!["ISLAM: THE PERFECT & COMPLETE WAY OF LIFE"](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DCcKPfXorX87X2h2U-K_lEOEBNaPspILvXlk1__2li_posBBHjZ2HJj55YKJRQ995dAFwpNZNavou_L9v4EnsoqGUM8U6cCYMt8fJCA3qxYIVXj33smZg1dTleURbLToKn0uzzCgvHkK/s1600/logo.png ""ISLAM: THE PERFECT & COMPLETE WAY OF LIFE""){kind=logo}
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 recordwhere 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}. (AlKahf, 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 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.
[1]
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. (Majdi M. AshShahawi)