the two
gardens was tested but failed.
5. Knowledge - We don't know what will harm us or benefit us. Guidance comes
from Allah and only Allah knows the hidden and the future - therefore the way
to succeed is by following Allah's commands and putting your trust in Allah.
6. Materialism - This Surah teaches us to look at what we have and not to look
at what we don't have, so that we move beyond the idea of instant gratification,
and realise what lies beneath the superficialities. This Surah reorientates for us
that which is most important. The companions of the Prophet
were suffering when this Surah was revealed, but it still begins with gratitude to
Allah for this revelation, so the Surah immediately reorientates our attitude. It
teaches us that this world is temporary and an adornment and the reason it has
been made attractive to us is so that we are tested in response to our situation.
Those people who will be able to detach themselves from love of materialism
(and Dajjal will be materialism in its greatest embodied form) will be.
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