Surah Al-Kahf 18:83 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection

وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَن ذِى ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ قُلْ سَأَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا

English: [Prophet], they ask you about Dhu ’l-Qarnayn. Say, ‘I will tell you something about him.’

Bengali: তারা আপনাকে যুলকারনাইন সম্পর্কে জিজ্ঞাসা করে। বলুনঃ আমি তোমাদের কাছে তাঁর কিছু অবস্থা বর্ণনা করব।

Meaning & Reflection

'And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn. Say: I will recite to you a mention of him.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the fourth and final story of the Surah introduces a *righteous ruler* — a man of vast power, set beside the arrogant garden-owner as the opposite model of what to do with worldly might. Ask yourself: the Surah has now shown faith tested by persecution (the Cave), by wealth (the gardens), and by hidden decree (al-Khidr); now it tests faith by *power*. Dhul-Qarnayn had what the garden-owner had — abundance, reach, might — and used it in the opposite spirit. The question the story asks me is not whether I have power, but what I do with whatever measure of it I hold: authority over others, resources, influence. Power does not corrupt inevitably; it *reveals*. What does the power I already have reveal about my heart?

Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.

Reflect with the Five Lenses

Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Al-Kahf 18:83:

• Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
• Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
• Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
• Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
• General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?