Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Kahf Verse 5

Mufti Taqi Usmani

while they have no knowledge about it, nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths. They say nothing but lie.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

They have no knowledge of this, nor did their forefathers. What a terrible claim that comes out of their mouths! They say nothing but lies.

Ruwwad Translation Center

They have no knowledge of it, nor did their forefathers. What a monstrous word that comes out of their mouths! They say nothing but lies.

A. J. Arberry

they have no knowledge of it, they nor their fathers; a monstrous word it is, issuing out of their mouths; they say nothing but a lie.

Abdul Haleem

They have no knowledge about this, nor did their forefathers––it is a monstrous assertion that comes out of their mouths: what they say is nothing but lies.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

No knowledge thereof have they, nor had their fathers. Odious is the word that cometh out of their mouths; they say not but a lie.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. It is a grievous thing that issues from their mouths as a saying what they say is nothing but falsehood!

Abul Ala Maududi

a thing about which they have no knowledge, neither they nor their ancestors. Dreadful is the word that comes out of their mouths. What they utter is merely a lie.

Ahmed Ali

They have no knowledge of this, as their fathers did not have. How terrible are the words they utter! They speak nothing but lies.

Ahmed Raza Khan

They do not have any knowledge of it – nor did their forefathers; profound is the word that comes out of their mouths; they only speak a lie.

Ali Quli Qarai

They do not have any knowledge of that, nor did their fathers. Monstrous is the utterance that comes out of their mouths, and they say nothing but a lie.

Ali Ünal

Of that they have no knowledge (on which to base such an assertion), nor did their forefathers. Dreadful as a word is (that assertion) coming out of their mouths. Indeed they speak nothing but falsehood.

Amatul Rahman Omar

(This is absolutely wrong.) They have no real knowledge of Him, nor (had) their fathers. Grievous is the word that comes out of their mouths. They speak naught but a lie.

English Literal

Nothing from knowledge (is) to them with it (they have no knowledge of it) and nor to their fathers, a word/speech/sermon became big (that) emerges from their mouths, that they say except lies/denials/falsifications (about God).

Faridul Haque

They do not have any knowledge of it - nor did their forefathers; profound is the word that comes out of their mouths; they only speak a lie.

Hamid S. Aziz

That they have no knowledge thereof, nor had their fathers. Dreadful is the word that comes forth from their mouths. Verily, they speak naught but a lie.

Hilali & Khan

No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. Mighty is the word that comes out of their mouths [i.e. He begot (took) sons and daughters]. They utter nothing but a lie.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And to warn those who say: Allah has taken to Himself a son.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers; a grievous word it is that comes out of their mouths; they speak nothing but a lie.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

(A thing) whereof they have no knowledge, nor (had) their fathers, Dreadful is the word that cometh out of their mouths. They speak naught but a lie.

Muhammad Sarwar

Neither they nor their fathers had any knowledge of such utterance (that God has begotten a son). Whatever they say about (this matter) is vicious blasphemy and plain lies.

Qaribullah & Darwish

. Surely, of this they have no knowledge, neither they nor their fathers; it is a monstrous word that comes from their mouths, they say nothing but a lie.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. Mighty is the word that comes out of their mouths. They utter nothing but a lie.

Wahiduddin Khan

They have no knowledge of this, nor did their forefathers have any either. What they say is monstrous: they are merely uttering falsehoods!

Talal Itani

They have no knowledge of this, nor did their forefathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths. They say nothing but a lie.

Tafsir jalalayn

They do not have, in this, in this saying, any knowledge, nor did their fathers, before them, who [also] used to say this. Dreadful, grave, is the word that comes out of their mouths (kalimatan, `word', is for specification and it explains the unidentified [feminine] person [of the verb, kaburat, `dreadful']; and that which is the object of censure has been omitted, and that is their above-mentioned saying [that God has taken a son]). They speak nothing, thereby, but, an utterance of, lies.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

مَّا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ

No knowledge have they of such a thing,

meaning, this thing that they have fabricated and made up.

وَلَا لاِبَايِهِمْ

nor had their fathers.

meaning, their predecessors.

كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً

Mighty is the word,

This highlights the seriousness and enormity of the lie they have made up.

Allah says;

كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً

تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ

Mighty is the word that comes out of their mouths.

meaning, it has no basis apart from what they say, and they have no evidence for it apart from their own lies and fabrications.

Hence Allah says;

إِن يَقُولُونَ إِلاَّ كَذِبًا



They utter nothing but a lie.
Reason why this Surah was revealed

Muhammad bin Ishaq mentioned the reason why this Surah was revealed. He said that an old man from among the people of Egypt who came to them some forty-odd years ago told him, from Ikrimah that Ibn Abbas said;

"The Quraysh sent An-Nadr bin Al-Harith and Uqbah bin Abi Mu`it to the Jewish rabbis in Al-Madinah, and told them;`Ask them (the rabbis) about Muhammad, and describe him to them, and tell them what he is saying. They are the people of the first Book, and they have more knowledge of the Prophets than we do.'

So they set out and when they reached Al-Madinah, they asked the Jewish rabbis about the Messenger of Allah.

They described him to them and told them some of what he had said.

They said, `You are the people of the Tawrah and we have come to you so that you can tell us about this companion of ours.'

They (the rabbis) said, `Ask him about three things which we will tell you to ask, and if he answers them then he is a Prophet who has been sent (by Allah); if he does not, then he is saying things that are not true, in which case how you will deal with him will be up to you.

- Ask him about some young men in ancient times, what was their story For theirs is a strange and wondrous tale.

- Ask him about a man who travelled a great deal and reached the east and the west of the earth. What was his story?

- And ask him about the Ruh (soul or spirit) -- what is it?

If he tells you about these things, then he is a Prophet, so follow him, but if he does not tell you, then he is a man who is making things up, so deal with him as you see fit.'

So An-Nadr and Uqbah left and came back to the Quraysh, and said;`O people of Quraysh, we have come to you with a decisive solution which will put an end to the problem between you and Muhammad. The Jewish rabbis told us to ask him about some matters,' and they told the Quraysh what they were. Then they came to the Messenger of Allah and said, `O Muhammad, tell us,' and they asked him about the things they had been told to ask.

The Messenger of Allah said,
أُخْبِرُكُمْ غَدًا عَمَّا سَأَلْتُمْ عَنْه
(I will tell you tomorrow about what you have asked me), but he did not say `If Allah wills.' So they went away, and the Messenger of Allah stayed for fifteen days without any revelation from Allah concerning that, and Jibril, peace be upon him, did not come to him either.

The people of Makkah started to doubt him, and said, `Muhammad promised to tell us the next day, and now fifteen days have gone by and he has not told us anything in response to the questions we asked.'

The Messenger of Allah felt sad because of the delay in revelation, and was grieved by what the people of Makkah were saying about him.

Then Jibril came to him from Allah with the Surah about the companions of Al-Kahf, which also contained a rebuke for feeling sad about the idolators. The Surah also told him about the things they had asked him about, the young men and the traveler.

The question about the Ruh was answered in the Ayah;
وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ قُلِ الرُّوحُ
(And they ask you concerning the Ruh (the spirit); say;"The Ruh..."). (17;85