Surah 18. Al-Kahf

But wouldst thou, perhaps,³ torment thyself to death with grief over them if they are not willing to believe in this message?⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "it may well be that thou wilt...", etc. However, the particle la'alla does not, in this context, indicate a possibility but, rather, a rhetorical question implying a reproach for the attitude referred to (Maraghi XIII, 116).

This rhetorical question is addressed, in the first instance, to the Prophet, who was deeply distressed by the hostility which his message aroused among the pagan Meccans, and suffered agonies of apprehension regarding their spiritual fate. Beyond that, however, it applies to everyone who, having become convinced of the truth of an ethical proposition, is dismayed at the indifference with which his social environment reacts to it.

O Muhammad! You probably will kill yourself in grief over them, if they do not believe in this Message (The Qur'an).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Yet it may be, if they believe not in this statement, that thou (Muhammad) wilt torment thy soul with grief over their footsteps.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold, We have willed that all beauty on earth be a means by which We put men to a test,⁵ [showing] which of them are best in conduct;

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "We have made all that exists on earth as its adornment in order that We might put them [i.e., all human beings] to a test": meaning that God lets them reveal their real characters in their respective attitudes - moral or immoral - towards the material goods and benefits which the world offers them. In further analysis, this passage implies that the real motive underlying men's refusal to believe in God's spiritual message (see preceding verse) is almost always their excessive, blind attachment to the good of this world, combined with a false pride in what they regard as their own achievements (cf. 16:22 and the corresponding note [15]).

We have decked the earth with all kinds of ornaments to test the people and to see which of them do the best deeds.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! We have placed all that is in the earth as an ornament thereof that we may try them: which of them is best in conduct.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and, verily, [in time] We shall reduce all that is on it to barren dust!

  - Mohammad Asad

In the end We shall reduce all that is on it to a barren wasteland.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And lo! We shall make all that is therein a barren mound.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[AND SINCE the life of this world is but a test,]⁶ dost thou [really] think that [the parable of] the Men of the Cave and of [their devotion to] the scriptures could be deemed more wondrous than any [other] of Our messages?⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

This interpolation establishes the elliptically implied connection between the long passage that follows and the preceding two verses.

Lit., "that the Men of the Cave... were more wondrous...", etc. - the implication being that the allegory or parable based on this story is entirely in tune with the ethical doctrine propounded in the Qur'an as a whole, and therefore not "more wondrous" than any other of its statements. - As regards the story of the Men of the Cave as such, most of the commentators incline to the view that it relates to a phase in early Christian history - namely, the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Decius in the third century. Legend has it that some young Christians of Ephesus, accompanied by their dog, withdrew into a secluded cave in order to be able to live in accordance with their faith, and remained there, miraculously asleep for a great length of time (according to some accounts, referred to in verse 25 of this surah, for about three centuries). When they finally awoke - unaware of the long time during which they had lain asleep - they sent one of their company to the town to purchase some food. In the meantime the situation had changed entirely: Christianity was no longer persecuted and had even become the official religion of the Roman Empire. The ancient coin (dating from the reign of Decius) with which the young man wanted to pay for his purchases immediately aroused curiosity; people began to question the stranger, and the story of the Men of the Cave and their miraculous sleep came to light. As already mentioned, the majority of the classical commentators rely on this Christian legend in their endeavour to interpret the Qur'anic reference (in verses {9-26}) to the Men of the Cave. It seems, however, that the Christian formulation of this theme is a later development of a much older oral tradition - a tradition which, in fact, goes back to pre-Christian, Jewish sources. This is evident from several well-authenticated ahadith (mentioned by all the classical commentators), according to which it was the Jewish rabbis (ahbar) of Medina who induced the Meccan opponents of Muhammad to "test his veracity" by asking him to explain, among other problems, the story of the Men of the Cave. Referring to these ahadith, Ibn Kathir remarks in his commentary on verse {13} of this surah: "It has been said that they were followers of Jesus the son of Mary, but God knows it better: it is obvious that they lived much earlier than the Christian period - for, had they been Christians, why should the Jewish rabbis have been intent on preserving their story, seeing that the Jews had cut themselves off from all friendly communion with them [i.e., the Christians]?" We may, therefore, safely assume that the legend of the Men of the Cave - stripped of its Christian garb and the superimposed Christian background - is, substantially, of Jewish origin. If we discard the later syncretic additions and reduce the story to its fundamentals - voluntary withdrawal from the world, agelong "sleep" in a secluded cave and a miraculous "awakening" after an indeterminate period of time - we have before us a striking allegory relating to a movement which played an important role in Jewish religious history during the centuries immediately preceding and following the advent of Jesus: namely, the ascetic Essene Brotherhood (to which, as I have pointed out in note [42] on 3:52, Jesus himself may have belonged), and particularly that of its branches which lived in self-imposed solitude in the vicinity of the Dead Sea and has recently, after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, come to be known as the "Qumran community". The expression ar-raqim occurring in the above Qur'an-verse (and rendered by me as "scriptures") lends strong support to this theory. As recorded by Tabari, some of the earliest authorities - and particularly Ibn 'Abbas - regarded this expression as synonymous with marqum ("something that is written") and hence with kitab ("a writ" or "a scripture"); and Razi adds that "all rhetoricians and Arabic philologists assert that ar-raqim signifies [the same as] al-kitab". Since it is historically established that the members of the Qumran community - the strictest group among the Essenes - devoted themselves entirely to the study, the copying and the preservation of the sacred scriptures, and since they lived in complete seclusion from the rest of the world and were highly admired for their piety and moral purity, it is more than probable that their mode of life made so strong an impression on the imagination of their more worldly co-religionists that it became gradually allegorized in the story of the Men of the Cave who "slept" – that is, were cut off from the outside world - for countless years, destined to be "awakened" after their spiritual task was done. But whatever the source of this legend, and irrespective of whether it is of Jewish or Christian origin, the fact remains that it is used in the Qur'an in a purely parabolic sense: namely, as an illustration of God's power to bring about death (or "sleep") and resurrection (or "awakening'); and, secondly, as an allegory of the piety that induces men to abandon a wicked or frivolous world in order to keep their faith unsullied, and of God's recognition of that faith by His bestowal of a spiritual awakening which transcends time and death.

Do you think that the Companions of the Cave and of Ar-Raqeem (this may refer to the name of their dog, or the tablet on which their names are inscribed or the mountain in which the cave is situated) were among Our wonderful signs?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Or deemest thou that the People of the Cave and the Inscription are a wonder among Our portents?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

When those youths took refuge in the cave, they prayed: "O our Sustainer! Bestow on us grace from Thyself, and endow us, whatever our [outward] condition, with consciousness of what is right!"⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and provide for us, out of our condition (min amrina), consciousness of what is right" - which latter phrase gives the meaning of the term rushd in this context. This passage is a kind of introduction to the allegory of the Men of the Cave, giving a broad outline of what is expounded more fully in verses {13} ff.

When those young men took refuge in the cave, they said "Our Rabb! Have mercy on us from Yourself and guide us out of our ordeal."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

When the young men fled for refuge to the Cave and said: Our Lord! Give us mercy from Thy presence and shape for us right conduct in our plight.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And thereupon We veiled their ears in the cave⁹ for many a year,

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., God caused them to remain cut off - physically or metaphorically - from the sounds and the bustle of the outside world. The classical commentators take the above phrase to mean that God "veiled their ears with sleep".

So We put upon their ears a cover (put them into a deep sleep) for a number of years in the cave,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then We sealed up their hearing in the Cave for a number of years.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and then We awakened them:¹⁰ [and We did all this] so that We might mark out [to the world]¹¹ which of the two points of view showed a better comprehension of the time-sup during which they had remained in this state.¹²

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "sent them forth" - which may indicate a return to the active life of this world.

Lit., "so that We might take cognizance of": but since God embraces all past, present and future with His knowledge, His "taking cognizance" of an event denotes His causing it to come into being and, thus, allowing it to become known by His creatures: hence, "marking it out" to the world.

Lit., "which of the two parties" - alluding, metonymically, to the two viewpoints mentioned in verse {19} below - "was better at computing the time-span.. .", etc.: it should, however, be borne in mind that the verb ahsa does not merely signify "he computed" or "reckoned", but also "he understood" or "comprehended" (Taj al~'Arus). Since a "computing" of the time which those seekers after truth had spent in the cave could have no particular bearing on the ethical implications of this parable, ahsa has here obviously the meaning of "better at comprehending" or "showing a better comprehension" - namely, of the spiritual meaning of the time-lapse between their "falling asleep" and their "awakening" (see note [25] below).

and then awakened them to find out which of the two parties (believers and nonbelievers who were arguing about the fact of life after death) could best tell the length of their stay.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And afterward We raised them up that We might know which of the two parties would best calculate the time that they had tarried.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

[And now] We shall truly relate to thee their story:¹³ Behold, they were young men who had attained to faith in their Sustainer: and [so] We deepened their consciousness of the right way¹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., without the many legendary embellishments which, in times past, have obscured the purport of this story or parable.

Lit., "We increased [or "advanced"] them in guidance".

Now We tell you their real story. They were young men who believed in their Rabb, and on them We had bestowed Our guidance.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We narrate unto thee their story with truth. Lo! they were young men who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and endowed their hearts with strength, so that they stood up¹⁵ and said [to one another]: "Our Sustainer is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. Never shall we invoke any deity other than Him: [if we did,] we should indeed have uttered an enormity!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "when they stood up" - i.e., stood up to their misguided fellow-men, or to the rulers who persecuted the believers (see note [7]).

We put courage in their hearts when they stood up and declared: "Our Rabb is the Rabb of the heavens and the earth, we shall never appeal to any other deity except Him, for if we do, we shall be saying something improper.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We made firm their hearts when they stood forth and said: Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We cry unto no god beside Him, for then should we utter an enormity.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

These people of ours have taken to worshipping [other] deities instead of Him, without being able to¹⁶ adduce any reasonable evidence in support of their beliefs;¹⁷ and who could be more wicked than he who invents a lie about God?¹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "Why do they not.. .", etc., in the form of a rhetorical query introducing a new sentence.

Lit., "any clear evidence [or "authority"] in their support". The adjective bayyin ("clear", "obvious", "manifest") implies an evidence accessible to reason.

I.e., invents imaginary deities and thus gives the lie to the truth of His oneness and uniqueness, or even denies His existence altogether.

These people of ours have taken for worship other gods besides Him; if they are right, why do they not bring forth any convincing proof of their divinity? Who is more wicked than the one who invents a lie about Allah?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

These, our people, have chosen (other) gods beside Him though they bring no clear warrant (vouchsafed) to them. And who doth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie concerning Allah?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, now that you have withdrawn from them and from all that they worship instead of God, take refuge in that cave: God will spread His grace over you, and will endow you - whatever your [outward] condition - with all that your souls may need!"¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

The term mirfaq signifies "anything by which one benefits", whether concrete or abstract; in this context it has obviously a spiritual connotation, marking the young men’s abandonment of the world and withdrawal into utter seclusion.

Then in their mutual consultation they said: Now that we have withdrawn from them and denounced those deities whom they worship beside Allah, let us take refuge in some cave; our Rabb will extend to us His mercy and facilitate us in disposing of our affairs."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when ye withdraw from them and that which they worship except Allah, then seek refuge in the Cave; your Lord will spread for you of His mercy and will prepare for you a pillow in your plight.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And [for many a year] thou might have seen the sun, on its rising, incline away from their cave on the right, and, on its setting, turn aside from them on the left, while they lived on in that spacious chamber,²⁰ [bearing witness to] this of God's messages: He whom God guides, he alone has found the right way; whereas for him whom He lets go astray thou canst never find any protector who would point out the right way.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "while they were in a broad cleft thereof". The cave evidently opened to the north, so that the heat of the sun never disturbed them: and this, I believe is an echo of the many Qur'anic allusions to the happiness of the righteous in paradise, symbolized by its "everlasting shade" (see, in particular, surah {4}, note [74], on the metaphorical use of the term zill in the sense of "happiness").

If you could look at them in the cave, it would appear to you that the rising sun declines to the right of their cavern, and as it sets, passes them on the left, while they lay in an open space in between. This is from the signs of Allah. He whom Allah guides is rightly guided; but he whom He lets go astray, you will find no guardian to lead him to the Right Way.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And thou mightest have seen the sun when it rose move away from their cave to the right, and when it set go past them on the left, and they were in the cleft thereof. That was (one) of the portents of Allah. He whom Allah guideth, he indeed is led aright, and he whom He sendeth astray, for him thou wilt not find a guiding friend.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

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 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

And so, [in the course of time,] We awakened them;²² and they began to ask one another [as to what had happened to them].²³ One of them asked: "How long have you remained thus?" [The others] answered: "We have remained thus a day, or part of a day."²⁴ Said they [who were endowed with deeper insight]: "Your Sustainer knows best how long you have thus remained.²⁵ Let, then, one of you go with these silver coins to the town, and let him find out what food is purest there, and bring you thereof [some] provisions. But let him behave with great care and by no means make anyone aware of you:

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [10] above.

It seems to me that the prefix li in li-yatasa'alu (which most commentators take to mean "so that they might ask one another") is not a particle denoting a purpose ("so that") but, rather, a lam al-'aqibah-that is, a particle indicating no more than a causal sequence-which in this context may be brought out by the phrase "and they began...", etc.

Cf. {2: 259}, where exactly the same question is asked and exactly the same wondering answer is given in the parable of the man whom God caused to be dead for a hundred years and thereupon brought back to life. The striking verbal identity of question and answer in the two passages is obviously not accidental: it points, in a deliberately revealing manner, to the identity of the idea underlying these two allegories: namely, God's power to "bring forth the living out of that which is dead, and the dead out of that which is alive" ({3: 27}, {6: 95}, {10: 31}, {30: 19}), i.e., to create life, to cause it to disappear and then to resurrect it. Beyond this, the above verse alludes to the deceptive, purely earthbound character of the human concept of "time".

I.e., they understood - in contrast to their companions, who were merely concerned about what had actually happened to them - that the lapse of time between their "falling asleep" and their "awakening" had no reality of its own and no meaning, just as it has no reality or meaning in connection with a human being's death and subsequent resurrection (cf. 17:52 and the corresponding note [59]): and this explains the reference to the "two viewpoints" (lit., "two parties") in verse {12} above.

In the same miraculous way We woke them up from sleep so that they could question one another. One of them asked: "How long have you been here?" The others answered: "Maybe we have been here for a day or part of a day." Finally they concluded: "Our Rabb knows best how long we have stayed here. Anyhow let one of us go to the city with this silver coin, and let him find who has the purest food and bring us something to eat. Let him behave with caution and let him not disclose our whereabouts.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And in like manner We awakened them that they might question one another. A speaker from among them said : How long have ye tarried? They said: We have tarried a day or some part of a day, (Other) said: Your Lord best knoweth what ye have tarried. Now send one of you with this your silver coin unto the city, and let him see what food is purest there and bring you a supply thereof. Let him be courteous and let no man know of you.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for, behold, if they should come to know of you, they might stone you to death or force you back to their faith - in which case you would never attain to any good!"²⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

During their "sleep", time had stood still for the Men of the Cave, and so they assumed that the outside world had remained unchanged and was, as before, hostile to them. - At this point, the story as such ends abruptly (for, as we know, the Qur'an is never concerned with narratives for their own sake) and is revealed in the sequence as an allegory of death and resurrection and of the relativity of "time" as manifested in man's consciousness.

For if they find you out, they will stone you to death, or force you back into their faith and in that case you will never attain felicity."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

For they, if they should come to know of you, will stone you or turn you back to their religion; then ye will never prosper.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall