Do you think that the story of the people of the cave and the Inscription were among Our marvelous signs?
Mention when the young men sought refuge in the cave, they said, ‘O our Lord! Give us mercy from You, and facilitate right guidance for us in our affairs.’
Then We sealed up their ears, causing them to sleep in the cave for a number of years.
Then We awakened them so that We would make clear which of the two parties correctly calculated how long they had been there.
[Surah al-Kahf: 9-12]
Stories of the Quran are like an ever-flowing river full of beneficial lessons and admonitions. One of the stories of the Quran is the story of the youth of the cave who are mentioned in surah al-Kahf. It narrates the news of the youths who fled from their town to protect their faith from the tyrant disbelievers. They went to a cave and decided to remain therein until the affliction ended. They did not imagine that they would remain deeply sleeping there for more than three centuries. They woke up at a time in which breezes of freedom blew, and the era of the tyrants had ended.
Relationship between the Story of the Youth of the Cave and the Previous Part
As Messenger Muhammad was deeply sad because of his people's disbelief in the message of Islam, this story came to call his attention to the fact that he should not concern himself so much about how the disbelievers would respond to his message. That is because he did his duty of conveying the message of Islam in the best manner. In addition, he should remember that being guided to the straight path is in the Hands of Allah, Exalted is He. The story of the youth of the cave is an example of how Allah guided those youths to the true path through natural disposition and sound evidence.
Relationship between the Stories in Surah al-Kahf and its Theme
At the beginning of surah al-Kahf, Allah mentions that whatever is on the earth of enjoyment is a test to show the true nature of people, reveal their goals, and motivate them to do righteous deeds. Allah says, interpretation of meaning,
Indeed, We have made what is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them as to which of them does the best deed. [7]
Indeed, We shall make what is on it a barren ground. [8]
Afterwards, Allah has given an example, revealing people’s attitudes towards enjoyments of the worldly life. The first example was the story of the people of the cave, who were youths but were not deceived by the enjoyments of their age, kinship, and authority. Rather, they deserted all these enjoyments, and fled to the cave to worship Allah alone.
After this story, there is another story that is about to unfold. It is the story of the owner of the two gardens. This man was so allured by the trial of wealth that he became self-conceited. However, his believer fellow successfully passed the test and was saved from the affliction as he knew the true transient nature of the worldly life. Thus, he was not deceived by its enjoyments; rather, he sincerely admonished his fellow.
Then, a commentary showing the true nature of the worldly life was presented. Afterwards, surah al-Kahf discusses the state of those who were deceived by Satan, who refused to prostrate before Adam when Allah commanded him to do so. Allah says, interpretation of meaning,
Mention when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’ They prostrated except Satan, who was one of the jinn. He disobeyed the command of his Lord. Then do you take him and his descendants as allies instead of Me though they are your enemies? How an evil substitute for the wrongdoers is! [50]
Then, the story of Messenger Moses with al-Khadr unfolded itself to demonstrate that acquiring Shariah knowledge provides protection from trials. In addition, it established that no matter how much knowledge a scholar may have, there would be someone who has more knowledge than his. In addition a human being's knowledge, no matter how great, is nothing compared to the knowledge of Allah, the Omniscient.
Then the ayat mention the story of Dhu-al-Qarnayn. He was not deceived by the trial of kingship and authority; rather, he employed his kingdom and authority to spread the religion of Allah, advocate the oppressed, and confront the tyrants. Whenever Allah gave him a blessing, he would thank Him, and the higher he got in ranking, the humbler he got in acting.
Accordingly, the relationship between the story of the people of the cave and the other stories in surah al-Kahf has become clearer. All the stories of surah al-Kahf explore the idea of being tested by the enjoyments of the worldly life, people’s reaction to these enjoyments, and means of protection from these trials.
Tafsir
Do you think that the story of the people of the cave and the Inscription were among Our marvelous signs? [9]
Imam Fakhar ad-Dyn ar-Rãzy said, ‘You should note that the people were amazed by the story of the people of the cave. They asked Messenger Muhammad about it in order to test him. Therefore, Allah said, ‘Do you think that the story of the people of the cave were the only amazing sign of Ours? Do not think so. Rather, all Our sings are amazing. The One, who is able to create the heavens and the earth, and put all kinds of minerals, plants, and animals therein, and then will make the earth a barren ground, is able, out of His mercy, to protect those group of people for more than three hundred years by means of causing them to fall asleep.’
Scholars of interpretation of the Quran mention the following narration about the cause of revealing the ayat about the people of the cave:
The disbelievers of Quraysh sent an-Nadr bin al-Harth and Uqba bin abi Mu’yt to the Jewish rabbis in al-Madinah and caused them to ask the rabbis about Messenger Muhammad and tell them about him as they had knowledge unknown to Quraysh about the old Scriptures and prophets of Allah. These two men went to al-Madinah and asked the rabbis about Messenger Muhammad. The rabbis told them to ask Messenger Muhammad about three matters. If he were to give a proper response, then he would be a prophet and messenger sent by Allah; otherwise, he would be a liar. The three things were: The amazing story of a group of young men; a man who traveled around the world; the true nature of the soul. They told them that if he answered your questions, then he would be a prophet and that they should believe in him. Then the two men went back to Mecca. They said, ‘O people of Quraysh! We brought you something that would settle the dispute between Muhammad and us. The rabbis told us to ask him about three matters.’
Then, the people of Quraysh went to Messenger Muhammad and asked him the questions raised by the rabbis. Messenger Muhammad said that he would answer their questions the next day. He did not say, ‘If Allah wills.’ The revelation did not come to Messenger Muhammad for fifteen days, and the people of Mecca spread false rumors about the matter, saying, ‘Muhammad promised us to answer our questions the next day, but fifteen days have passed and he has not answered our questions yet.’
Messenger Muhammad became so sad; then, the angel Gabriel brought him the answer about the people of the cave, the man who travelled around the world, and the true nature of the soul.
Do you think that the story of the people of the cave and the Inscription were among Our marvelous signs? [9]
The scholars of Tafsir mention different meanings for ‘the inscription’, they are as follows: A tablet on which the names of the youths were written; the name of the town, from which the youths fled; the name of the mountain wherein the cave was located; the name of the dog that was with the youths; or the name of the valley wherein the cave was located.
The most correct opinion is that ‘the inscription’ refers to the name of the tablet on which the names of the youths and their story were written when they went in the cave.
O Messenger Muhammad! Do you think that the story of the people of the cave that We have narrated to you was an amazing sign, denoting Our Omnipotence? No, do not think so. Nothing is impossible for Our Omnipotence.
Then, Allah, Exalted is He, narrated what the youths said when they entered into the cave.
Mention when the young men sought refuge in the cave, they said, ‘O our Lord! Give us mercy from You, and facilitate right guidance for us in our affairs.’ [10]
O Messenger Muhammad! Mention to the people about the youths who left their homes and families in order to protect their faith. They went to the cave and made it their dwelling. They humbly prayed to Allah in the cave, saying, ‘O Allah! Grant us from Your mercy what will guide our hearts, make easy our affairs, and protect us from trials. O Allah! We pray to You so that You may facilitate this matter for us, i.e. their escape from their people to protect their faith, and make us firm in our belief whereby our guidance to Your obedience increases.’
This ayah explicitly talks about fleeing to protect one’s faith, and leaving families, relatives, and homelands to be saved from affliction that the person may encounter. Messenger Muhammad and his companions left their hometown to protect their faith. Living in the mountains, seeking solitude away from the people, and fleeing from the tyrants is the method adopted by the prophets and messengers of Allah and the righteous slaves of Allah.
Then, Allah states what happened to those youths when they went into the cave and humbly prayed to Allah.
Then We sealed up their ears, causing them to sleep in the cave for a number of years. [11]
After the youths settled in the cave, and submissively prayed to Allah to protect them, Allah put a heavy veil on their ears, preventing them from hearing anything. Therefore, they did not hear anything that might wake them up. They kept on sleeping for many years.
Allah, Exalted is He, especially put a veil on their ears because ears are the most sensitive organ when it comes to waking up, and sleep does not become so deep except when the hearing is inactive.
Then, Allah, Exalted is He, mentions what happened to those youths after this long sleep.
Then We awakened them so that We would make clear which of the two parties correctly calculated how long they had been there. [12]
Then, We, Allah, raised them up from their sleep in a manner similar to that of raising the dead from their graves so that it would become clear which of the two parties, differing about the period of their stay in cave, was able to correctly calculate how long they had been there.
The apparent meaning of the ayah is that one of the parties is the youths themselves as they thought that they stayed for a short time in the cave, and the other party is the inhabitants of the city in whose time the youths were raised up from their sleep. This is the opinion of the majority of the scholars. However, other scholars say that the two parties are the disbelieving parties who differed about how long the youths stayed in the cave while other scholars say that the two parties are believing parties.
After this summary of the story of the youths of the cave, Allah gives a detailed account of their story in the following ayat.
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