Surah Al-Kahf · Ayah 55·Makkī

55

وَمَا أَن إِذْ إِلَّآ أَن أَوْ ﴿٥٥﴾

Translation

Saheeh International

And nothing has prevented the people from believing when guidance came to them and from asking forgiveness of their Lord except that there [must] befall them the [accustomed] precedent of the former peoples or that the punishment should come [directly] before them.

Compare all 34 translations →

Tafsīr

قرآن حکیم (شرح آیات منتخب)

کافران لجوج در انتظار عذاب الهی

این آیه به این نکته اشاره کرده که گروه کافران لجوج و مغرورء با میل و ارادةٌ خود هرگز ایمان نخواهند آورد و تنها در دو حالت ایمان می‌آورند: نخست» زمانی که عذاب‌های دردناکی که اقوام پیشین را در بر گرفتء آنها را فرو گیرد؛ دوم این که عذاب الهی را با چشم خود مشاهده کنند که این ایمان اضطراری البته بی‌ارزش خواهد بود. توجه به این نکته لازم است که این گروه‌های گمراه هرگز در انتظار چنین سرنوشتی نبوده‌اند؛ اما چون این سرنوشت برای آنها حتمی بوده» قرآن آن را انتظار نامیده و این نوعی کنایة زیبا است؛ درست مثل این‌که ما به فرد سرکشی می‌گوییم: تو فقط می‌خواهی مجازات شوی؛ یعنی مجازات» سرنوشت حتمی تو است؛ آن‌چنان که گویا در انتظارش هستی.

Verse DNA · this āyah at a glance

Vocabulary and recitation are counted from the morphology and the Uthmani marks; commentary reports whether an authored tafsīr entry reaches this āyah. A structural read, not a judgement — a denser strip is not a weightier verse.

Vocabulary · 12 roots in 13 of 19 words

Recitation · 20 points across 6 rule families

  • Madd ṭabīʿī7
  • Lām shamsiyyah4
  • Ghunnah2
  • Idghām (with ghunnah)3
  • Heavy rāʾ2
  • Iẓhār shafawī2

Commentary

  • قرآن حکیم (شرح آیات منتخب)

Shape

19 words · 83 letters · āyah 55 of 110

once in the Qurʾān2–10×11–50×51–300×300+×

Similar verses by meaning

Ranked by semantic similarity over translation embeddings — a model’s proxy for meaning, not a claim about it, and not tafsīr. Verses may be kin in theme while differing entirely in wording.

  • قُل لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِن يَنتَهُوا۟ يُغْفَرْ لَهُم مَّا قَدْ سَلَفَ وَإِن يَعُودُوا۟ فَقَدْ مَضَتْ سُنَّتُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ

    Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them. But if they return [to hostility] - then the precedent of the…

  • إِن كَادَ لَيُضِلُّنَا عَنْ ءَالِهَتِنَا لَوْلَآ أَن صَبَرْنَا عَلَيْهَا وَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ حِينَ يَرَوْنَ ٱلْعَذَابَ مَنْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا

    He almost would have misled us from our gods had we not been steadfast in [worship of] them." But they are going to know, when they see the punishment, who is farthest astray in…

  • هَٰذَا هُدًى وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مِّن رِّجْزٍ أَلِيمٌ

    This [Qur'an] is guidance. And those who have disbelieved in the verses of their Lord will have a painful punishment of foul nature.

  • فَمَا تَنفَعُهُمْ شَفَٰعَةُ ٱلشَّٰفِعِينَ

    So there will not benefit them the intercession of [any] intercessors.

  • وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَٰهُم بِٱلْعَذَابِ فَمَا ٱسْتَكَانُوا۟ لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ

    And We had gripped them with suffering [as a warning], but they did not yield to their Lord, nor did they humbly supplicate, [and will continue thus]

  • وَلَوْ شَآءَ رَبُّكَ لَـَٔامَنَ مَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ جَمِيعًا أَفَأَنتَ تُكْرِهُ ٱلنَّاسَ حَتَّىٰ يَكُونُوا۟ مُؤْمِنِينَ

    And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed - all of them entirely. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel the people in order that they become believers?

Verses built from the same roots

Ranked by shared vocabulary (idf-cosine over each verse’s root-set). Shared words are a fact about form — they do not by themselves mean two verses are about the same thing.

  • Al-Israa 17:945 shared roots

    وَمَا مَنَعَ ٱلنَّاسَ أَن يُؤْمِنُوٓا۟ إِذْ جَآءَهُمُ ٱلْهُدَىٰٓ إِلَّآ أَن قَالُوٓا۟ أَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ بَشَرًا رَّسُولًا

    م-ن-عج-ي-أه-د-يأ-ن-سأ-م-ن

  • Al-Hijr 15:133 shared roots

    لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِۦ وَقَدْ خَلَتْ سُنَّةُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ

    س-ن-نأ-و-لأ-م-ن

  • An-Nisaa 4:263 shared roots

    يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ سُنَنَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَيَتُوبَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ

    س-ن-نه-د-يق-ب-ل

  • Al-Israa 17:772 shared roots

    سُنَّةَ مَن قَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَا وَلَا تَجِدُ لِسُنَّتِنَا تَحْوِيلًا

    س-ن-نق-ب-ل

  • Al-Hijr 15:612 shared roots

    فَلَمَّا جَآءَ ءَالَ لُوطٍ ٱلْمُرْسَلُونَ

    أ-و-لج-ي-أ

  • Al-Israa 17:593 shared roots

    وَمَا مَنَعَنَآ أَن نُّرْسِلَ بِٱلْـَٔايَٰتِ إِلَّآ أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ وَءَاتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ ٱلنَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُوا۟ بِهَا وَمَا نُرْسِلُ بِٱلْـَٔايَٰتِ إِلَّا تَخْوِيفًا

    م-ن-عأ-و-لأ-ت-ي

Questions

Which verses are similar to Quran 18:55?

Verses close in meaning to Quran 18:55 include Quran 8:38 (Surah Al-Anfaal), Quran 25:42 (Surah Al-Furqaan), Quran 45:11 (Surah Al-Jaathiya), and Quran 74:48 (Surah Al-Muddaththir). For example, 8:38 reads: “Say to those who have disbelieved [that] if they cease, what has previously occurred will be forgiven for them. But if they return [to hostility] - then the precedent of the…” These are ranked by comparing translations of every verse in the Qurʾān, so they are a measure of similar wording and theme — not a tafsīr ruling.

What does Quran 18:55 say?

In Saheeh International, Quran 18:55 (Surah Al-Kahf, The Cave) reads: “And nothing has prevented the people from believing when guidance came to them and from asking forgiveness of their Lord except that there [must] befall them the [accustomed] precedent of the former peoples or that the punishment should come [directly]…”

Which surah is verse 18:55 in?

Quran 18:55 is āyah 55 of Surah Al-Kahf (The Cave), chapter 18 of the Qurʾān — a Meccan (Makkī) surah of 110 verses.

Is there a tafsīr (commentary) for Quran 18:55?

Yes — Tartīl shows verse-by-verse commentary on Quran 18:55 from قرآن حکیم (شرح آیات منتخب).

In how many languages can I read Quran 18:55?

Tartīl presents Quran 18:55 in the original Arabic alongside 34 translations, with audio recitation.