حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَطْلِعَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ لَّمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتْرًا 90
Translations
Until, when he came to the rising of the sun [i.e., the east], he found it rising on a people for whom We had not made against it any shield.
Transliteration
Hatta idha balagha matla'a ash-shamsi wajadaha tatlu'u 'ala qawmin lam naj'al lahum min doonihaa sitrah
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes Dhul-Qarnayn's journey eastward until he reached the point where the sun rises over a people who had been given no protection from its intense heat. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret this as a people living near the equator or in extremely hot regions, exposed to the sun's rays without shelter, dwelling in harsh geographical conditions. The verse emphasizes the diversity of Allah's creation and the varied circumstances in which different peoples live across the earth.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the narrative of Dhul-Qarnayn (often identified with Alexander the Great or a righteous king) in Surah Al-Kahf, a Meccan surah. The broader context describes his three journeys: westward to the setting sun, eastward to the rising sun, and northward to build the wall against Gog and Magog. This verse is thematically connected to demonstrating Allah's power over creation and the vast diversity of His world.
Related Hadiths
While no hadith directly addresses this specific ayah, related narrations discuss the signs of the Hour and the emergence of Gog and Magog (mentioned later in the same surah). Sahih Bukhari contains hadiths about Dhul-Qarnayn and the wall, though they provide limited additional detail beyond the Quranic account.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us of the remarkable diversity of Allah's creation and how different peoples adapt to vastly different environmental conditions, encouraging appreciation for the complexity and wisdom of divine providence in sustaining all humanity.
Related Ayahs
أَمْ حَسِبْتَ أَنَّ أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ وَٱلرَّقِيمِ كَانُوا۟ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَا عَجَبًا
Or have you thought that the companions of the cave and the inscription were, among Our signs, a wonder?
كِلْتَا ٱلْجَنَّتَيْنِ ءَاتَتْ أُكُلَهَا وَلَمْ تَظْلِم مِّنْهُ شَيْـًٔا ۚ وَفَجَّرْنَا خِلَـٰلَهُمَا نَهَرًا
Each of the two gardens produced its fruit and did not fall short thereof in anything. And We caused to gush forth within them a river.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلًا
Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - indeed, We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds.
۞ وَٱضْرِبْ لَهُم مَّثَلًا رَّجُلَيْنِ جَعَلْنَا لِأَحَدِهِمَا جَنَّتَيْنِ مِنْ أَعْنَـٰبٍ وَحَفَفْنَـٰهُمَا بِنَخْلٍ وَجَعَلْنَا بَيْنَهُمَا زَرْعًا
And present to them an example of two men: We granted to one of them two gardens of grapevines, and We bordered them with palm trees and placed between them [fields of] crops.