Al-Naḍr and ʿUqbah returned until they came to Quraysh and said, “O people of Quraysh, we have brought you the decisive criterion between you and Muḥammad. The Jewish rabbis instructed us to question him about certain matters; present those questions to him.”
They then went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, “O Muḥammad, tell us …,” and proceeded to ask him about the issues they had been told to raise. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “I will inform you tomorrow about what you have asked,” yet he did not add, “if Allah wills.”
They left him, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained for fifteen nights with no revelation on that matter and no visit from Gabriel. The people of Mecca began spreading rumors, saying, “Muḥammad promised us ‘tomorrow,’ and here we are—fifteen mornings have passed and he has not told us anything about what we asked.” The interruption of revelation grieved the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and weighed heavily on him because of what the Meccans were saying.
Then Gabriel came to him from Allah with Sūrat al-Kahf, which contained a gentle reproach for his sorrow over them and the account (1) of what they had asked—the story of the youths and of the great traveler. In it the Most High said:
“They ask you about the Spirit. Say, ‘The Spirit is of my Lord’s command, and you have been given only a little knowledge.’” (al-Isrāʾ 17:85)
We have treated all of this at length in the Tafsīr; whoever wishes may consult it there.
The following was also revealed:
“Or did you think that the People of the Cave and al-Raqīm were among Our wondrous signs?” (al-Kahf 18:9)
He then began to detail their story, and in the midst of it He taught the rule of making an exception (2) as a firm principle, not a mere condition, saying:
“And do not say of anything, ‘I will surely do that tomorrow,’ without adding, ‘if Allah wills’; and remember your Lord when you forget.” (al-Kahf 18:23–24)
After that He related the account of Moses because of its connection to the story of al-Khiḍr, and then that of Dhū al-Qarnayn, saying:
“They ask you about Dhū al-Qarnayn. Say, ‘I shall recite to you an account of him.’” (al-Kahf 18:83)
He then clarified his affair and narrated his story.
In Sūrat Subḥān (al-Isrāʾ) He likewise said:
“They ask you about the Spirit. Say, ‘The Spirit is of my Lord’s command.’” (al-Isrāʾ 17:85)
—that is, it is a wondrous created being of His creation, a matter decreed by Him. He said to it, “Be,” and it was. You are not granted access to everything He has created, nor to an explanation of its inner reality (3); in truth such knowledge is beyond you in view of Allah’s power and wisdom. For that reason He said:
“and you have been given only a little knowledge.” (al-Isrāʾ 17:85)
It is established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs (4) that the Jews questioned the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about this in Madinah, whereupon he recited this verse—either it was revealed a second time, or he merely cited it in reply (5), even though its original revelation had preceded that event. Whoever claims that it was revealed only in Madinah and therefore must be excluded from Sūrat Subḥān is open to objection; Allah knows best.
Ibn Isḥāq (6) said: When Abū Ṭālib feared that the Arabs might launch an attack against him and his clan, he composed the poem in which he sought protection