Encounter between Faith and Materialism: An Analytical Study of Surah Al-Kahf

In the present analytical study of Surah Al-Kahf, edited by Abdul Kader Choughley, Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (1913-1999), one of the foremost Muslim scholars of modern era, offers a deeply illuminating reflection on the nature, message and meaning of the Surah. Surah Al-Kahf, with its 110 verses, revealed in the last phase of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) mission in Makkah, presents an account of the clash between two doctrines, two ideologies and two mindsets. One of these stands for materialism and reliance on material factors whereas the other one signifies faith in Allah, the most merciful God, and the things that lie beyond our perception (Al-Ghayb).

The Surah, as it unfolds through the stories such as the People of the Cave, the Owners of Two Gardens, Prophet Moses and Al-Khidr (peace be upon them) and Dhū l Qarnayn, takes us beyond the outer-reality of our earthly life to its inner-reality (Al-Ākhirah), by succinctly spelling out the belief systems, the moral consequences of our beliefs and actions, etc. Abdul Kader Choughley, an independent South African Muslim scholar, has contributed enormously to the revival of South Asian Muslim scholarship, during the past decade or so, with several valuable studies on Islam in South Asia, focusing on Islamic revivalism. Some other important works of Choughley’s contribution to the Islamic revivalism discourse are: Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi: Life and Legacy and Fazlur Rahman Ansari Aligarh Years: 1933-1947 (Tawasul International Publishing, Rome, 2024). Of notable mention is How to Study the Qurʾān: Sayyid Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi’s Approach (Tawasul International Publishing, Rome, 2024), which is an expanded version of his lecture delivered at the K.A. Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies, Aligarh Muslim University.