- Interpretation Of Quran / The long version
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- (018) Al Kahf
Dear brother, this is the third lesson of interpreting Surat Al-Kahf. One might ask: "Why did this story take place? Why did Allah mention it? What is the purpose of it? Is it just a story which has events and dialogue or there is a loftier purpose of it?"
The story of Ahl Al-Kahf was meant to amuse the companions and lift their burden:
This story was revealed at the right time and in the right place, for Muslims were in Makkah facing the same situation those young men (Ahl-Al-Kahf) faced, and they were suffering the ultimate oppression and tyranny. There was notable similarity between the oppression, the harsh treatment and the torture Muslims suffered from at early Islam, and the torture, severe punishment, threatening and intimidation the young men (Ahl Al-Kahf) faced. Hence, as if the story of Ahl Al-Kahf was revealed to reduce the burdensome hardship through which the early believers in Islam passed. It soothed their hearts, and it took away their grief. Before fleeing with their religion, Ahl Al-Kahf passed through a hardship in their town that resembles the one early believers of Islam passed through. They went through the same circumstances, situations, trials, ordeals, hardships and harassment. There are no more effective words than the ones of the Quran to describe their situation:
﴾And remember when you were few and were reckoned weak in the land, and were afraid that men might kidnap you, but He provided a safe place for you, strengthened you with His Help, and provided you with good things so that you might be grateful.﴿
That was the condition of the believers during the early Islam in Honored Makkah. The books of Sirah (Prophetic Biography) mentioned at length the tyranny, harshness, assaulting and the severe torture. This reporting conveyed to us in details the heroic stories of our Master Bilal, Ammar, Khabbab, Mus'ab and Sumayyah, may Allah be pleased with them.
This story was like a curing balm to those early believers who faced all sorts of oppression and endured all kinds of torture while proving their sincere faith. There is an identical resemblance between the trial of the believers in Makkah and the trial of Ahl Al-Kahf. In times when despair and pessimism prevailed, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats, Allah revealed (in the Quran) the stories of Yusuf, peace be upon him, with his brother, Musa, peace be upon him, with Fir'aun, one pious individual with an entire nation, a Prophet, peace be upon him, with his people and Ahl Al-Kahf. These stories are mentioned due to their substantial educational morals.
Similarity between the believers of Makkah and Ahl Al-Kahf:
There is another point about this story, and it is related to the similarities between the believers of Makkah and Ahl Al-Kahf. Both of them had the strong will which enabled the believer to overcome the Kafir, the pious to overcome the sinful, the tyrannized to overcome the tyrant, the weak to overcome the powerful and the poor to overcome the rich in very mysterious and bewildering ways which have been acknowledged by the Kafir and the doubtful one. This means that there is a supernal indomitable power with which the weak, the oppressed, the humiliated, the tyrannized or the poor triumphs over his powerful, forceful and strong foe. This is what we have in common between the story of Ahl Al-Kahf and the early believing Muslims.
﴾Therefore We covered up their (sense of) hearing (causing them, to go in deep sleep) in the Cave for a number of years.﴿
Following the truth and avoid Shirk (polytheism):
The society, they lived in, was corrupted, and immortality and debauchery prevailed. Also, there was degradation in the values, and the deviated individual owned the power, the upright was weak, the Fasiq (disobedient) was rich, and the religiously devoted was poor. Not to mention, oppression, deviation, harshness, misbehavior and fornication dominated. Their society had all the corruptions of the deteriorated societies. This was the environment where Ahl Al-Kahf lived. It seems that those young men were rich, were from the elite of their society and lived a luxurious life.
When they heard about the Da'wah (call to Allah) of Jesus, peace be upon him, they had inner conflict between following either the falsehood or the truth, following either the good or the evil, either standing by their reasoning or inclining to their desires, either favoring noble principles or personal interests and between either favoring their values or their needs. This severe struggle started within their ownselves, then it reflected in their stances, creed and behavior to such an extent that they felt estranged in their own society, so what did they had to do? They had two choices: they had either to follow the true Aqeedah and die in that cause, or to accept the corrupted Aqeedah of their people and save their life. It was a very tough choice with no compromising solution, because they did not have a third choice. They had to compromise and go with the deviated flow of Fisq, debauchery, fornication and paganism which was the creed of Romans before the prevalence of the Da'wah of Jesus, peace be upon him, or they had to stand by the side of the truth in which they believed, but in this case they had to pay an expensive price since they did not have a third option. Let me repeat again, they had to follow the truth and died in that cause, or to stay with the side of falsehood, and so they could enjoy a luxurious and classy life. This is the mental state they had and the environment they were in before resorting to their cave:
﴾(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,﴿
When man resorts to the Almighty Allah, seeks refuge with Him, asks for His protection, yearns to the shade of His Thrown on the Day when there would be no shade other than His Throne's Shade , becomes sincere to Him, becomes upright, loves Him and takes shelter under His Care, he will possess everything. It was reported in Tafseer Ibn Kathir:
((O son of Adam, seek me, and you find me. He who draws close to Me a hand's p, I will draw close to him an arm's length. And whoever draws near Me an arm's length, I will draw near him a fathom's length. And whoever comes to Me walking, I will go to him running.))
﴾(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!"﴿
Mercy and tranquility are granted to sincere believers:
Only those, who tasted these sentiments, would feel them and know what they really mean. When Allah casts His Light into the heart of the believer, the latter will feel as if he owns everything. Abu Yazeed Al-Bistami (One of Arifeen [those who know Allah]) said, "If kings had known the happiness we are granted, they would have fought us with their swords over it."
﴾and facilitate for us our affair in the right way!"﴿
They invoked Allah, "O Allah arrange our affairs, guide us to that which pleases You, save us from those oppressors, make us a way out from them and lead us to whatever soothes our hearts away from those who are forcing us to follow paganism, deviation and corruption."
﴾Therefore We covered up their (sense of) hearing (causing them, to go in deep sleep) in the Cave for a number of years.﴿
The sleep of Ahl Al-Kahf:
When you sleep your eyes are closed, and your hearing will keep working, so the ear is the only receptive sense. Therefore, one wakes up because of his sense of hearing:
﴾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.﴿
Staying asleep for 300 years is one of Karamat (miracles for Awliya') of Ahl Al-Kahf:
"We raised them up" means Allah let them wake up from that long sleep. We all know that Ahl Al-Kahf are not Prophets, peace be upon them, however, what happened to them is something unfamiliar; man cannot sleep for 300 years. Besides, their bodies (Ahl Al-Kahf's), look, health and their figures remained intact without becoming decomposed or decayed. Breaking the universal laws is a miracle for Prophets, peace be upon them, and it is Karamah for Al-Awliya', which proves that there is Karamah of Al-Awliya'. This is indicated in the Quran when Allah tells us about Ahl Al-Kahf; Allah says:
﴾We narrate unto you (O 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.﴿
The moral of the Ayah is: Man's strong faith makes Allah increase him in guidance:
You should take the initiative (to head towards the Right Path), and then let Allah takes care of the rest:
﴾As for those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our Paths (i.e. Allah's Religion - Islamic Monotheism). And verily, Allah is with the Muhsinun (good doers)."﴿
You should take the first step (towards the Right Path), you should choose guidance, you should ponder over Allah's Signs and take the decision of seeking the truth, and Allah will take care of the rest. It was reported in Hadith Qudsi that Allah the Almighty says:
((O son of Adam, seek Me, and you find Me. He who draws close to Me a hand's p, I will draw close to him an arm's length. And whoever draws near Me an arm's length, I will draw near him a fathom's length. And whoever comes to Me walking, I will go to him running.))
It was reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((When a servant turns back to Allah, a caller calls those in the heavens and earth to congratulate him as he has reconciled with Allah.))
﴾We narrate unto you (O 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.﴿
There is a very delicate indication here. You too, as a believer, if you take the right decision in seeking the truth, Allah will take care of the rest by bringing you together with the people of the truth, by opening your heart in that cause and by granting you prosperity in the worldly life so that you will be fully devoted to seek the truth and to fulfill all your ambitions, but all you have to do is just to take the first step, and the Almighty Allah will facilitate the other steps towards the Right Path.
﴾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, etc.) 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.﴿
Man might psychologically collapse, and as a result he might physically collapse, but when Allah makes his heart firm and strong, he will have determination, tranquility, loftiness, firmness and enduring power with which he becomes like an unshakable mountain, unlike the disbelievers. Allah says:
﴾There, the believers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking.﴿
Allah casts tranquility into the heart of the believer:
﴾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, etc.) 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…﴿
The gist of all religions is worshipping Allah Alone:
This is monotheism (Tawheed), this is what religion revolves around, this is the true Aqeedah and this is the essence of all religions.
﴾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.﴿
Had we called upon any Ilah (God) other than Allah, we would have been deviated from the truth, from moderation and from whatever is Divinely Accepted.
﴾"These our people have taken for worship aliha (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﴿
Keeping away from the people of polytheism and dissoluteness is an obligation:
The withdrawing should be complete from the people of sins and dissoluteness. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Enjoin Al-Ma'rof and forbid Al-Munkar. If you find compliance with stinginess, following whim, worldly life most preferred, and self-complacency, be responsible only for yourself and turn away from the common people.))
﴾(The young men said to one another): "And when you withdraw from them, and that which they worship, except Allah﴿
Withdrawing in this Ayah embraces keeping away from their traditions, customs, values, lifestyle, clubs, resorts, parties and trends, but if they had worshipped the Almighty Allah, you should not have withdrawn from them.
﴾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, etc.)."﴿
"Mirfaqa" is the Arabic word for whatever brings benignity and comfort to the soul.
﴾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.﴿
Description of the cave where the young men stayed:
According to interpreters, Allah inspired them to resort to that cave in the north, where the sun declined to the right after rising giving them light only and hindering rays, and when it set, it turned away from them to the left. This means that the cave had an opening faced the north allowing only the day light to come into it and hindering the sun harmful rays. Moreover, the cave was spacious, and it was provided with good ventilation:
﴾ And you might have seen the sun, when it rose, declining﴿
The sun declined to the right from their cave, so that it would not bother them.
﴾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.﴿
This means that the sun kept away from them while they were lying the midst of the Cave.
﴾That is (one) of the Ayat (proofs, evidences, signs) of Allah. He whom Allah guides, is rightly guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him (to the right Path).﴿
He whom Allah guides, is rightly guided
When Allah sees His servant asking Him for guidance, Allah will guide him:
((O My slaves, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you.))
﴾He whom Allah guides, is rightly guided;﴿
The guided person is the one who gets acquainted with Allah, and everything beyond this guidance is just a plain error. Hence, either you take the side of the truth, or the side of falsehood and there is no third way, because the truth is single, not multiple:
﴾He whom Allah guides, is rightly guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him (to the right Path).﴿
He whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him:
When man willingly dispenses with the Almighty Allah by turning his back on the religion and seeking the worldly life, can any party on earth guide him? No, by Allah, no party can! Some scholars said, "'but he whom He sends astray' refers to He, who leads himself astray and turns away from The Almighty Allah."
﴾ for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him (to the right Path).﴿
This Divine Punishment is for the one who willingly misleads himself from the Divine Guidance and leads himself astray from the truth.
﴾ for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him (to the right Path).﴿
No one will guide him.
﴾And you would have thought them awake, while 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.﴿
"You would have thought them awake, while they were asleep":
Some scholars said that their eyelids stayed open:
﴾And you would have thought them awake, while they were asleep.﴿
Though they were asleep…:
﴾And We turned them on their right and on their left sides,﴿
"And we turned them on their right and on their left sides":
This Ayah proves the inimitability of the Quran. Scientists said, "When man lies down in his bed, the weight of his body applies pressure on his skeleton which in turn applies pressure on the muscles. This pressure press against the veins and arteries of the area and thus it weakens the blood supply of the muscles, so the pressured area becomes num and it makes the man turn to the other side while sleeping. If you watch a sleeping person, you will see him reposition from side to side 38 times in one night, but the most amazing thing is how can man do that while he is asleep?
According to scientists, there are nerve centers which are sensitive to pressure, so if a pressure is applied to some muscles and stimulate these nerve centers, the latter will send a signal to the brain, while the person is sleeping, telling it that there is a pressure on this side of the body, which makes the brain send an order to the muscles to reposition the sleeping person which usually happens 38-40 times in one night.
As for bed-ridden patient who is in coma, or is paralyzed from neck down and cannot move his body, the first treatment they get in order to avoid bed sores is to have his body repositioned. If man stays in one position more than eight hours, his skin stretches and tears, because blood does not reach the muscles of that part of the body, and the flesh will fall apart. If the family of the patient in coma forget to reposition his body, his flesh will come off his body easily, which is called "bed sores".
Hence the only cure for bed sores to the paralyzed people or the ones in coma is to reposition their body. Had Ahl Al-Kahf stayed in one position for 300 years, their flesh would have been decayed and rotten, and would have been eaten by worms while they are still alive. Therefore, this Ayah is a scientific inimitability.
﴾And you would have thought them awake, while they were asleep. And We turned them on their right and on their left sides﴿
Had it not been for the repositioning of their bodies, Ahl Al-Kahf would have never stayed alive for 300 years. Again, man usually repositions his body 38 times in his eight hours of sleep in one night, because of very complicated systems in his body. Nerve centers are spread all over the body in order to sense any pressure, and when a pressure is applied to any part of the body, these centers send the information to the brain which in turn sends orders to the muscles to reposition the body in order to keep him sound and safe. In cases of paralysis and coma, it is a must to reposition the patient. Regarding Ahl-Al-Kahf, who ordered their bodies to reposition after they were Divinely put to sleep for many years? It is the Almighty Allah:
﴾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)].﴿
Allah mentioned the dog in order to honor his owners (the young men):
A loyal dog accompanied them to the cave:
﴾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)].﴿
The meaning of "Waseed":
"Waseed" is the front yard of the house, but in the cave, it is its threshold (entrance):
﴾And you would have thought them awake, while 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.﴿
The meaning of "you would certainly have turned back from them in flight, and would certainly have been filled with awe of them":
Some scientists said that the psychological status of someone is sometimes contagious. Those young men who resorted to the cave were in so much fear and terror. Therefore, their psychological status would pass to those who looked at them and the latter's hearts in turn would be full of fear, and so they would run away.
The wisdom of mentioning "running away" before being filled with awe:
There is profound Divine Wisdom behind mentioning "turning back from them in flight" before mentioning "they will be filled with awe of them". In this respect some scholars said, "This precedence is to mention the effect before the cause, which indicates that running away is inevitable after being filled with awe upon looking at 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.﴿
They resorted to the cave in time when social pressure, oppression, tyranny, torture and killing would be the punishment of whoever believed in Jesus, peace be upon him, because their religion at that time was paganism and people believed in idols, in the goddess of beauty (Venus), gods of rain (Zeus and Hera), god of war (Arose) and gods of wind (Helius, Selene, Eos, Boreas)…etc. The king of the town where the young men lived was pagan, so he believed in those gods and goddesses.
﴾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."﴿
"How long have you stayed (here)?"
They expected that they slept a long sleep. One of us might have this feeling when he sleeps from 6 PM till 6 AM, and he would say, "I slept 12 long hours". They had that feeling of sleeping for a long time, but "a day or part of a day" was their best expectations:
﴾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).﴿
They almost argued about this issue, but it was not that important:
﴾ 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,﴿
"Send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town":
They had some silver coins, so they intended to send one of them with that money. Let me before carrying on draw your attention to a Divine Indication in the following Ayah:
﴾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?﴿
As I early mentioned that "Raqeem" could be the stone on which their names are inscribed, the name of the valley, the name of the mountain where the cave was located or the name of their dog. However, some interpreters of the Noble Quran (I think he is Ar-Razi) said that "Ar-Raqeem" is copies of the Bible and Torah, which means that when those young men resorted to the cave, they took with them the Scriptures in order to read them. The indication here is that the Quran should be the believer's company (wherever he goes).
﴾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﴿
According to some interpretations, when the young men went to the cave they convened and headed towards it taking with them food, water and the Scriptures, which is the supply of the believer, and they ate their food and drink till they ran out of them, so when they woke up, they were hungry:
﴾And let him find out which is the good lawful food ﴿
Seeking Halal food (from Halal money) is obligatory:
The believer is like a bee which eats whatever is pure and wholesome, and it lays that which is pure and wholesome too.
﴾And let him find out which is the good lawful food, and bring some of that to you. And let him be careful﴿
Scholars deduced from this Ayah the following: Man should not buy all the food (depriving other consumers from it if the quantity is limited). Sometimes there are two or three persons, who are about to buy some of the fruits (for example), then someone comes and asks the grocer to sell him all the fruits, which is against morals. Every believer should consider other people's need.
﴾And bring some of that to you ﴿
One should buy his need only instead of buying everything depriving by that his fellow brother from the commodity (certain goods, vegetables, fruits, etc.) In the abovementioned Ayah, "Some of that" indicates buying some of it (some of the whole thing) and this is a Quranic education and guidance. If you are standing next to another brother in the store asking for something which has limited quantity, you should not buy it all. Instead, take only what you need and leave the rest to the other person.
﴾And bring some of that to you. And let him be careful﴿
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((May Allah have mercy on a person who is lenient when he sells, lenient when he buys, and lenient when he asks for payment.))
﴾And bring some of that to you. And let him be careful﴿
They asked the one, whom they sent, to be kind, to be in disguise and to keep his personality unknown to sh3er. Then, they asked him to bring them food keeping a low profile while doing all that so that people would not follow him or know where they were staying, because they feared oppression, and because they were weak, chased and subjects of torture.
﴾and let no man know of you.﴿
Being careful in buying and selling: "Let him be careful":
The rhetorical style is obvious in this Ayah (in Arabic):
﴾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﴿
The sequence of requests here indicates putting them in order.
﴾So send one of you﴿
﴾and let him find out﴿
As if they put for him a list for the things he should do. First, take off, then look around, then find out good food and then buy it… and so forth. Asking him to be careful and kind was at the end of the Ayah:
﴾ And let him be careful﴿
Why does Allah the Almighty not put "let him be careful" as one of the sequent requests (send, let him find out, bring…etc.)? This is because he should be careful and kind in carrying out all these requests:
﴾and bring some of that to you.﴿
﴾And let him be careful﴿
"And" here indicates that he should be careful and kind in everything he does, namely, while he is on his way, while he is finding out a good food, while he is buying and while he is coming back to them with the food.
Note: In the sequence of all requests Allah used "Fa" (an Arabic coordinating conjunction, which means then in this Ayah), and Allah used "and" only when they asked him to be careful and kind, and this indicates comprehensiveness:
﴾and bring some of that to you﴿
All the requests should be carried out in order, but as for being careful and kind, it should be included in all these stages. Allah says:
﴾So send one of you﴿
﴾let him find out﴿
﴾and bring some of that to you.﴿
﴾ And let him be careful﴿
He should be careful in all these steps.
﴾ 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."﴿
"Never be successful" means they will kill you.
﴾or turn you back to their religion﴿
Their religion was paganism.
﴾ and in that case you will never be successful."﴿
Precaution is obligatory in order to avoid conflicts:
Had you (Ahl Al-Kahf) embraced their religion (paganism), you would have lived in prosperity, luxury life and fame, but that would have been at the expense of losing your belief, principles and religion.
﴾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."﴿
The meaning of "We made their case known to people":
When their man, whom they sent to buy food, showed the money he had to other people, they noticed that it was an old currency which was used 300 years ago. Thus, people were bewildered and said to him, "What money is this and who are you?" This situation resembles the situation of someone who goes to the market and offers old extinct money to buy vegetables and fruits; in this case the seller will be astonished and will ask, "What is this money and who are you? Which era did you come from?" However, the man they sent sensed kindness in people, for Christianity prevailed after all that time, and there was a paradigm shift in history. The people knew who he was, so they followed him to the entrance of the cave (according to some narrations), but after he entered the cave, all of Ahl Al-Kahf died.
﴾And thus We made their case known to the people…﴿
"Athara" is an Arabic verb which means "find" but the verb which is used in the Ayah is "A'athara" which means Allah made their case known to people". There is Divine profound Wisdom in using that verb: As if Allah addresses people saying to them, "If you are sincere to me, if you love me, if you fear me and if you stay upright on My Path, I promise you to protect you, to look after you, to grant you victory over your enemy and to cast My Light into your heart."
﴾And thus We made their case known to the people, that they might know that the Promise of Allah is true﴿
By Allah the only God, the perishing of the entire universe is easier to Allah than breaking His Promises to the believers.
﴾Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion, that which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).﴿
﴾Truly, Allah defends those who believe. Verily! Allah likes not any treacherous ingrate to Allah [those who disobey Allah but obey Shaitan (Satan)].﴿
﴾Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter).﴿
﴾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.﴿
The story of Ahl Al-Kahf was famous among people through history (the 300 years during which they slept), for the king offered paganism to the young men and gave them two days to believe in it, but they disappeared. No one knew where they disappeared and how. It was a puzzle which was circulated through time from one generation to another. Hence, when people (who were Christians at the time when Ahl Al-Kahf woke up) saw them, given they had their doubts about the Hereafter, and when they saw how Allah protected those young men all that time, and then resurrected them from their long sleep, this was enough evidence for them to believe in the Hereafter:
﴾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."﴿
The suggestion of closing the cave: "Construct a building over them":
Some people suggested to seal the entrance of the cave for good (using stones or the like) and said that their Lord knew best about them, whereas another group of people suggested that a place of worship had be built over them in order to seek bliss:
﴾(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (sh3er) say they were five, the dog being the sixth, guessing at the unseen; (yet sh3er) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him): "My Lord knows best their number; none knows them but a few." So debate not (about their number, etc.) 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 of) the people of the Cave.﴿
The wisdom of making the real number of the young men and their place unknown:
Let me ask you this question, why did Allah not tell us how many the young men were putting an end to all the debates we may have about them? The Almighty Lord knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden, so He knows their exact number, but Allah intended not to give it to us, and He left it as a controversial matter, so what is the wisdom behind that?
Some scholars suggested that the story of Ahl Al-Kahf has a substantial moral, whereas its details do not serve that purpose. Engrossing with the details, like their number, the name of their dog, whether a structure over them was built or not and whether they seal the entrance or not, will not make you able to understand the moral of the story. All these details were loose ends and Allah did not give us the answers, so that we will pay attention to the moral of the story. Had Allah mentioned these details, we would have ignored the purpose of the story. What benefit we will get from knowing their exact number, whether they were 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8? The main purpose of this story is that those young men believed in their Lord, and thus Allah increased them in guidance. Furthermore, the purpose is that the Almighty Allah is the the Omnipotent, and when you believe in Him, no one will hurt you.
If Allah supports you, who can do you any harm? If Allah abandons you, who then can support you? The purpose is to stay away from concentrating on these details, such as knowing how many they were, where the cave is and whether in Turkey, in Greece, in Tartoos (according to some interpretations), or in Damascus. Our Lord the Almighty did not mention the era, the place or the exact number of those young men, and He kept all these details unknown, and instead He stressed on the moral of the story.
﴾(yet sh3er) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him): "My Lord knows best their number; none knows them but a few." So debate not (about their number, etc.) 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 of) the people of the Cave.﴿
Knowing these details is useless, and what Allah overlooked shall be overlooked by you as well and instead, one should look for the moral meant by Allah in this story, which is the right way in comprehending it. By insisting on the details, going deep in that direction and missing the important moral of this story, one will be definitely heading the wrong direction in dealing with it.
﴾And never say of anything, "I shall do such and such thing tomorrow."﴿
Everything is controlled by Allah's Will:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Whoever regards tomorrow a day of his life, is not well aware of death.))
Say, Insha' Allah (If Allah wills)", which is Istithna' (Exception). Saying Insha' Allah makes whatever you say right, but if you say, "I will do so and so tomorrow", then you are not aware of man's life which might come to an end in one second, and man will be in the grave in the blink of an eye.
﴾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."﴿
Unfortunately, people voided the word "Insha' Allah" from its meaning, and they use it if they do not mean what they say. For instance, if someone is not serious about paying back money, he will say, "Insha' Allah I will pay you", and if someone indents not to show up, he will say, "Insha' Allah I will come". Therefore, this phrase is misused by people to such an extent that it is used to break promises, to welsh on payments and to lie.
When you are serious about something and have the determination to pay for example, you can use the phrase "Insha' Allah". Man might be invited to a banquette and die before going to it, another might sign his marriage contract and die before getting married and a third might get a scientific certificate by which he will get a job and die before submitting it. Therefore, man is unaware of his hour.
﴾And remember your Lord when you forget ﴿
"And remember your Lord when you forget":
It was reported in the relic, that Musa, peace be upon him, said:
(("O Lord how can I thank you?" The Almighty Allah answers, " When you keep remembering Me (acknowledging My Blessings upon you), you are thankful to Me, but when you forget Me, you are ungrateful to Me"))
﴾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."﴿
We are ordered to seek perfection and not to be satisfied with our reality:
Do not settle for the less and seek better levels so that your future might be better than your present, and your present might be better than your past. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Whoever spends two days without promotion is wronged))
Regarding this point, our Master Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "He who does not increase shall decrease with scantiness (meaning if you do not worship extra and make much Dhikr (Remembrance), in deeds and in speech, you shall decrease in all else."
﴾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, and add nine (for lunar years).﴿
I would like to ask you this question, why did Allah the Almighty not say, "And they stayed in their Cave three hundred years and nine years?" Allah said:
﴾three hundred (solar) years, and add nine (for lunar years).﴿
"And add nine" is a numerical inimitability of Quran:
To answer this question, scholars said, "This is also a scientific inimitability of the Quran, for Our Lord the Almighty mentioned the period of the sleeping time according to both calendars (the solar and the lunar)."
﴾And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years﴿
This is according to the solar year:
﴾ and add nine (for lunar years).﴿
The solar year is the time needed for the earth to complete one full orbit around the sun which is done in twelve months. Hence, the solar year is an actual year and the solar months are calculated and divided by man. As for the lunar year, the case is totally the opposite, for the lunar month is the actual month (from moon appearing to the next moon appearing), whereas the lunar year is calculated by man. In other words, in the lunar year and in order to know how many days it has, we multiply the days of one lunar month by 12, but in the solar year we divide the days of the year by 12:
﴾And they stayed in their Cave three hundred (solar) years,﴿
This is according to the solar year.
﴾ and add nine (for lunar years).﴿
This is according to the lunar year (not Hijri year, for at that time Hijrah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, from Makkah to Madinah had not taken place yet).
﴾Say: "Allah knows best how long they stayed. With Him is (the knowledge of) the unseen of the heavens and the earth. How clearly He sees, and hears (everything)! They have no Wali (Helper, Disposer of affairs, Protector, etc.) other than Him, and He makes none to share in His Decision and His Rule."﴿
This is what Tawheed (monotheism) is all about:
﴾Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists.﴿
