Quran Universe
18:90

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَطۡلِعَ ٱلشَّمۡسِ وَجَدَهَا تَطۡلُعُ عَلَىٰ قَوۡمٖ لَّمۡ نَجۡعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتۡرٗا

Hatta itha balagha matliAAa alshshamsi wajadaha tatluAAu AAala qawmin lam najAAal lahum min dooniha sitran

Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had not made against it any shield.

Word by word
  1. حَتَّىٰٓUntil
  2. إِذَاwhen
  3. بَلَغَhe reached
  4. مَطۡلِعَ(the) rising place
  5. ٱلشَّمۡسِ(of) the sun
  6. وَجَدَهَاand he found it
  7. تَطۡلُعُrising
  8. عَلَىٰon
  9. قَوۡمٖa community
  10. لَّمۡnot
  11. نَجۡعَلWe made
  12. لَّهُمfor them
  13. مِّنagainst it
  14. دُونِهَاagainst it
  15. سِتۡرٗاany shelter
Al-Kahf · 18:90Makkah

A people with nothing to shade them from the sun.

In the far east

At the sunrise
the far eastwhere the sun rises
a peopleno buildings or trees
exposed to
the sunno shelter
What they lacked
everyone has shelterwhat I assume
no covera hard life

He reached the place where the sun rises and found a people with no buildings or trees to cover them and shade them from the heat. Qatadah said it was mentioned they lived in a land where nothing grew, sheltering until the sun passed its peak.

You complain the air conditioning is weak, that the flat is small. A roof and shade are blessings most people in history did not have.

Shelter and comfort are just normal.

A roof over my head is a gift I easily forget.

Try this

Thank Allah today for your roof, then give something toward someone's shelter.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 18:89)

Then he followed (another) way (89)Until, when he came to the rising place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We (Allah) had provided no shelter against the sun (90)So (it was)! And We knew all about him (Dhul-Qarnayn)(91)

His Journey East

Allah tells us that Dhul-Qarnayn then traveled from the west of the earth towards the east. Every time he passed a nation, he subjugated the people and called them to Allah. If they obeyed him, all well and good, otherwise he would humiliate them and take their wealth and possessions. From every nation he took what his armies needed to fight the next nation. When he reached the place where the sun rises, as Allah says,

وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ

(he found it rising on a people) meaning a nation,

لَّمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتْرًا

(for whom We (Allah) had provided no shelter against the sun.) meaning, they had no buildings or trees to cover them and shade them from the heat of the sun.

Qatadah said, "It was mentioned to us that they were in a land where nothing grew, so when the sun rose they would go into tunnels until it had passed its zenith, then they would come out to go about their daily lives and earn themselves a living."

كَذَٰلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبْرًا

(So (it was)! And We knew all about him.) Mujahid and As-Suddi said, "This means that Allah knew everything about him and his army, and nothing was hidden from Him, even though they came from so many different nations and lands. For,

لَا يَخْفَىٰ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ

(Truly, nothing is hidden from Allah, in the earth or in the heaven.)(3:5)"