Why You Should Patiently Keep Company With The Believers | Tafsir Surah Al-Kahf Ayat 28

And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His face [i.e., acceptance]. 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.1

— Saheeh International

And keep yourself (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) patiently with those who call on their Lord (i.e. your companions who remember their Lord with glorification, praising in prayers, and other righteous deeds) morning and afternoon, seeking His Face; and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our Remembrance, and who follows his own lusts, and whose affair (deeds) has been lost.

Interpretation of The Meanings of The Noble Qur'an In The English Language — Al-Hilali & Khan

 

The Command to Recite The Qur'an and To Patiently Keep Company With The Believers

Commanding His Messenger (peace be upon him) to recite His Holy Book and convey it to mankind, Allah says,

None can change His words,

meaning no one can alter them, distort them or misinterpret them.

and none will you find as a refuge other than Him.

It was reported that Mujahid said, "A shelter," and that Qatadah said, "A helper or supporter. Ibn Jarir said, "Allah is saying, if you O Muhammad, do not recite what is revealed to you of the Book of your Lord, then you will not have no refuge from Allah,'" As Allah says:

O Messenger! Proclaim (the message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allah will protect you from mankind. (Surah 5:67)

Verily, He who has given you the Qur'an will surely bring you back to the place of return. (Surah 28:85)

meaning, 'He will call you to account for the duty of conveying the message which He entrusted you with.'

And keep yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning and afternoon, seeking His Face;

meaning, sit with those who remember Allah, who say "La Ilaha Illallah", who praise Him, glorify Him, declare His greatness and call on Him, morning and evening, all the servants of Allah, whether rich or poor, strong or weak. It was said that was revealed about the nobles of Quraysh when they asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to sit with them on his own, and not bring his weak companions with him, such as Bilal, Ammar, Suhayb, Khabbab and Ibn Mas'ud. They wanted him to sit with them on his own, but Allah forbade him from doing that and said,

And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon.

Allah commanded him to patiently content himself with sitting with those people (the weak believers), and said,

And keep yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning and afternoon...

Imam Muslim Recorded in his Sahih that Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas who said: "There was a group of six of us with the Prophet (peace be upon him). the idolators said, 'Tell these people to leave so they will not offend us.' There was myself, Ibn Mas'ud, a man from Hudayl, Bilal and two other men whose names I have forgotten. Allah's Messeneger (peace be upon him) thought to himself about whatever Allah willed he should think about, then Allah revealed:

And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, mornning and afternoon.

Only Muslim reported this (Muslim 4: 1878) ; excluding Al-Bukhari.

and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomop and glitter of the life of the world;

Ibbn Abbas said, '(this means) do not favor others over them, meaning do not seek the people of nobility and wealth instead of them.'

and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance

means, those who are distracted by this world from being committed to the religion and from worshipping their Lord.

and whose affair (deeds) has been lost.

means, his actions and deeds are a foolish waste of time. Do not obey him or admire his way or envy what he has. As Allah says elsewhere:

And strain not your eyes in longing for the things we have given for enjoyment to various groups of them, the splendor of the life of this world, that We may test them thereby. But the provision of your Lord is better and more lasting. (Surah 20:131)

The Above is from Tafsir Ibn Kathir

 

What Tafseer as-Sa'di Says About Surah al-Kahf Ayat 28

Here Allah instructs His prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) - and others who are also subject to divine commands and prohibitions - to content themselves with the believers who are obdeient and always remember Allah.

{those who call upon their Lord every morning and afternoon} that is , at the beginning and end of the day, seeking thereby (to see in the hereafter) the Face of Allah. He describes them as worshipping Him sincerely, which implies that one should keep company with good people and strive to make oneself content with their company and mix with them, even if they are poor, because there are many benefits in keeping company with them.

{and do not turn your eyes away from them} that is, do not overlook them and turn your gaze away from them.

{desiring the adornment of the life of this world}, for that is harmful and is of no benefit, and it may undermine one's religious interests, because it leads to being attached to this world and focusing one's ideas and thoughts on it, which leads to the heart losing interest in the hereafter.

That is because the adornment of this world is pleasing to the onlooker and bewitches the mind, which in turn distracts the heart from the remebrance of Allah and causes it to focus on pleasures and desires.

This will cause him to waste his timee and will cause his affairs to be in dissarray, and it will lead to eternal loss and everlasting regret. hence Allah says: "And do not obey him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance", so he becomes heedless of Allah, and He punshies him by making him heedless of His remembrance. 

{who follows his own whims and desires} that is, he becomes a follower of his own whims and desires and strives to get whatever he desires, even if that leads to his doom and loss, for he takes his own whims and desires as his god, as Allah says elsewhere:

Have you seen the one who takes his own whims and desires as his god, whom Allah causes to go astray despite his knowledge... Surah al-Jathiyah 45: 23

{and is reckless in his deeds} that is, with regard to his own interests. Allah forbids obeying such a person, because he only calls that which is bad.

This verse indicates that the one who should be obeyed and who should be a leader of people is the one whose heart is filled with love for Allah, and reflected in his speech, so he constantly remembers Allah and seeks the pleasure of his Lord, and gives precedence to that over his whims and desires.

By doing so he is making the most of his time; his affairs are in order, his deeds are righteous and he calls people to that which Allah has blessed him with. Thus he deserves to be followed and to be made a leader.

The contentment mentioned in this verse is contentment and patience in obeying Allah, which is the highest level of contentmentand patience. By achieving that, other types of contentment and patience may also be achieved.

This verse indicates that it is encouraged to remember Allah, call upon Him and worship Him at both ends of the day, because Allah praised people for doing that, and every time Allah praises the doer of and action, this indicates that Allah loves this action, and if he loves it, then He enjoins it and encourages people to do it.

Tafseer as-Sa'di Surah al-Kahf Ayat 28
Published By IIPH, Pages 357-359