You would see that when rising, the sun would move away from their cave towards the right, and when setting, it would leave them towards the left while they were lying in the spaciousness thereof. That was of Allah’s signs. Whomever Allah guides is rightly guided, and whomever He leaves astray, never will you find a helping guide for him.
You would think them awake while they were asleep. We would turn them to the right and to the left. Their dog was stretching its legs at the yard. If you had seen them, you would have turned away, fleeing and been extremely frightened of them. [Surah al-Kahf: 17-18]
Tafsir
Under the Protection of Allah’s Mercy
You would see that when rising, the sun would move away from their cave towards the right, and when setting, it would leave them towards the left while they were lying in the spaciousness thereof. That was of Allah’s signs. Whomever Allah guides is rightly guided, and whomever He leaves astray, never will you find a helping guide for him. [17]
The ayat move on to narrate how the young men stayed in the cave after Allah, Exalted is He, caused them to sleep deeply.
The scholars of interpretation of the Quran have two opinions regarding the meaning of ayah 17. The first is that the entrance of the cave was open toward the north. Thus, when the sun rose, it would be to the right side of the cave, and when it set, it would be to the left side of the cave. Therefore, the sun’s light would not enter into the cave, but mild breeze would enter. In other words, Allah kept the young men of the cave away from the sun’s light. The second opinion is that when the sun rose, Allah would prevent the sun’s light from entering the cave, and the same thing when it set, which was a miraculous matter, and a great miracle that Allah bestowed upon those men in the cave. This was the opinion of az-Zajjaj, a famous grammarian of Arabic language. He argued that this was a sign denoting Allah’s omnipotence. If the true meaning was the first one, then it would be normal rather than a miraculous thing. On the other hand, it would be a great miracle if the true meaning was the second one. The ayat also mentioned that they were lying in the spaciousness of the cave so that a mild breeze would blow on them.
(Whomever Allah guides is rightly guided, and whomever He leaves astray, never will you find a helping guide for him.)
Whomever Allah guides to follow the right path surely is rightly guided. He will attain happiness in this life and the Hereafter. However, whomever Allah leaves astray and does not guide to follow the right path surely is misguided. He will find no person to help and guide him to the right path. Indeed, such a person will definitely be a loser.
Then the ayat describes the wondrous state of the young men inside the cave.
You would think them awake while they were asleep. We would turn them to the right and to the left. Their dog was stretching its legs at the yard. If you had seen them, you would have turned away, fleeing and been extremely frightened of them. [18]
If someone observed them, he would think them awake because their eyes were open and they were being turned toward the right and the left, which indicates that they were being turned a lot. They were being turned to the right and the left sides to protect their bodies from disintegration due to their long sleep.
Then the ayat mentions how their dog was sleeping.
(Their dog was stretching its legs at the yard. If you had seen them, you would have turned away, fleeing and been extremely frightened of them.)
Their dog was stretching its legs at the cave’s yard as if he were guarding them. If someone saw the young men of the cave and their dog in this state, he would be extremely frightened of them.
The scholars deduced some lessons from this ayah, among which the following: The dog lay at the cave’s yard, which was a natural habit of dogs, as if he were guarding the young men of the cave. The blessing of those righteous young men included their dog as it slept as they did, which was an advantage of accompanying the righteous. Thus, this dog attained a good status.
If a dog acquired such a high rank by accompanying the righteous that it was mentioned in the Quran, then what the case will be if a human being accompanies the righteous. Undoubtedly, he will attain a great rank and gain a sublime reputation.
Anas bin Malik said: ‘As Messenger Muhammad and I were getting out of the mosque, we met a man at the dooryard. The man asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! When the Day of Resurrection will occur?’ Messenger Muhammad said, ‘What have you prepared for it?’ The man, as if he submitted, replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah! I have not prepared so much praying, fasting, nor charity for it. However, I love Allah and His Messenger.’ Messenger Muhammad said, ‘You will be with those whom you loved.’ In another narration, Anas bin Malik said, ‘We were not so happy with something after embracing Islam like being happy with the statement of Messenger Muhammad, ‘You will be with those whom you loved.’ Anas said, ‘I love Allah, Messenger Muhammad, Abu Bakr, and Umar. I hope to be with them in the Hereafter even if my deeds are not as perfect as their deeds.’
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