Blessings of Surah Kahf

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Yaumul Jumu'ah (Friday) is eid to Muslims. One of the main activities of Muslims on Friday is reciting Surah Kahf. There are many ahadeeth that enumerate the blessings of reciting Surah Kahf in its entirety and regarding the first or last 10 ayat.

1. Abu Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, related that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "One who memorized the first ten verses of Surah Kahf will be secure against the Dajjal (Anti-Christ) . Another version says: "One who commits to memory the last 10 verses of this surah will remain immune from the Dajjal. [Muslim]

2. From Baihaqi: He who recites Surah Kahf on Jumu'ah, Allah will shine a light for him between the two Fridays. [sahih]

3. From Ahmad, Muslim, An-Nisaa' and Ibn Habban -- that Abu Darda' said the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever reads the last 10 ayat from Surah Kahf, he will be immune from the fitnah (corruption) of the Dajjal.

4. Al Bukhari, Muslim and others: Al Baraa' said a man was reading Surah Kahf in his home and there was an animal in it (it did not specify if it was a cat or dog or goat -- it just used the general term for animal) that started to become uneasy or nervous. He looked up and saw a mist or a cloud and it deceived him. He mentioned it to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said, "Read (he said the person's name) for verily tranquility descends for (the recitation of) Qur'an". The person who was reading was 'Aseed bin Hadheer, as Tabarani explained.

5. From At-Tirmithi who proclaimed it sahih: Abu Darda' said, "The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Whoever reads 3 ayat from the beginning of Surah Kahf is protected or immune from the fitnah of the Dajjal. In another version it says 10 ayat from the beginning of it or 10 ayat from the end of it.

6. Ibn Mardwiyah Al Daiya' in "Al Mukhtaar" related that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Whoever reads Surah Kahf on Jumu'ah, he is immune for 8 days from all fitnah that will happen. When the Dajjal emerges, he will be immune to him.

7. Found in Tabarani' s "Al Awsat" and Al Haakim's "Mustadrak" and who declared it sahih, Ibn Mardwiyah and Al Baihaqi and Al Diyaa': Abu Saeed Al Khudari said that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever reads Surah Kahf has a light for him from "maqaamahu" his place (where he is standing) to Makkah; and whoever reads 10 ayat from the end of it (the last 10 ayat) then when the Dajjal emerges, he will not be harmed by him.

8. Al Haakim who said it is sahih -- the hadith of Abu Saeed -- that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever reads Surah Kahf on Jumu'ah, a light will shine for him between the 2 Fridays (until the next Friday). Al Baihaqi also provided that hadith in "As Sunan" from the same narrators and from a different chain.

9. Ibn Mardwiyah from Ibn Omar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Whoever reads Surah Kahf on Jumu'ah, for him light would shine from beneath his foot to 'Aden in the heavens, shining for him on the Last Day and he will be forgiven for what occurs between the 2 Fridays (minor sins).

10. On the authority of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Shall I not inform you of a surah which is so full of greatness it reaches between the heaven and earth and it has blessings written for it of similar proportions (from the sky to earth) whoever reads it on Jumu'ah is forgiven what occurred between that Jumu'ah and the next, in addition to 3 days (i.e. 10 days in all) and whoever reads the last five ayat of it when he goes to sleep, Allah will send him that night what he wants? They said, Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: Surat Ashaabul Kahf.

[May Allah forgive me if I have not conveyed the hadith correctly as these are the words the His Messenger, peace be upon him.]

It is a blessing and a mercy from Allah to have this Surah as a protection from those days of fitnah ahead. We just don't thank Allah enough for all His Blessings. One of the protection is against the fitnah of dajjal. We may think that the chances are slim that we will be confronted with the fitnah of dajjal, however, we never know. We know that dajjal will emerge during the last days before Yaumul Qiyammah. These "days" are not the 24 hours that make up our daily lives, but these are really time periods that are set to happen by our Creator. We are told that he will be able to produce many miracles and many good and pious people will be fooled or deceived by him and follow him. May Allah save us from the fitnah of dajjal. Ameen.

So we should be prepared and protect ourselves by reciting this surah every Friday and encourage our family to do so. Take this opportunity to increase the bonds with your family by reading the surah together. Also, we should try to memorize this surah, starting with the first and the last 10 ayat. Teach your small children this surah and have them memorize as well.

Surah Kahf is named such because of the miraculous Divine story in it, the wondrous, strange story of the Companions of the Cave. It is a Makkan surah and it is one of five surahs that begin with the phrase "Al Hamdulillah" -- Al Fatihah, Al-An'aam, Al Kahf, Saba' and Fatir. Each of these surahs begin with praising Allah, recognizing His Greatness, Magnificence, Majesty and Perfection. This surah brings us four inspiring and impressive Qur'anic stories, by way of or for the purpose of confirming its basic purpose of establishing the correct belief and faith in the greatness of the Lord, Full of Majesty and Honor.

The first story is the story of 'As-haabul Kahf -- the Companions of the Cave, a story which clarifies Islamic beliefs, a story about several believing youths who flea their country for the sake of their religion and take refuge in a mountain cave, then remain there asleep for 309 years. Then Allah reawakens them after this lengthy period.

The second story is the story of an owner of two gardens. This is man whom Allah blessed with two beautiful gardens, but the man forgot to thank the One who blessed him with everything and he even dared to doubt Allah regarding the afterlife. So His garden was destroyed - He regretted, but was too late and his regret did not benefit him.

The third story is the story of the Prophet Musa alayhissalaam with Al-Khidr alayhissalaam. It is a story of a seeking knowledge and knowledge of the unseen ('ilmul ghaib) which Allah chooses to make known to "al 'abd as-saalih" Al-Khidr whilst Musa does not know until Al-Khidr informs him, like the story of the boat, the circumstances around the killing of the youth and the building of the wall.

The fourth story is of "Dhul-Qarnayn", a king with taqwa (fear of Allah) and a heightened sense of justice. He was given knowledge and power and was going around the world and over the inhabited world. He build a massive dam with the help of people whom he could not even understand.

Just as the surah uses, for the purpose of its intent, these four stories, it also uses impressive examples in order to explain that the truth is not connected or linked to great wealth or power or sovereignty; it is only tied to correct beliefs.

The first example give is the wealthy person who is extremely rich and the poor person "al m'utaza by his beliefs and his belief in the story of the companions of the gardens. The second example given is the "hayatu dunya" or the life of this world and what it consists of. The third example is of the arrogance, pride and deception of Iblis which resulted in his refusal to bow down before Adam alayhisssalaam.

Each of these stories and examples are meant to be taken as a lesson or moral as well as points for reflection.

May Allah grant us tawfiq to recite Surah Kahf every Friday. You may recite the surah beginning Thursday after maghrib as an Islamic day is maghrib the day before until maghrib the day of. Something to make it easier is to read along with a well-known reciter.

May Allah forgive our sins and save us from the trial and fitnah of dajjal and protect us from the trial and tribulations of this life and the next. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam