What Three Questions Were Quraysh Told to Ask the Prophet?
ما هي الأسئلة الثلاثة التي أوصى أحبار يهود قريشاً بطرحها على النبي ﷺ؟
About young men who went away in the early ages: what happened to them, for theirs was a wondrous story? They are the people of the Cave. Allah the Almighty says: (Do you think that the people of the Cave and the Inscription (the news or the names of the people of the Cave) were a wonder among Our Signs?) [Al-Kahf 18:9]
And they asked him about a man who travelled far and reached the east and the west of the earth: what was his story? He is Dhul-Qarnain. Allah the Almighty says: (And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnain. Say: "I shall recite to you something of his story.") [Al-Kahf 18:83]
And ask him about the Ruh (the spirit): what is it? Allah the Almighty says: (And they ask you (O Muhammad) concerning the Ruh (the Spirit); Say: "The Ruh (the Spirit): it is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little.") [Al-Isra 17:85]
عن فتية ذهبوا في الدهر الأوّل، ما كان من أمرهم فإنه قد كان لهم حديث عجيب. هم أصحاب الكهف، قال تعالى: (أَمْ حَسِبْتَ أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْكَهْفِ وَالرَّقِيمِ كَانُوا مِنْ آيَاتِنَا عَجَبًا) [الكهف 18: 9]
وسألوه عن رجل طَوّاف، بلغ مشارق الأرض ومغاربها، ما كان نبؤه؟ هو ذو القرنين، قال تعالى: (وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَن ذِي الْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ قُلْ سَأَتْلُو عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا) [الكهف 18: 83]
وسلوه عن الروح ما هو؟ قال تعالى: (وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ۖ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا) [الإسراء 17: 85]
1. What the People of the Book Told Quraysh | ما أشار به أهل الكتاب على قريش
Ibn Kathir explains that the disbelievers of Makkah sent to the People of the Book to ask what they could test the Prophet with, and they said: ask him about a man who travelled the earth, about young men whose fate is unknown, and about the Ruh; and Surah Al-Kahf was revealed. Ibn Abbas said: Quraysh said to the Jews: give us something to ask this man about. They said: ask him about the Ruh. They asked him, and Allah revealed: they ask you about the Ruh; say, the Ruh is of the command of my Lord, and you have been given of knowledge only a little (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3140, graded hasan sahih by at-Tirmidhi).
وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الرُّوحِ ۖ قُلِ الرُّوحُ مِنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّي وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا (سورة الإسراء: 85)
قال ابن كثير: وقد قدمنا أنه بعث كفار مكة إلى أهل الكتاب يسألون منهم ما يمتحنون به النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقالوا: سلوه عن رجل طواف في الأرض، وعن فتية لا يدرى ما صنعوا، وعن الروح، فنزلت سورة الكهف. وعن ابن عباس قال: قالت قريش ليهود: أعطونا شيئا نسأل عنه هذا الرجل، فقالوا: سلوه عن الروح، فسألوه عن الروح، فأنزل الله: (ويسألونك عن الروح قل الروح من أمر ربي وما أوتيتم من العلم إلا قليلا) (الإسراء 17: 85) (جامع الترمذي 3140، وقال: حسن صحيح غريب).
2. The Same Question in Madinah | السؤال نفسه في المدينة
Abdullah ibn Mas’ud said: I was with the Prophet in a field while he leaned on a palm stalk, when some Jews passed by. Some of them said: ask him about the Ruh, and others said: do not, lest he answer you with something you dislike. They asked him, and he stayed silent; I knew that revelation was coming to him, so I stood where I was, and when the revelation ended he recited 17:85 (Sahih al-Bukhari 4721). Ibn Kathir notes that the surah is Makkan, and explains that the verse may have been revealed a second time in Madinah, or that he was inspired to answer them with the verse revealed earlier. Whether a verse counts as Makkan or Madinan depends on when it was revealed, as explained in which Madinan ayah was revealed in Mecca. What the Quran says about the soul is gathered in what the Quran tells us about the soul.
قال عبد الله بن مسعود: بينا أنا مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في حرث وهو متكئ على عسيب إذ مر اليهود، فقال بعضهم لبعض: سلوه عن الروح، فقال: ما رابكم إليه، وقال بعضهم: لا يستقبلكم بشيء تكرهونه، فقالوا: سلوه، فسألوه عن الروح، فأمسك النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فلم يرد عليهم شيئا، فعلمت أنه يوحى إليه، فقمت مقامي، فلما نزل الوحي قال: (ويسألونك عن الروح قل الروح من أمر ربي وما أوتيتم من العلم إلا قليلا) (صحيح البخاري 4721). وقال ابن كثير: قد يكون نزلت عليه بالمدينة مرة ثانية كما نزلت عليه بمكة قبل ذلك، أو أنه نزل عليه الوحي بأنه يجيبهم عما سألوا بالآية المتقدم إنزالها عليه.
3. Not More Wondrous Than Allah’s Other Signs | ليس أمرهم بأعجب من آيات الله
Allah says: or do you think that the people of the Cave and the Inscription were, among Our signs, a wonder? (18:9). Ibn Kathir explains: their affair is not wondrous for Our power, for the creation of the heavens and the earth, the alternation of night and day and the subjection of the sun and the moon are greater signs; Mujahid said: among Our signs is what is more wondrous than that. The wall Dhul-Qarnain built is explained in who built the wall against Gog and Magog.
أَمْ حَسِبْتَ أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْكَهْفِ وَالرَّقِيمِ كَانُوا مِنْ آيَاتِنَا عَجَبًا (سورة الكهف: 9)
قال تعالى: (أم حسبت أن أصحاب الكهف والرقيم كانوا من آياتنا عجبا) (الكهف 18: 9)، قال ابن كثير: أي ليس أمرهم عجيبا في قدرتنا وسلطاننا، فإن خلق السموات والأرض، واختلاف الليل والنهار، وتسخير الشمس والقمر والكواكب، وغير ذلك من الآيات العظيمة الدالة على قدرة الله تعالى أعجب من أخبار أصحاب الكهف، وقال مجاهد: قد كان من آياتنا ما هو أعجب من ذلك.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
What were the three questions?
About the young men who went away in the early ages (the people of the Cave), about the man who reached the east and the west of the earth (Dhul-Qarnain), and about the Ruh.
Who advised Quraysh to ask them?
The People of the Book, when Quraysh asked them how to test the Prophet, as Ibn Kathir explains.
What was revealed about the Ruh?
Say, the Ruh is of the command of my Lord, and you have been given of knowledge only a little (17:85).
Was the Ruh asked about in Madinah too?
Yes. Ibn Mas’ud reported that some Jews asked the Prophet about it in Madinah (Sahih al-Bukhari 4721).