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Surah 18. Al-Kahf, Ayah 18

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وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌ ۚ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِ ۖ وَكَلْبُهُم بَـٰسِطٌ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِٱلْوَصِيدِ ۚ لَوِ ٱطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًا
Wata h sabuhum ayq a th an wahum ruqoodun wanuqallibuhum tha ta alyameeni wa tha ta a l shshim a li wakalbuhum b a si t un th ir a AAayhi bi a lwa s eedi lawi i tt alaAAta AAalayhim lawallayta minhum fir a ran walamulita minhum ruAAb a n
And thou wouldst have thought that they were awake, whereas they lay asleep. And We caused them, to turn over repeatedly, now to the right, now to the left; and their dog [lay] on the threshold, its forepaws outstretched. Hadst thou come upon them [unprepared], thou wouldst surely have turned away from them in flight, and wouldst surely have been filled with awe of them.21
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., an accidental onlooker would immediately have felt the mystic, awe-inspiring aura that surrounded the Men of the Cave, and would have become conscious that he stood before God's elect (Tabari, Razi, Ibn Kathir, Baydawi).

If you could see them, you might have thought them awake, though they were asleep. We turned them about to their right and left sides, while their dog lay stretched out with his forepaws at the entrance. Had you looked at them you would have certainly turned your back and their sight would have made you flee in terror.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
And you would have thought they were awake,1 though they were asleep. We turned them over, to the right and left, while their dog stretched his forelegs at the entrance. Had you looked at them, you would have certainly fled away from them, filled with horror.
  - Mustafa Khattab

 This is because, during their long sleep, their eyes were open, their hair grew long, and their bodies rolled over to the right and left to prevent bedsores.

And thou wouldst have deemed them waking though they were asleep, and we caused them to turn over to the right and the left, and their dog stretching out his paws on the threshold. If thou hadst observed them closely thou hadst assuredly turned away from them in flight, and hadst been filled with awe of them.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
Thou wouldst have deemed them awake whilst they were asleep and We turned them on their right and their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two forelegs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them. 2349 2350 2351
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The name of their dog is traditionally known as Qitmir, but see n. 2336 above.

Perhaps their eyes were open, even though their senses were sealed in sleep. They turned about on their sides as men do in sleep.

This graphic picture of the sleepers explains the human mechanism by which their safety was ensured by Allah from their Pagan enemies.

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