Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Kahf Verse 90

Mufti Taqi Usmani

until when he reached the point of sunrise, he found it rising over a people for whom We did not make any shelter against it.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

until he reached the rising ˹point˺ of the sun. He found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.[[ They either had no clothes or homes to protect them from the sun. ]]

Ruwwad Translation Center

until when he reached the far east, he found the sun rising on a people for whom We provided no shelter from it.

A. J. Arberry

until, when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rising upon a people for whom We had not appointed any veil to shade them from it.

Abdul Haleem

then, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Until when he reached the rising place of the sun, he perceived it rising upon a nation for whom against it We had not set a veil.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun.

Abul Ala Maududi

until he reached the limit where the sun rises and he found it rising on a people whom We had provided no shelter from it.

Ahmed Ali

Till he reached the point of the rising sun, and saw it rise over a people for whom We had provided no shelter against it.

Ahmed Raza Khan

To the extent that when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising upon a nation for which We had not kept any shelter from it.

Ali Quli Qarai

When he reached the place where the sun rises, he found it rising on a people for whom We had not provided any shield against it.

Ali Ünal

Until, when he reached the rising-place of the sun and found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter against it.

Amatul Rahman Omar

So that when he reached the land of the rising of the sun (- eastern most point of his empire) he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter against it (- the sun).

English Literal

Until when he reached the sun`s place and time of appearance/ascent , he found it appears/ascends/rises on a nation We did not make/put from other than it a cover/protection/shelter .

Faridul Haque

To the extent that when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising upon a nation for which We had not kept any shelter from it.

Hamid S. Aziz

Then he followed another way,

Hilali & Khan

Until, when he came to the rising place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We (Allah) had provided no shelter against the sun.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Then he followed a course.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Until when he reached the land of the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people to whom We had given no shelter from It;

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom.

Muhammad Sarwar

to the East where he found the sun rising upon a people whom We had exposed to its rays.

Qaribullah & Darwish

until he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rising upon a nation for whom We provided no veil against it to shade them.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Until, when he came to the rising place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We (Allah) had provided no shelter against the sun.

Wahiduddin Khan

until he came to the rising-place of the sun, where he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.

Talal Itani

Until, when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.

Tafsir jalalayn

until, when he reached the rising of the sun, the place where it rises, he found it rising on a folk, namely, Negroes (zanj), for whom We had not provided against it, that is, [against] the sun, any [form of] cover, in the way of clothing or roofing, as their land could not support any structures; they had underground tunnels into which they would disappear at the rising of the sun and out of which they would emerge when it was at its highest point [in the sky].

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ مَطْلِعَ الشَّمْسِ

Then he followed (another) way, Until, when he came to the rising place of the sun,

Allah tells us that Dhul-Qarnayn then traveled from the west of the earth towards the east. Every time he passed a nation, he subjugated the people and called them to Allah. If they obeyed him, all well and good, otherwise he would humiliate them and take their wealth and possessions. From every nation he took what his armies needed to fight the next nation. When he reached the place where the sun rises, as Allah says,

وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَى قَوْمٍ

he found it rising on a people,

meaning a nation,

لَّمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتْرًا



for whom We (Allah) had provided no shelter against the sun.

meaning, they had no buildings or trees to cover them and shade them from the heat of the sun.

Qatadah said,

"It was mentioned to us that they were in a land where nothing grew, so when the sun rose they would go into tunnels until it had passed its zenith, then they would come out to go about their daily lives and earn themselves a living."

كَذَلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبْرًا