قُل لَّوْ كَانَ ٱلْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِّكَلِمَـٰتِ رَبِّى لَنَفِدَ ٱلْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَـٰتُ رَبِّى وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِۦ مَدَدًا 109
Translations
Say, "If the sea were ink for [writing] the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it in [continual] supplement."
Transliteration
Qul law kana al-bahru midadan li-kalimati Rabbi lanafida al-bahru qabla an tanfada kalimat Rabbi wa-law ji'na bi-mithlihi madadan
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah illustrates the infinite nature of Allah's words and knowledge by presenting a hyperbolic comparison: if the entire ocean were ink for writing Allah's words, it would be exhausted before His words came to an end, and even if we brought another ocean like it as additional ink, it would still be insufficient. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi interpret this as emphasizing the boundless wisdom, knowledge, and attributes of Allah that cannot be fully enumerated or comprehended by created beings, serving as a reminder of Divine transcendence.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears near the end of Surah Al-Kahf and is thematically connected to the surah's emphasis on Divine wisdom and knowledge displayed through the various narratives presented (the Companions of the Cave, Dhul-Qarnayn, etc.). It serves as a concluding reflection on the magnificence and infinitude of Allah's attributes and the limitations of human understanding.
Related Hadiths
Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, 'The superiority of Allah's speech to all other speech is like the superiority of Allah over His creation' (Tirmidhi). Additionally, there are reports in various hadith collections emphasizing that the Quran is the word of Allah and contains infinite wisdom and guidance.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers to recognize the profound limitations of human intellect and comprehension compared to the infinite knowledge of Allah, cultivating humility and wonder at the Divine. It encourages reflection on how the Quran, as Allah's word, contains boundless wisdom that cannot be exhausted through study, making continuous engagement with it spiritually and intellectually rewarding.
Related Ayahs
فَٱنطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَيَآ أَهْلَ قَرْيَةٍ ٱسْتَطْعَمَآ أَهْلَهَا فَأَبَوْا۟ أَن يُضَيِّفُوهُمَا فَوَجَدَا فِيهَا جِدَارًا يُرِيدُ أَن يَنقَضَّ فَأَقَامَهُۥ ۖ قَالَ لَوْ شِئْتَ لَتَّخَذْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا
So they set out, until when they came to the people of a town, they asked its people for food, but they refused to offer them hospitality. And they found therein a wall about to collapse, so he [i.e., al-Khiḍr] restored it. [Moses] said, "If you wished, you could have taken for it a payment."
وَأُحِيطَ بِثَمَرِهِۦ فَأَصْبَحَ يُقَلِّبُ كَفَّيْهِ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَنفَقَ فِيهَا وَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَىٰ عُرُوشِهَا وَيَقُولُ يَـٰلَيْتَنِى لَمْ أُشْرِكْ بِرَبِّىٓ أَحَدًا
And his fruits were encompassed [by ruin], so he began to turn his hands about [in dismay] over what he had spent on it, while it had collapsed upon its trellises, and said, "Oh, I wish I had not associated with my Lord anyone."
وَأَمَّا ٱلْغُلَـٰمُ فَكَانَ أَبَوَاهُ مُؤْمِنَيْنِ فَخَشِينَآ أَن يُرْهِقَهُمَا طُغْيَـٰنًا وَكُفْرًا
And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief.
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِى هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ لِلنَّاسِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ أَكْثَرَ شَىْءٍ جَدَلًا
And We have certainly diversified in this Qur’ān for the people from every [kind of] example; but man has ever been, most of anything, [prone to] dispute.