Surah Kahf (18) — text, translation & virtues
Qur'an, chapter 18 · 110 verses · Makkan · also written Al-Kahf, "The Cave".
The opening verses in Arabic
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُ عِوَجًا قَيِّمًا لِّيُنذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِّن لَّدُنْهُ
Translation (Saheeh International)
"[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance. [He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him." (18:1–2)
Why it is recited on Fridays
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever reads Surah Al-Kahf on the day of Jumu'ah, a light will shine for him between the two Fridays" (Sunan al-Bayhaqi 5996, graded authentic by al-Albani). Another authentic report mentions protection from the trial of the Dajjal for whoever memorises its first — or last — ten verses (Sahih Muslim 809). The Friday window is generally taken to run from Maghrib on Thursday until Maghrib on Friday.
What the surah is about
Al-Kahf gathers four stories, each a test: the young believers who sheltered in the cave and slept for centuries (faith), the owner of two gardens who forgot who gave them (wealth), Musa and al-Khidr (knowledge), and Dhul-Qarnayn (power). Between them the surah returns again and again to a single point — that this life is like rain that greens the earth for a moment before the wind scatters it, and that "the enduring good deeds are better with your Lord in reward" (18:46).
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Related: Surah Yaseen (36) · Surah Al-Mulk (67) · Ayatul Kursi (2:255)