They remained sleeping in their cave for three hundred years and nine more.
Say, ‘Allah knows best how long they stayed in the cave. To Him belongs knowledge of the unseen in the heavens and the earth. How perfectly He sees and hears! They have no guardian other than Him, and He makes none a partner in His judgment.’ [Surah al-Kahf: 25-26]
Tafsir
How Long Did the Young Men Stay in the Cave?
They remained sleeping in their cave for three hundred years and nine more. [25]
The ayat mention that the young men stayed three hundred and nine lunar years, sleeping in the cave.
O Messenger! This is the decisive news regarding how long the young men stayed in the cave. Allah told you about it. What Allah told you is the truth.
Say, ‘Allah knows best how long they stayed in the cave. To Him belongs knowledge of the unseen in the heavens and the earth. How perfectly He sees and hears! They have no guardian other than Him, and He makes none a partner in His judgment.’ [26]
O Messenger! If you were asked about how long the young men stayed in the cave, and you did not have divine knowledge about it, do not say anything since Allah alone knew how long they stayed in the cave.
(To Him belongs knowledge of the unseen in the heavens and the earth.)
Allah alone knows what is hidden in the heavens and the earth. Nothing is hidden from Him. Thus, you should acknowledge that He alone knows exactly how long the young men stayed in the cave.
(How perfectly He sees and hears!)
Allah perfectly sees and hears so nothing is out of His knowledge.(They have no guardian other than Him, and He makes none a partner in His judgment.’)
People have no guardian, who takes care of their affairs except Allah. He has perfect authority. There is no one, who shares with Allah in His judgment and ruling. Allah alone has absolute sovereignty in this universe.
Learned Lessons
• Establishing the truthfulness of Messenger Muhammad regarding the revelation that he brought from Allah. He informed about the story of the young men of the cave and gave a precise description of the story.
• The Quran is eloquent. It gives a summary of the story of the young men of the cave in the beginning, and then it gives a detailed narration.
• When true belief is firmly established in the heart, everything else becomes valueless compared thereto. The young men of the cave preferred fleeing from their homeland. They left their people to protect their belief in the Oneness of Allah. Indeed, firm and true faith makes miracles.
• The believer should ask Allah for help when he is afflicted. He should know that if he obeys and fears Allah, then Allah, out of His bounty and mercy, will help him and bring him ease. The young men of the cave sincerely prayed to Allah to guide and protect them. Allah accepted their prayer, guided them to go to the cave, where He caused them to sleep for so long time, and protected them throughout this long time.
• Principled thinking with good intention and truthful determination lead to the right path. The young men of the cave with their pious hearts and upright thinking knew that the only god deserving worship was Allah.
• Seeking seclusion from disbelievers' oppression leads to the attainment of the mercy of Allah and success. The young men of the cave isolated themselves from their people in order to protect their faith, and Allah rewarded them immensely.
• Seeking lawful means to achieve desired goals does not contradict dependence on Allah. Though the young men of the cave knew that Allah was able to protect them, they asked their fellow to be cautious when they sent him to buy food for them for fear that the inhabitants of the town might know about them and force them to return to disbelief.
• The story of the young men of the cave is a clear evidence that the Day of Judgment will take place. Allah gave a practical example demonstrating that He could bring life back to the dead in their story as He caused them to sleep for so long time, and then caused them to go back to life.
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