The Importance of Surah Al-Kahf
This story is about a man who had two beautiful gardens. This man was very well off and was living very comfortably. He not only owned fields of grapes but those fields of grapes were protected by date trees. At that time, dates and grapes were some of the most valued commodities one could have. In addition to these beautiful gardens, Allah SWT had put rivers within the gardens so he did not need to depend on rain to grow his garden. Not only did this man have these two fields with rivers flowing but he had horses, carriages & he had his children's wealth from other businesses. You simply could not ask for a better set up. But what did all this wealth do to him?
One day, he was chatting it up with a friend. He tells his friend about all the wealth he has built. He had more money than his friend. He had more children than his friend. He was basically boasting in front of a man that did not have anywhere near what he had been blessed with. The man completely forgot that Allah SWT had provided him with all of what he had and he began attributing his success to himself. We all know in Islam that arrogance is one of the worst sins and overall is just a nasty quality to have. He became so engulfed in his wealth and success that he even ends up doubting the Day of Judgement. And that's where the lesson lies in this story.
Allah SWT sends down a punishment that destroys the man’s garden. This happens right after he was boasting to his friend. See, the man goes from having one of the most beautiful gardens to nothing. So what can we learn from this?
As we accomplish things in this life, we must always attribute our success to Allah. We must always be grateful to Allah and know that our success, wealth and knowledge comes from Allah. And we must stay humble and grateful. Humility and gratefulness is always key.