Tafseer of the aayah “And you might have seen the sun, when it rose, declining…”

 

Please explain the following verse.


“And you might have seen the sun, when it rose, declining to the right from their Cave, and when it set, turning away from them to the left, while they lay in the midst of the Cave. That is (one) of the Ayaat (proofs, evidences, signs) of Allaah. He whom Allaah guides, he is the rightly-guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him (to the Right Path)”
[al-Kahf 18:17 –interpretation of the meaning]

Praise
be to Allaah. 

Shaykh Ibn Sa’di (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

Allaah protected them from the sun, so He guided them
to go into a cave, and when the sun rose it declined to the right and
when it set it declined to the left, so that its heat would not reach
them and cause their bodies to decay. 

“while they lay in the midst of the Cave” 

i.e., in the middle of the cave which was a spacious
area. That was so that they might have some air and breezes, and so
that they would not decay or disintegrate in a narrow space, especially
since they remained there for so long. This was one of the Signs of
Allaah which points to His power and His mercy towards them, and it
was a response to their prayers, and guided them and took care of them.
Hence Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“He whom Allaah guides, he is the rightly-guided”,
i.e., there is no way to attain true guidance except from Allaah, for
He is the true Guide who shows the way to that which is best in this
world and in the Hereafter. 

“but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find
no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him”

i.e., you will not
find anyone to help him or guide him towards that which is good for
him, because Allaah has decreed that he is to be misguided and there
is none who can overturn His ruling. 

See Tayseer al-Kareem al-Rahmaan, p. 472.