وَٱصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلْغَدَوٰةِ وَٱلْعَشِىِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُۥ ۖ وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنَاكَ عَنْهُمْ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُۥ عَن ذِكْرِنَا وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَىٰهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُۥ فُرُطًۭا
And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect.
Introduction
This is āyah 28 of Sūrat Al-Kahf (The Cave), the 69th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 15. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 69 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Kahf (18)
(Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord�) [18:28]. The judge Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Hiri related to us by dictation in Dar al-Sunnah on Friday after prayer, in the months of the year 410 a.h.> Abu'l-Hasan ibn 'Isa Ibn 'Abdawayh al-Hiri> Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Bushanji> al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik ibn Musarrih al-Harrani> Sulayman ibn 'Ata' al-Harrani> Maslamah ibn 'Abd Allah al-Juhani> his uncle Ibn Mashja'ah ibn Rub'i al-Juhani> Salman al-Farisi who said: �Those whose hearts were to be reconciled (al-mu'allafati qulubuhum) - 'Uyaynah ibn Hisn, al-Aqra' ibn Habis and their families - came to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, if only you could sit at the front of the assembly and remove these people - meaning: Salman al-Farisi, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari and other poor Muslims - and their smelly outer garments - because the only thing they had on them were these woollen outer garments - from us, then we could sit with you, talk to you and learn from you!' As a response, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And recite that which hath been revealed unto thee of the Scripture of thy Lord. There is none who can change His words, and thou wilt find no refuge beside Him. Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance) [18:27-28] up to His words (Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire...) [18:29], threatening them with hell. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, stood up and went looking for them. He found them at the back of the mosque making remembrance of Allah, exalted is He. He said: 'Praise be to Allah Who did not take away my soul until He commanded me to restrain myself with men of my community. It is with you that I live and with you that I die' �. (�and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance�) [18:28]. Abu Bakr al-Harithi informed us> Abu'l-Shaykh al-Hafiz> Abu Yahya al-Razi> Sahl ibn 'Uthman> Abu Malik> Juwaybir> al-Dahhak> Ibn 'Abbas who said regarding the words of Allah, exalted is He (�and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance�): �This verse was revealed about Umayyah ibn Khalaf al-Jumahi. He asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, to do something that he disliked. He asked him to chase away the poor from his assembly and draw to him, instead, the leaders of Mecca. Allah, exalted is He, revealed (�and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance), i.e. sealed his heart such that he will never believe in Allah's divine oneness (who followeth his own lust) i.e. idolatry�.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
No community resources for this verse yet.