Imagine this:
You’re a fresh graduate who’s landed this job with a boss who seems to think you have such a high potential to succeed. Out of nowhere, he gives you a leadership position and asks you to present something in front of a number of seniors in your field and show them how it’s done. Of course, the seniors don’t take too well to this, they now hate you. They doubt everything you are and everything you do, they don’t listen and act according to what they feel is right instead. You feel useless, like come on, you only recently graduated and have zero experience, no one seems to listen to you, you feel like you’re not getting anywhere as a result and you’ve got no clue what to do next.
Then perhaps you would kill yourself through grief over them if they do not believe in this message, out of sorrow.
Qur’an 18:6
You feel hopeless. Your boss visits you and notices your state, so he gives you some advice.
“They’ve been giving you some trouble, haven’t they? There’s something I want to talk with you about for a moment, a reminder you might find worthwhile. I placed you where you are right now and asked you to do what you’re trying to do right now because I can see the good in you, and I can say with certainty that you’ll get there. As for the people that won’t listen to you, I hired them too. If they don’t listen to you, even though I was the one who gave you authority over them, I’m going to fire them all and replace them with a team who will listen to you instead”.
Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them as to which of them is best in deed. (7) And indeed, We will make that which is upon it a barren ground. (8)
Qur’an 18:7-8
Your boss continues,
“They might doubt and criticise you, they might compare you to the people before and tell you all about their achievements, but here’s the thing: I taught all of them; those in front of you and those that came before them. They were able to do what they did because I brought out their potential. Don’t sweat over any of it, I’ve got your back”.
Or do you think that the companions of the cave and the inscription were, among Our signs, a wonder? (9) When the youths retreated to the cave and said, “Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance.” (10)
Qur’an 18:9-10
What a pep talk to go ahead give someone, huh. At least this is how I’ve come to view these verses, given what I’ve come to know.
Individual Responsibility
What’s the moral of this story, like what might we draw from it?
In Islam, the idea is that you can’t force people to agree with or follow you. To each their own. You, however, were also given your own role to fulfil, so you want to focus on giving it the best of yourself. One aspect of that is not about forcing the people to believe in what you believe, but to make sure that the messages you presented were clear. If you can do what you can to make the stuff you’ve come to know easy for them, you’ve fulfilled your role. How they respond to it is between them and God, not on you.
From what I’ve gathered, the general theme of the 18th chapter–commonly known as the cave–seems to be about recognising that everyone is accountable to God, not to each other. This is hinted at when you consider the closing verse of the chapter,
Say, “I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.”
Qur’an 18:110
Strangely Iridescent 