Social Quranevery verse · a conversation
Sign in
سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ · 18:83
MeccanRevelation order ٦٩Juzʾ ١٦Page ٣٠٢

وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَن ذِى ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ قُلْ سَأَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا

٨٣
Saheeh International · EN

And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about Dhul-Qarnayn. Say, "I will recite to you about him a report."

IntroductionRevelationTafsirTransmissionDebate
Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 83 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 16. 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.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
69 of 114
Surah
Al-Kahf (18)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(They will ask thee of Dhu�l-Qarnayn�) [18:83]. Said Qatadah: �The Jews asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, about Dhu�l-Qarnayn, and Allah, exalted is He, revealed these verses�.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn. Say: "I shall recite to you something of his story. (83)Verily, We established him in the earth, and We gave him the means of everything (84) The Story of Dhul-Qarnayn Allah says to His Prophet ﷺ, وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ (And they ask you) O Muhammad ﷺ, عَن ذِي الْقَرْنَيْنِ (about Dhul-Qarnayn.) i.e., about his story. We have already mentioned how the disbelievers of Makkah sent word to the People of the Book and asked them for some information with which they could test the Prophet ﷺ. They (the People of the Book) said, 'Ask him about a man who traveled extensively throughout the earth, and about some young men who nobody knows what they did, and about the Ruh (the soul),' then Surat Al-Kahf was revealed. Dhul-Qarnayn had great Power إِنَّا مَكَّنَّا لَهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ (Verily, We established him in the earth,) means, 'We have given him great power…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. 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

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. 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.

The wall

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.

Sign in to add your voice to this verse.
No reflections yet — be the first.
Provenance

Community resources

No community resources for this verse yet.