Surah Al-Kahf 18:19

قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ ۚ قَالُوا رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ فَابْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَـٰذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ فَلْيَنظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُم بِرِزْقٍ مِّنْهُ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا

18:19 This verse refers to a vision experienced by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in which he was shown the future of the Christian nations. At the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the Christians of the north were not in power and had little influence on world affairs. Politically, militarily, and technologically they were in a state that could be called “dormant and asleep”. The Holy Qur’ân describes that state of theirs as raqûd رقُود - dull, dormant (18:18) ; in a state of lull. But the Holy Prophet (pbuh) in his vision saw these nations in in a restless and wary state. Nuqallib نُقلٌلب(18:18) from qalaba قَلَبَ means to turn a thing upside down or to change its condition. Nuqallibu is an act of changing directions or moving back and forth. The expression, “We will make them change their directions now to the right and then to the left”, points to the moving about of the Christian nations in pursuit of their affairs around the globe. The mention of a dog in their courtyard refers to their social life. The dog is also a symbol of greed. Thus, the verse is also referring to the worldly ambitions of these people. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) became full of sorrow because of their lack of morality.

The verse further points out that this only scratches the surface of their troubles. If you had become aware of their true state, and the havoc they would later play among other nations and peoples of the world, their exterminating ancient civilizations, their conquering or colonizing vast territories, their enslaving of other people, their missionary activities, and their enmity towards the Muslims (cf.: 18:20), “You [the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and the reader] would have turned back from them in fright and you would have surely been filled with great awe and sorrow because of them”.

Yaumيَوْمًا can be a day, a year, a thousand years (22:47), and even fifty thousand years (cf. 70:4). Here, a “period of a thousand years, more or less” is given. This period is in agreement with the time it took the Christian nations to wake up from their slumber and come to dominate all world affairs. It was almost a thousand years after the Holy Prophet (pbuh) that the rise of these nations began. The four characteristics of the people mentioned in this verse are:

1. The establishment of financial institutions – Bu‘athû Warqiبْعَثُواورِقَ. Ba‘athûبْعَثُوا is derived from ba‘tha بَعثَ - to raise, and Warqiورقmeaning money, specifically silver coins. Warqi also can refer to leaves or sheets of paper. Thus Ba‘athû Warqiورقبْعَثُوا could be an allusion to the paper money to be introduced by these nations.

2) Transport of food and merchandise – T‘âmâ طَعَامًا. This word is derived from t‘ima طَعِم, meaning the act of feeding.

3) Polite talk and gentle behaviour. Yatalattafيَتَلَطَّف means “let him be courteous”, “let him behave with great care”, “conduct with great caution”. Its root word is latufa لَطفَ meaning to be delicate, graceful, elegant, gentle, kind.

4) Lâ-Yus’iranna لَا يُشْعِرَنّ – “let them not understand your real purpose”, or “let them not perceive”. Its root word is sh ‘ara شَعَرَ - to perceive or to understand.

The colonizers of the Christian nations left Europe in all directions at the beginning of the 15th and 16th centuries (cf. 18:19). They entered the newly discovered lands under the pretext of trade. They raised funds, created trading companies, brought food and other merchandise, and during the initial stages of colonization behaved politely and gently towards the people, they encountered. They did not reveal their ulterior purpose of their coming to faraway lands. They also gleaned the secrets of the local population, all the while guarding their own secrets, particularly in the area of weaponry. Furthermore, they also introduced paper money.