Surah Al-Kahf 18:39

The Response of the Poor Believer

Allah tells us how the rich man's believing companion replied to him, warning and rebuking him for his disbelief in Allah and allowing himself to be deceived.

أَكَفَرْتَ بِالَّذِى خَلَقَكَ مِن تُرَابٍ

(Do you disbelieve in Him Who created you out of dust...) This is a denunciation, pointing out the seriousness of his rejection of his Lord Who created and formed man out of dust -- that is, refering to Adam -- then made his offspring from despised liquid, as Allah says:

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَتًا فَأَحْيَـكُمْ

(How can you disbelieve in Allah Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life) 2:28 meaning, how can you reject your Lord and His clear signs to you, which every one recognizes in himself, for there is no one among His creatures who does not know that he was nothing, then he came to be, and his existence is not due to himself or any other creature. He knows that his existence is due to his Creator, beside Whom there is no other god, the Creator of all things. So the believer said:

لَّكِنَّ هُوَ اللَّهُ رَبِّى

(But as for my part, (I believe) that He is Allah, my Lord,) meaning, `I do not say what you say; rather I acknowledge the Oneness and Lordship of Allah,'

وَلاَ أُشْرِكُ بِرَبِّى أَحَدًا

(and none shall I associate as partner with my Lord. ) meaning, He is Allah, the One Who is to be worshipped Alone, with no partner or associate. Then he said:

وَلَوْلا إِذْ دَخَلْتَ جَنَّتَكَ قُلْتَ مَا شَآءَ اللَّهُ لاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ إِن تَرَنِ أَنَاْ أَقَلَّ مِنكَ مَالاً وَوَلَدًا

(It was better for you to say, when you entered your garden, `That which Allah wills! There is no power but with Allah!' If you see me less than you in wealth, and children.) Here he was urging and encouraging him to say that, as if he was saying, "When you entered your garden and looked at it and liked it, why would'nt you praise Allah for the blessings He gave you and the wealth and children that He has given to you and not to others Why did you not say `That which Allah wills! There is no power but with Allah!"' One of the Salaf said, "Whoever is delighted with something in his circumstances or his wealth or his children, let him say, `That which Allah wills! There is no power but with Allah!"' This is based on this Ayah. It was reported in the Sahih from Abu Musa that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«أَلَا أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى كَنْزٍ مِنْ كُنُوزِ الْجَنَّةِ؟ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِالله»

(Shall I not tell you about some of the treasure of Paradise La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (There is no power or might but with Allah).)

فعسَى رَبِّى أَن يُؤْتِيَنِ خَيْرًا مِّن جَنَّتِكَ

(It may be that my Lord will give me something better than your garden, ) in the Hereafter

وَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْهَا

(and will send on it) on your garden in this world, which you think will never come to an end or cease to be,

حُسْبَانًا مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ

(Husban from the sky,) Ibn `Abbas, Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said -- and Malik narrated that Az-Zuhri said -- a punishment from heaven. The apparent meaning is that it is a mighty rain which would disrupt his garden and uproot its plants and trees. As he said:

فَتُصْبِحَ صَعِيدًا زَلَقًا

(then it will be as a barren slippery earth.) meaning, smooth mud in which one cannot get a foothold. Ibn `Abbas said, "Like land without vegetation, where nothing grows."

أَوْ يُصْبِحَ مَآؤُهَا غَوْرًا

(Or the water thereof becomes Ghawran) means, it disappears into the earth, which is the opposite of flowing water that seeks the surface of the earth. So Gha'ir is to go lower. as Allah says:

قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَصْبَحَ مَآؤُكُمْ غَوْراً فَمَن يَأْتِيكُمْ بِمَآءٍ مَّعِينٍ

(Say: "Tell me! If your water were Ghawran, who then can supply you with flowing water") 67: 30 meaning, water that flows in all directions. And here Allah says:

أَوْ يُصْبِحَ مَآؤُهَا غَوْرًا فَلَن تَسْتَطِيعَ لَهُ طَلَبًا

(Or the water thereof (of the gardens) becomes deep-sunken (underground) so that you will never be able to seek it.) Ghawr is from the same root as Gha'ir and has a similar meaning, but is more intensive.

Yahuza lalu meneruskan kata-katanya kepada Qurthus, "Seharusnya kamu mengucapkan syukur kepada Allah ketika memasuki kebun-kebunmu dan merasakan kagum terhadap keindahannya. Mengapa kamu tidak mengucapkan pujian kepada Allah atas segala nikmat yang telah dilimpahkan-Nya kepadamu, berupa harta dan anak yang banyak yang belum pernah diberikan-Nya kepada orang lain."

"Katakanlah "masya Allah" ketika itu, sebagai tanda pengakuan atas kelemahanmu di hadapan-Nya, dan bahwa segala yang ada itu tidak mungkin terwujud tanpa izin dan kemurahan-Nya. Di tangan-Nya nasib kebun-kebun itu, disuburkan menurut kehendak-Nya ataupun dihancurkan menurut kehendak-Nya pula. Mengapa kamu tidak mengucapkan la quwwata illa billahi (tidak ada kekuatan kecuali dengan pertolongan Allah) sebagai tanda pengakuan bahwa tidak ada kekuatan yang dapat memakmurkan dan mengurusnya kecuali dengan pertolongan Allah swt." Ayat ini mengandung pelajaran tentang zikir yang baik diamalkan. Nabi Muhammad saw berkata kepada sahabatnya, Abu Hurairah:

Maukah aku tunjukkan kepadamu salah satu perbendaharaan surga yang terletak di bawah Arasy? Aku menjawab, "Ya, saya mau." Rasul berkata, "Kamu membaca la quwwata illa billahi." (Riwayat Imam Ahmad dari Abu Hurairah)

Demikian pula banyak hadis-hadis Rasul saw yang mengajarkan kepada umatnya sewaktu mendapat nikmat dari Allah supaya dia mengucapkan bacaan itu, Rasulullah saw bersabda:

Setiap Allah swt memberikan kepada seorang hamba nikmat pada keluarga, harta, atau anak lalu dia mengucapkan "masya' Allah, la quwwata illa billah", tentu Allah menghindarkan dia dari segala bencana sampai kematiannya, lalu Rasulullah membaca ayat 39 Surah al-Kahf ini. (Riwayat al-Baihaqi dan Ibnu Mardawaih dari Anas r.a.)

Setelah Yahuza selesai menasehati saudaranya supaya beriman, dan sudah menjelaskan tentang kekuasaan Allah swt, mulailah dia menanggapi perkataan saudaranya yang membanggakan harta dan orang-orangnya. Yahuza berkata, "Jika kamu memandang aku lebih miskin daripada kamu, baik mengenai harta kekayaan, maupun mengenai anak buah, maka tidaklah mengapa bagiku."