نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُم بِٱلْحَقِّ إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِدْنَٰهُمْ هُدًى · وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُوا۟ فَقَالُوا۟ رَبُّنَا رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ
"We recount to you their tidings in truth: they were young men who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance. When they stood up and said, 'Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth', We bound fast their hearts."
The idiom was treated in al-Qaṣaṣ at 28/10 (lawlā an rabaṭnā ʿalā qalbihā — the mother of Moses). In both places the same expression is used for the same work:
| Place | Who | When |
|---|---|---|
| al-Qaṣaṣ 28/10 | The mother of Moses | After she had set her child upon the water |
| al-Kahf 18/14 | The young men | When they stood up and spoke |
I record this as an observation: in both scenes the person does something he could not bear on his own, and the support is given to the heart. The act works from within, not from without.
إِذْ قَامُوا۟ — "when they stood up." The choice of verb is worth recording: the word is spoken standing, not seated.
وَزِدْنَٰهُمْ هُدًى — "We increased them in guidance." The same structure was treated in Maryam at 19/76 (wa yazīdu'llāhu'lladhīna'htadaw hudā) and in al-Furqān: guidance is spoken of as something added on top of what has already been given.