Why These 4 Lies Still Control Your Life | Surah Al Kahf

The Four Great Lies of This World

There are four big lies you are told. Let me tell you what they are. The lie of money, the lie of majority, the lie of power, the lie of knowledge. These are the lies you need to be aware of.

The Four Stories of Surah Al-Kahf

In this surah, there are four main stories:

• The story of the young men and the cave
• The story of Dhul Qarnayn
• The story of Musa and Khidr
• The story of the two men and their gardens

These four main stories represent four types of lie that we take. Four types of deception. We get deceived. We get cheated into them. And that is why this surah is about deception — how to not be cheated, how to not be deceived.

The First Deception: The Lie of the Majority

The first is the deception of the crowd. When a large number of people are doing something, you think, let me just follow them. That is the story of the young men and the cave. They were not deceived by the majority. They were not cheated. They did not accept a lie because everybody believed it.

The Second Deception: The Lie of Wealth

Number two — the two men and their gardens. It is the deception of wealth, of money. Thinking that this money is from you, and this money is going to be good, and these material things I buy — this is going to give me happiness. This is a lie.

The Third Deception: The Lie of Knowledge

The third is the deception of knowledge — the story of Musa and Khidr. When we learn something, we think that now we have become righteous. "I heard a Sheikh say something. I wrote it down. I have some ʿilm. I memorized the Quran." No, this is a lie. This knowledge is an evidence against you on the Day of Judgment unless you act by it. Do not be deceived by knowledge.

The Fourth Deception: The Lie of Power

The last — the story of Dhul Qarnayn — is the deception of power. Dhul Qarnayn's power extends across the earth from east to west. He has a huge empire. But the important thing about this man is he was not deceived by his power. It did not make him arrogant. It did not make him proud. It did not make him take the rights of others.

When we get a little bit of power — we own a shop, we become a counsellor, XY gives us a little bit of power — we start to oppress the people below us. Even a parent will start to oppress their children. This man has an empire from east to west, but he is fearing Allah because he is not letting himself get cheated, deceived by power.

The Connection to the Dajjal

Many people wonder: what is the relationship between this surah and protection from the Dajjal? There are four stories, four deceptions, four lies we are told — the deception of the blind majority, the deception of money, the deception of knowledge, the deception of power. If you can overcome these four deceptions in this life, the Dajjal stands no chance against you when he comes. How is he going to get past you? You are going to see and look at him and realise straight away what he is made of and who he is.

But if you don't — if you get sold, if you get deceived by a little TV advertisement — the Dajjal is going to find you a piece of cake. Easy for him.

And this is why many people think that when the Prophet says whoever memorises these verses, the Dajjal will not harm them — many people think it is just about memorisation. "I memorised ten verses; when he comes, I am going to start reciting them." If you do not understand these four stories, you have no chance against the Dajjal.

The Relationship Between Surah Al-Isra and Surah Al-Kahf

Surah Al-Isra talks a lot about Masjid Al-Aqsa and the journey the Prophet takes from Masjid Al-Haram to Masjid Al-Aqsa, to the heavens and back. In this journey, he meets all of the prophets. And when he comes back, what is the first thing people respond when they hear this? They say: "Muhammad is lying. He is deceiving us."

Surah Al-Kahf comes to say: he was not lying. But there are four big lies you are told — and let me tell you what they are. The lie of money, the lie of majority, the lie of power, the lie of knowledge. These are the lies you need to be aware of. Muhammad is truthful.

The Theme of the Day of Judgment

This whole surah — one of the biggest focuses, from start, middle and end — is the Day of Judgment. Allah says:

Everything on this earth, Allah made a zīna — a decoration. Is there any decoration in this masjid? Can you see anything on the walls? Any frames? Not really. The masjid is not a place for a lot of decoration. But if you go to your house, and I take out all the decoration — I remove the frames, I remove the bukhūr stand, I remove this and that — can you still live in your house? Yes, of course. The decoration is just the topping. Something nice to look at. But it is not the core reason your house exists. You have a bed, you have a roof — that is the main thing. You have a kitchen to cook in. The decoration is a bonus, an extra.

Allah says: We made everything on this earth a zīna. It is decoration. It is beautiful. But if He removed it, you could still live your life. So what is all this decoration for? These cars, this wealth, these clothes, these families that we have — what is it for?

لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ — to test you. أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا — who is going to be the most beautiful in their deeds. And then: وَإِنَّا لَجَاعِلُونَ مَا عَلَيْهَا صَعِيدًا جُرُزًا — We are eventually going to make everything on this earth dust. We will destroy everything.

The Fifth Lie: The Deception of the Dunya

That means there is another lie — the fifth lie. The dunya that we live in. This is the biggest lie.

Imagine somebody who is extremely thirsty in the desert. They have been walking in the heat — 52 degrees Celsius — for five days. Five days with no water. Suddenly in the distance, they see a lake, a big lake. They start to run. But as they get to the lake, they find nothing was there. They call this the mirage. When you are so thirsty, you start to see things that are not even there. You start to imagine things that are not even there. It is a lie. From afar, you thought it was the truth.

This is this dunya — this world we live in — and its pleasures and its brands and its material goods. It is a lie. From afar, we think: that is what I want. But as we get closer and as we taste it, we see the pleasure was only temporary.

The fifth story hidden in Surah Al-Kahf is the deception and the lie of this worldly life and its pleasures. And Allah is telling us the real life and the real pleasures that wait for us are in the afterlife. So we have to push away this lie. We cannot be deceived by the advertisements, by the signs, by everything trying to pull us to drown in this world. Allah is saying: no, don't drown. Take one glass of water and keep moving.

This is what Talut said to his soldiers when he was on his journey: "We are coming to a lake. Whoever is thirsty, take a little bit of water and keep moving. Just keep moving. Don't get distracted." But then you start to drink, and the water is so sweet, so delicious — and you stay there.

The Prophet said this world is like the shade of a tree, and he is a traveller in the desert who simply pauses for a moment — and then keeps moving.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2377 — graded Sahih)

The idea of this world is that we should keep moving. Don't get stuck. Allah says: don't get stuck to this earth. Don't drown in it. Don't get immersed in it. Eat for sustenance. Drive to get from A to B. Wear clothes for the beauty, for the blessings of Allah. But keep moving. Do not think that this world lasts.

This is a very important point as we look at what is happening right now. This world is a test. It will pass. Houses are being destroyed. Everything will be destroyed — Allah promised us. If not today, then tomorrow, everything will be dust. Get used to the dust. Everything above the dust is going to be sand as well. This is the reality of this dunya. It is passing. It is temporary. Its pleasures will not last. So do not get stuck.

The Greatest Deception: The Dajjal

This is the message of Surah Al-Kahf and its relationship to the previous surah and its relationship to the Dajjal. And believe me, there is no greater deception, no greater lie, than the Dajjal. So many people who we thought — including ourselves — "this person is righteous, this person is pious" — they will get pulled by the deception, the lie of the Dajjal.

This surah is a beginning attempt to explore: what is it that will protect us? What are these deceptions? What is Allah conveying to us?

The Greatest Blessing: The Quran

One very important point in the early ayahs: Allah says to praise Him for the greatest blessing. What is the greatest blessing of Allah? This kitab — this book. Allah sends down this book. There is nothing crooked in this book. There is nothing bent, no twisting. It is all straight facts.

But every other book you read, every other paper, every newspaper, every media — every time you turn on the television, somebody crooked will be there behind the scenes with an agenda, trying to sell you some propaganda, trying to lie to you, trying to twist the facts. Be ready for that. This is the only book where there is no agenda — clear facts. Everything else, be ready. The deception is coming.