Stories Of The Qur-ān By Ibn Katheer Part 12. People of the Cave

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*Stories Of The Qur-ān By Ibn Katheer*

*Part 12*

*People of the Cave*

Allah the Almighty says:

{Do you think that the people of the Cave and the Inscription (the

news or the names of the people of the Cave) were a wonder among

Our Signs? (Remember) when the young men fled for refuge (from

their disbelieving folk) to the Cave. They said: "Our Lord! Bestow on us

mercy from Yourself, and facilitate for us our affair in the right way!"

Therefore, We covered up their (sense of) hearing (causing them to go

in deep sleep) in the Cave for a number of years. Then We raised them

up (from their sleep), that We might test which of the two parties was

best at calculating the time period that they had tarried. We narrate

unto you (0 Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) their story with truth:

Truly they were young men who believed in their Lord (Allah), and We

increased them in guidance. And We made their hearts firm and strong

(with the light of Faith in Allah and bestowed upon them patience to

bear the separation of their kith and kin and dwellings.) when they

stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth,

never shall we call upon any llah (god) other than Him,' if we did, we

should indeed have uttered an enormity in disbelief."These our people

have taken for worship alihah (gods) other than Him (Allah). Why do

they not bring for them a clear authority? And who does more wrong

than he who invents a lie against Allah. (The young men said to one

another): "And when you withdraw from them, and that which they

worship, except Allah, then seek refuge in the Cave; your Lord will

open a way for you from His Mercy and will make easy for you your

affair (i.e. will give you what you will need of provision, dwelling)." And

you might have seen the sun, when it rose, declining to the right from

their Cave, and when it set, turning away from them to the left, while

they lay in the midst of the Cave. That is (one) of the Ayat (proofs,

evidences, signs) of Allah. He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly

guided,' but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali

(guiding friend) to lead him (to the Right Path). And you would have

thought them awake, whereas they were asleep. And We turned them

on their right and on their left sides, and their dog stretching forth his

two forelegs at the entrance [of the Cave or in the space near to the

entrance of the Cave (as a guard at the gate)]. Had you looked at them,

you would certainly have turned back from them in flight, and would

certainly have been filled with awe of them. Likewise, We awakened them (from their long deep sleep) that they might question one

another. A speaker from among them said: "How long have you stayed

(here)?" They said: "We have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day."

They said: "Your Lord (Alone) knows best how long you have stayed

(here). So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town,

and let him find out which is the good lawful food, and bring some of

that to you. And let him be careful and let no man know of you. "For, if

they come to know of you, they will stone you (to death or abuse and

harm you) or turn you back to their religion; and in that case you will

never be successful." And thus We made their case known (to the

people), that they might know that the Promise of Allah is true, and

that there can be no doubt about the Hour. (Remember) when they

(the people of the city) disputed among themselves about their case,

they said: "Construct a building over them,. their Lord knows best

about them,." (then) those who won their point said (most probably

the disbelievers): "We verily shall build a place of worship over them."

(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them;

and (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth, guessing at

the unseen; (yet others) say they were seven, and the dog being the

eighth. Say (0 Muhammad (Peace be upon him)): "My Lord knows best

their number; none knows them but a few." So debate not (about their

number) except with the clear proof (which We have revealed to you).

And consult not any of them (people of the Scripture -Jews and

Christians) about (the affair on the people of the Cave. And never say

of anything, "I shall do such and such thing tomorrow." Except (with

the saying), "if Allah will!" And remember your Lord when you forget

and say: "It may be that my Lord guides me unto a nearer way of truth

than this." And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years,

adding nine (for lunar years). Say: "Allah knows best how long they

stayed. With Him is (the knowledge on the Unseen of the heavens and

the earth. How clearly He sees, and hears (everything)! They have no

Wali (Helper, Disposer of affairs, Protector) other than Him, and He

makes none to share in His Decision and His Rule."(Al-Kahf, 9-26)

The reason behind the revelation of these verses and those relating the story

of Dhul-Qarnain was cited by Muhammad Ibn Ishaq in his biography of the

Prophet: that the people of Quraish sent to the Jews asking them for things to

test the Prophet (Peace be upon him) with. The Jews said: ask him about a

group of people who disappeared in the past and none has any knowledge about

them; about a man who traveled through the land; and about Ar-Ruh (the

Spirit). Thereupon, Almighty Allah revealed His Statement, {And they ask you

(0 Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) concerning the Ruh (the Spirit);

Say: "The Ruh (the Spirit) is one of the things, the knowledge of which

is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been

given only a little"} (Al-Isra', 85) and, {And they ask you about Dhul Qarnain. Say (0 Muhammad (Peace be upon him)): "I shall recite to

you something of his story"} (Al-Kahf, 83) and here He says: {Do you

think that the people of the Cave and "Ar-Raqim" the Inscription (the

news or the names of the people of the Cave) were a wonder among

Our Signs?}, i.e. they are not more amazing than what We have given you of

the great news, astonishing signs and gigantic wonders. 

However, a cave is a

hole in the mountain. Mentioned Shu' aib Al-Jiba'i: their cave was called

"Haizam". As for "Ar-Raqim", Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) said: I

do not know what it means! Some scholars such as Ibn Jarir and others said: it is

the record where their news and names are written thereafter. It was also said: it

is the name of the mountain their cave was in. However, many other things were

said pertaining to this, but the knowledge thereof rests only with Allah the

Almighty Who knows the best! Shu'aib Al-Jiba'i said: their dog was called

"Himran".

The fact that the Jews knew about them nullifies the claim of some

interpreters that they were after Jesus (Peace be upon him) and that they were

Christians. However, it is clear that their people were idol-worshippers. Many

interpreters and historians said that they lived during the lifetime of a king called

"Diqyanus" and that they were sons of some nobles or kings. They met on a

feast day and saw the rituals their people were performing in Norship of the

idols. At this very moment, Allah removed the veils from their hearts and they

realized hat their people were wrong-doers. Consequently, hey deserted the

religion of their people and resorted to the worship of Allah Alone. It is also laid:

that each one of them when guided by Allah to he True Religion, abandoned his

people and they coincidentally gathered in one place. Imam Muslim transmitted

in his Sahih the following Prophetic Hadith which supports that meaning: "Abu

Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (Peace be

upon him) as saying: Souls are troops collected together and those who

familiarized with each other (in the heaven from where these come) would have

affinity, with one another (in the world) and those amongst them who opposed

each other (in the Heaven) would also be divergent (in the world)." That, they

asked one another about their affair and hence, they agreed on deserting and

abandoning their people and fleeing with their true religion. Allah the Almighty

says: {We narrate unto you (0 Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) their

story with truth: Truly they were young men who believed in their Lord

(Allah), and We increased them in guidance. And We made their hearts

firm and strong (with the light of Faith in Allah and bestowed upon

them patience to bear the separation )f their kith and kin and

dwellings.) when they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the

heavens and the earth, never shall we call upon any Ilah (god) other

than Him; if we did, we should indeed have uttered an enormity in

disbelief. "These our people have taken for worship alihah (gods) other

than Him (Allah). Why do they not bring for them a clear authority?

And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah}. (Al Kahf, 13-15) "Clear authority" here means obvious evidence or proof. {And who

does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah. (The young

men said to one another): "And when you withdraw from them, and

that which they worship, except Allah,} (Al-Kahf, 15, 16) i.e. when you

deserted them and their idols that they used to worship others instead of Allah

the Almighty. Our Prophet Ibrahim (Peace be upon him) said: {And

(remember) when Ibrahim (Abraham) said to his father and his people:

"Verily, I am innocent of what you worship, except Him (i.e. Allah

Alone I worship none) Who did create me; and verily He will guide me

"}. (Az-Zukhruf, 26, 27) Thus, some of these young men said: as you did desert

your people's religion, you should also desert them in body and figure so as to

be safe from the possibility that their evil may touches you, {then seek refuge

in the Cave,. your Lord will open a way for you from His Mercy and will

make easy for you your affair (i.e. will give you what you will need of

provision, dwelling)}, (Al-Kahf, 16) i.e. Allah will draw on you His cover,

protect you and reward you with the best of all rewards. Then, Allah described

the cave to which they resorted stating that its door is to the north saying: {And

you might have seen the sun, when it rose, declining to the right from

their Cave, and when it set, turning away from them to the left}, i.e. the

sun rises on the western side of their cave, then it declines to the right side

thereof. And, when it sets its rays come towards the cave from its eastern side.

Here, the wisdom is that the sun enters their cave on its rising and setting in

order to refresh the air from time to time. {While they lay in the midst of

the Cave. That is (one) of the Ayat (proofs, evidences, signs) of Allah},

i.e. their stay on this state for a very long period of time without eating and

drinking is one of the Signs of Allah and a proof of His Magnificent Ability. {He

whom Allah guides, he is the rightly guided,. but he whom He sends

astray, for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him (to the

Right Path). And you would have thought them awake, whereas they

were asleep}, for their eyes were open in order to be kept sound. {And We

turned them on their right and on their left sides}, it was said: they used

to be turned from one side to the other once every year. However, the number

of the turnings is known only to Allah the Almighty Who knows best!

Allah the Almighty says: {And their dog stretching forth his two

forelegs at the entrance [of the Cave or in the space near to the

entrance of the Cave (as a guard at the gate)]}, i.e. their dog which

accompanied them when they abandoned their people did not enter the cave

with them, instead, it stayed at the entrance stretching forth his two forelegs

thereat. This is for it was highly disciplined and also as a sign of honor to them

because the angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog. Thus, the dog was blessed because he was in their company. 

However, many tales and

narrations were invented with regard to the dog's name and colour.

Scholars differed on the location of this cave. Some of them said: It is in the land

of Aylah (i.e. Jerusalem). Others said: It is in the land of Ninawa. And others

said: it is in the Sham (Syrian territories) which is more proper and Allah knows

best!8 After Allah the Almighty gave us perfect and complete description of them

and made us as seeing them, He said: {Had you looked at them, you would

certainly have turned back from them in flight, and would certainly

have been filled with awe of them}, i.e. because of the dignity and loftiness

of their appearance. The addressed her is not only Prophet Muhammad (Peace

be upon him) but also all mankind because it is a human nature to feel awe

when seeing a magnificent or dignified thing. Then, Allah the Almighty awakened

them (from their long deep sleep) after three-hundred and nine years; then a

speaker from among them said: {"How long have you stayed (here)?" They

said: "We have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day." They said:

"Your Lord (Alone) knows best how long you have stayed (here). So

send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town} the coins they

had were called "Dafsus". {And let him find out which is the good lawful

food, and bring some of that to you}, i.e. to eat thereof. This is a sign of

their piety and godfearing. {And let him be careful} during entering that town

{and let no man know of you. For, if they come to know of you, they

will stone you (to death or abuse and harm you) or turn you back to

their religion; and in that case you will never be successful}, i.e. if you

turn back to their religion after you are saved by Allah the Almighty. All this

because they thought they slept a day or part of a day, and they did not imagine

to have slept for more than three-hundred years. The period in which almost

everything have changed and their generation passed away and other

generations inhabited the land. Thus, when one of them went to the town to get

the food, he feared that the people would recognize him, so he disguised.

Instead, the town and its people found him to be a stranger and feared that he

might be a spy or that he could harm them in any way. Some scholars said that

he escaped from them. But, others said: he informed them with the news and

took them to the cave to see his companions. When they approached the cave,

he entered it and told his companions all about the period they spent sleeping in

the cave and they confessed it to be the Divine Decree of Allah the Almighty. It

was said: They went on sleeping; and others said: They all fell dead.

 8 On the sixties, an archeologist called Muhammad Tayseer Zabyan discovered a cave in Jordan, six miles

away from Amman, in a region called" Ar-Rajeeb" whose description goes with that which is mentioned in

the verses. The great scholar, Abu Al-A' la Al-Maududi visited it and agreed with many scholars who viewed

the same opinion. And, I myself visited it in 1986. (Majdi M. AshShahawi)

As for the people of the city, it was said that they could not see their place in

the cave. Or, they could not enter the cave because of their cowardice, or feeling

their lofty dignity. However, they (the people of the city) disputed among

themselves about their case, some of them said: {Construct a building over

them}, i.e. block the cave's gate to prevent them from getting out or anyone

from touching them with harm. But, those who won their point said: that will be

blessed because its nearness to these righteous and godly people. This was

common in the previous eras and periods prior to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be

upon him). But, Islam rejects this deed (building places of worship over the

graves of anyone even if it is a Prophet): the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

"May Allah curse the Jews and Christians for they built the places of worship at

the graves of their Prophets." The Prophet (Peace be upon him) was warning

(Muslims) against what the previous nations used to do with the graves of their

pious people.

Allah the Almighty says: {And thus We made their case known (to the

people), that they might know that the Promise of Allah is true, and

that there can be no doubt about the Hour}, i.e. to let the people know

that resurrection is true and that there can be no doubt about the Hour if they

know that these young men slept for more than three hundred years then they

were awaken unchanged. So, He Who kept them in this state all that period, is

capable to resurrect and give life again to the dead bodies after they undergo

decomposition. Really, the believers do not doubt this in the least: {Verily, His

Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, ‘Be!’ -and

it is!}. (Ya-Sin, 82)

Then, He says: {(Some) say they were three, the dog being the

fourth among them,' and (others) say they were five, the dog being the

sixth, guessing at the unseen,' (yet others) say they were seven, and

the dog being the eighth}, as Allah cited the dispute of the people among

themselves as to their number. He cited three sayings, the first two He refuted

and the third He stated, a matter which indicates that the third is the true one.

However, Allah guided His Prophet (Peace be upon him) to the good manners to

be followed in such a case: that one should say "Allah knows best!" For this,

Allah the Almighty says: {My Lord knows best their number}.

His Statement: {None knows them but a few}, from among the

people. (So debate not (about their number) except with the clear

proof (which We have revealed to you)}, i.e. an easy debate and do

not exert yourself in such matters. {And consult not any of them (people of

the Scripture -Jews and Christians) about (the affair oj) the people of

the

Cave}, as He concealed their number from the very beginning of the story,

saying: {Truly they were young men who believed in their Lord (Allah)}.

(Al-Kahf, 13) So, if there was any benefit in mentioning their number, Allah the

Almighty would certainly revealed it to us from the very beginning!

Allah the Almighty says: {And never say of anything, "I shall do such

and such thing tomorrow." Except (with the saying), "if Allah will!" And

remember your Lord when you forget and say: "It may be that my Lord

guides me unto a nearer way of truth than this "}, this is a great and high

moral lesson taught by Allah the Almighty that when anyone wishes to do

something, he should say "If Allah wills", because man cannot know what is

hidden with Allah for tomorrow or for the future. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be

pleased with him) reported Allah's Prophet (Peace be upon him) as saying that

"Sulaiman lbn Dawud, the Messenger of Allah, observed: I will have an

intercourse with seventy wives during the night; all of them will give birth to a

male child who will fight in the cause of Allah. His companion or the angels said

to him: Say, "If Allah wills." But he (Sulaiman) did not say so, and he forgot it.

And none of his wives gave birth to a child, but one who gave birth to a

premature child. Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) said: Had he said

lnsha'Allah (if Allah so willed), he would not have failed and his desire would

have been materialized. "

Allah the Almighty says: {And remember your Lord when you forget},

for forgetting may be caused by the Devil, and remembering Allah gets the Devil

out of one's heart and thus he remembers what he has forgotten. {And say: "It

may be that my Lord guides me unto a nearer way of truth than this"},

i.e. if there were controversies and disputes about something, one should resort

to Allah Who can facilitate it and make it so easy. Then, Allah the Almighty says:

{And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years, adding

nine}, i.e. for lunar years. {Say: Allah knows best how long they stayed},

i.e. if you are asked about this and you do not know exactly the answer, you

should only attribute the matter to Allah the Almighty {With Him is (the

knowledge on the Unseen of the heavens and the earth}, i.e. He knows

the Unseen and gives knowledge thereof to none but Whom He wishes from

among His creatures; {How clearly He sees, and hears (everything)!}, i.e.

He puts everything in its proper place with His Perfect Knowledge and Justice.

Then, He says: {They have no Wali (Helper, Disposer of affairs,

Protector) other than Him, and He makes none to share in His Decision

and His Rule}, i.e. He is the only Disposer of affairs and He is the King Who

rules over everything.