18:28

وَٱصۡبِرۡ نَفۡسَكَ مَعَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدۡعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِٱلۡغَدَوٰةِ وَٱلۡعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجۡهَهُۥۖ وَلَا تَعۡدُ عَيۡنَاكَ عَنۡهُمۡ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَاۖ وَلَا تُطِعۡ مَنۡ أَغۡفَلۡنَا قَلۡبَهُۥ عَن ذِكۡرِنَا وَٱتَّبَعَ هَوَىٰهُ وَكَانَ أَمۡرُهُۥ فُرُطٗا

Waisbir nafsaka maAAa allatheena yadAAoona rabbahum bialghadati waalAAashiyyi yureedoona wajhahu wala taAAdu AAaynaka AAanhum tureedu zeenata alhayati alddunya wala tutiAA man aghfalna qalbahu AAan thikrina waittabaAAa hawahu wakana amruhu furutan

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

Word by word
  1. وَٱصۡبِرۡAnd be patient
  2. نَفۡسَكَyourself
  3. مَعَwith
  4. ٱلَّذِينَthose who
  5. يَدۡعُونَcall
  6. رَبَّهُمtheir Lord
  7. بِٱلۡغَدَوٰةِin the morning
  8. وَٱلۡعَشِيِّand the evening
  9. يُرِيدُونَdesiring
  10. وَجۡهَهُۥۖHis Face
  11. وَلَاAnd (let) not
  12. تَعۡدُpass beyond
  13. عَيۡنَاكَyour eyes
  14. عَنۡهُمۡover them
  15. تُرِيدُdesiring
  16. زِينَةَadornment
  17. ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ(of) the life
  18. ٱلدُّنۡيَاۖ(of) the world
  19. وَلَاand (do) not
  20. تُطِعۡobey
  21. مَنۡwhom
  22. أَغۡفَلۡنَاWe have made heedless
  23. قَلۡبَهُۥhis heart
  24. عَنof
  25. ذِكۡرِنَاOur remembrance
  26. وَٱتَّبَعَand follows
  27. هَوَىٰهُhis desires
  28. وَكَانَand is
  29. أَمۡرُهُۥhis affair
  30. فُرُطٗا(in) excess
Al-Kahf · 18:28Makkah

Stay with the ones who call on Allah morning and evening.

Choosing company over glitter


What the nobles asked
nobles of Qurayshsit with us alone
without
the weak believersBilal, Ammar, Ibn Masud
Allah said
stay with thempatiently, morning and evening
Who to keep close
the impressivewealth, status, glitter
the sincereseeking His Face

The nobles of Quraysh asked the Prophet ﷺ to sit with them alone, without his weak Companions like Bilal, Ammar, Suhayb, Khabbab and Ibn Masud. Allah forbade it. Ibn Abbas explained: do not seek the people of nobility and wealth instead of them.

At the wedding you drift toward the table with the important people and away from the old uncle who prays in the corner. Your eyes are being tested on who they find worth looking at.

Time with influential people is time well spent.

Time with people who remember Allah is the company worth keeping.

Try this

Sit with someone overlooked at your masjid or workplace today, and actually listen.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 18:27)

And recite what has been revealed to you (O Muhammad) of your Lord's Book. None can change His Words, and none will you find as refuge other than Him (27)And keep yourself (O Muhammad) patiently with those who call on their Lord 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 has been lost (28)

The Command to recite the Qur'an and to patiently keep Company with the Believers

Commanding His Messenger ﷺ to recite His Holy Book and convey it to mankind, Allah says,

لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ 

(None can change His Words,) meaning, no one can alter them, distort them or misinterpret them.

وَلَن تَجِدَ مِن دُونِهِ مُلْتَحَدًا

(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 have no refuge from Allah.'" As Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ ۖ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ

(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.)[5:67]

إِنَّ الَّذِي فَرَضَ عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لَرَادُّكَ إِلَىٰ مَعَادٍ

(Verily, He Who has given you the Qur'an, will surely bring you back to the place of return.)[28:85] meaning, 'He will call you to account for the duty of conveying the Message which He entrusted you with.'

وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ

(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 this was revealed about the nobles of Quraysh when they asked the Prophet ﷺ to sit with them on his own, and not to 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,

وَلَا تَطْرُدِ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ

(And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon.)[6:52] Allah commanded him to patiently content himself with sitting with those people (the weak believers), and said:

وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ 

(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 ﷺ. 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 Messenger ﷺ thought to himself about whatever Allah willed he should think about, then Allah revealed:

وَلَا تَطْرُدِ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ

(And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon.) Only Muslim reported this; excluding Al-Bukhari.

وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنَاكَ عَنْهُمْ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا

(and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world;) Ibn 'Abbas said, '(this means) do not favor others over them, meaning do not seek the people of nobility and wealth instead of them.'

وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَن ذِكْرِنَا

(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.

وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا

(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:

وَلَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَىٰ مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِّنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ ۚ وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰ

(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.)[20:131]