- From Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, that the Prophet said: ‘Whoever recites it will be secure for eighty days from every kind of tribulation. If the Dajjāl should appear during those eighty days, God will protect him from the tribulations of Dajjāl. Whoever recites its final verse, Say: ‘I am just a human being like you …’ when he lies down to sleep, his place of sleep will be filled with a light that shines all the way till the Kaaba under which the angels will pray for him until he gets up. If he happens to be in Mecca when he recites it, a light will shine for him until the house greatly frequented [52:4], under which the angels will pray for him until he wakes up.’
- From the Prophet: ‘Should I tell you about a surah which was accompanied by 70,000 angels when it was revealed, its grandeur filling the span of what is between the heaven and earth?’ They said: ‘Yes.’ He continued: ‘The surah of the Companions of the Cave (aṣḥāb al-kahf). Whoever recites it on a Friday will be forgiven by God until the next Friday and three additional days, and will be given a light that reaches the heaven and be protected from the tribulations of Dajjāl.’
- From Abū Dardāʾ, that the Prophet said: ‘Whoever memorises ten verses from the beginning of Sūrat al-Kahf and then meets the Dajjāl, he will not harm him in any way. Whoever memorises the final verses of Sūrat al-Kahf will have a light on the Day of Judgement.’
- From the Prophet: ‘Whoever recites [Sūrat al-]Kahf on Friday will be protected for six days from every tribulation, and should the Dajjāl appear he will be protected from him.’
Note: These narrations seem to be because of the perceived connection of the story of Gog and Magog to the coming of the Dajjāl. See verse 98 for more.
- From Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘Whoever recites Sūrat al-Kahf on the eve of every Friday will not die except as a martyr, and God will resurrect him with the martyrs, and he will stand with the martyrs on the Day of Judgement.’
- From Imam al-Ṣādiq (a), that anyone who would recite the final verses of Sūrat al-Kahf would wake up at the time they intended.
Naturally, any such effects and rewards are for one who believes in the message of the surah and acts upon it.
The most obvious link of Sūrat al-Kahf with the previous surah is that the previous surah ended with the praise of God and this one begins with it. The two surahs are also of similar length and style. There are many similarities between them and, like many other chapters of the Quran, they can be considered twin surahs.
It is said that of the three questions asked of the Prophet, two of them are answered in this surah, and the one about the spirit was answered in the previous surah, which also serves to link these two surahs. The question about the spirit was answered in the previous surah because it relates to the Prophet’s night journey (isrāʾ), which was also a spiritual matter which is difficult to grasp in physical terms.
For some more similarities, see the commentary on the first verse of this surah.
[1] Tabrisi, 6/690.
[2] Tabrisi, 6/690; Thalabi, 6/144; Qurtubi, 10/346. Other similar narrations about a light being given to the reciter of Sūrat al-Kahf are also reported, see for example Thalabi, 6/204.
[3] Tabrisi, 6/691; Ibn Kathir, 5/121-122. Something similar is also in Thalabi, 6/144; Qurtubi, 10/346.
[4] Tabrisi, 6/691.
[5] Tabrisi, 6/691.
[6] Tabrisi, 6/771. This is also attributed to Ibn Abbas (Qurtubi, 11/72).
[7] Nemuneh, 12/336.
[8] Tabrisi, 6/691.
[9] For example, Ḍuḥā and Inshirāḥ, Layl and Shams, Ṭalāq and Taḥrīm, and so on.
[10] Alusi, 8/189.