Surah Al-Kahf 18:87 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection

قَالَ أَمَّا مَن ظَلَمَ فَسَوْفَ نُعَذِّبُهُۥ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِۦ فَيُعَذِّبُهُۥ عَذَابًۭا نُّكْرًۭا

English: He answered, ‘We shall punish those who have done evil, and when they are returned to their Lord He will punish them [even more] severely,

Bengali: তিনি বললেনঃ যে কেউ সীমালঙ্ঘনকারী হবে আমি তাকে শাস্তি দেব। অতঃপর তিনি তাঁর পালনকর্তার কাছে ফিরে যাবেন। তিনি তাকে কঠোর শাস্তি দেবেন।

Meaning & Reflection

'He said: As for one who does wrong, we will punish him, then he will be returned to his Lord, who will punish him with a terrible punishment.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note his measured justice — he will restrain and punish the *wrongdoer* (not the innocent), and even then he remembers this life's justice is only the smaller precursor to God's. Ask yourself: his exercise of power is *bounded* — aimed only at the one who does wrong, not at everyone under his hand, and held in the awareness that he is not the final judge; God is. That double restraint — targeting only real wrongdoing, and never forgetting a higher Judge stands above him — is exactly what keeps power from becoming tyranny. When I have the authority to punish or retaliate, is my response *targeted and just*, or does my power spill over into harshness against the undeserving? And do I remember, as he did, that I am not the last court — that I too answer to One above me?

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 18:87:

• 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?