Surah Al-Kahf 18:18-22 - Quran Translation Commentary

18. (Had you seen them) you might have thought them awake, while they were asleep, and We caused them to turn over to right and the left, and their dog lay at the entrance with paws outstretched. Had you caught a glimpse of them, you would surely have turned your back and fled in terror.²⁵

19. And in like manner We awakened them²⁶ that they might question one another. ²⁷ A speaker from among them said: “How long have you stayed here?” They replied: “We have stayed a day or some part or a day.” Others said: “Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed here.²⁸ Now send one of you with this your silver coin to the city, and let him see what food is purest there²⁹ and bring you provision from it. Let him conduct himself with caution and let no one know about you.”

20. For if they find you out, they will stone you (to death), or force you back to their faith.³⁰ Then you will surely not prosper.”

21. Thus did we make their case known³¹ (to the people) so that they might know that the promise of Allah is true, and that, as for the Hour of Doom, there is no doubt concerning it.³² When the People disputed their case among themselves,³³ some said: “Erect a wall over their remains; their Lord knows best about them.”³⁴ Those who won their point said : “We verily will build over them a place of worship.”

22. These people will Say: “They were three, their dog the fourth.” and some (will say): “Five, their dog the sixth,” guessing at random; ³⁵ and some will say : “Seven and their dog the eight”, Say: “My Lord knows best their number. None knows them except a few.” Therefore, do not dispute about their case except in a casual Way, nor ask any of them concerning them.³⁶

Commentary

25. That is: They were sleeping in such a way and were turning to their right and left in their sleep that if by chance anybody saw them, he would have thought that they were just lying and were awake, and their dog too was sitting at the entrance of the Cave with his paws outstretched. If anybody were to cast a glance in this dark cave, this scene was so terrifying that he would have run away at once. He would have been frightened not knowing who these people were, hiding in this cave, and what were their intentions. Allah had caused this terrifying scene to be presented at the cave so that nobody might dare go near them and disturb them. This was an extraordinary arrangement for their protection. They had kept the dog with them in this wilderness for their own safety, therefore, from the point of view of the Shariah no objection can be raised on keeping this dog.

26. That is: After causing them to go to sleep in such an extraordinary way, He caused them to be roused.

27. That is: They should find out from one another as to how long they had been sleeping.

28. From their mutual talk it appeared that they did not make a correct estimate of the length of the time they were in the state of slumber. One person estimated that they had been sleeping for one day or even less. But when they did not reach any satisfactory conclusion, they left the matter to Allah, who knows best how long they slept.

In fact they slept for a very very long time, but when they woke up they felt that they had spent only a day or even less in their sleeping. This event is a sign which helps in understanding the condition of the world of Barzakh. Man will be lying for a very long time in the world of Barzakh, and when on the Day of Resurrection he will be revived, he will feel that he has been lying in sleep for a day or less.

29. After Waking up they felt hungry, therefore, they sent one among themselves to the city with a few silver coins to fetch the purest food. They thought that the conditions of the city would be the same polytheistic as they had found before they went to sleep, and in a polytheistic society there is no distinction between halal and haram. The slaughter could be in the name of the idols, therefore they instructed him to bring the pure, i.e. halal food. It gives an idea of their purity of soul.

30. This gives an idea of how tyrannical was the nation which they had left. In their country the penalty of giving up the polytheistic religion was death, and besides, the rulers used to force people to revert to their original idolatrous practices.

31. When that man went to the city with the silver coin of an old period, the secret was out that they had been sleeping for a very long period and now they have woken up. These were the arrangements made by Allah to let the people know of their strange case.

32. Allah caused this reality to be disclosed in order to remove the doubts of the people about the Day of Resurrection, and they may be convinced that the promise of Allah will surely be fulfilled. If man can wake up after a slumber for a very very long period of time, then why can he not wake up, by the might of the same Almighty, after dying ? If a preternatural incident can take place in this world in your time, why another preternatural event after your death at the time of the end of the world cannot take place?

33. From the context it can be clearly gathered that after the People of the Cave died, and on their death this unnecessary discussion took place as to how they should be buried and in what way a monument might be built in their memory.

34. At that time the government had also changed and the religion of the people too had become different. Both the state and the people had accepted Christianity as their religion. They had, therefore, great regard for the People of the Cave. Compare it with the earlier condition that they were keen to stone them to death and now what a change that they had become their devotees. And when they became devotees they lost balance, and in order to attract more people to them, they considered it necessary to build a place of worship over their graves.

Although there was, among them, a group of persons whose way of thinking was right, and it had suggested that their dead bodies be kept in the Cave itself, and a wall might be erected at the entrance of the Cave, so that they might be buried in that and their affair might be left to Allah, who knows it best; let them not do anything improper in their excessive devotion. But this suggestion of the monotheists was not acceptable to those who had the reins of power in the church in their hands. In view of their corrupt mentality and innovative nature, they decided that over their graves, i.e. the Cave, they should build a place of worship to express their devotion to them.

It is this excess regard and devotion to the graves which leads to grave-worship and waywardness. For this reason, the Prophet (Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam) has emphatically forbidden to build structures and buildings over the graves or to build mosques over them: “May Allah curse the Jews and the Christians-they made the graves of their prophets their places of worship.” (Bukhari - Kitabul.Janaiz). “

Among them, when a virtuous person died, they made a place of worship over his grave, and drew his pictures in that. They are the worst creatures with Allah.” -(Bukhari - Kitabul janaiz)

“The Messenger of Allah, Sallal Lahu Alaihi Wa Sallam, has forbidden to make the grave firm with lime, and to sit over it and to erect a building over it.” -(Bukhari-Kitabul Janaiz). In view of these ahadith, to erect grand mausoleums and dargah over the graves of the virtuous persons is contradictory to the Islamic teachings and is the cause of grave-worship and waywardness.

Some people have derived wrong meaning from this ayah, and they present it as an argument in support of building mosques over the graves of saints and virtuous people. But in view of the clear-cut instruction.” in the hadith of the Prophet (S.A.W.) their arguments becomes totally false. Accordingly Allama Alusi has criticised them severely in his Tafseer Roohul Ma’ani, and has very ably analysed their perverted logic, and has very clearly demonstrated the falsity and wrongness of the argument to erect buildings over the graves of the virtuous and pious people.- (Roohul Ma’ani, Vol.5,p.237).

If the whole ayah is kept in view, then its purpose will be quite clear that by rousing the People of the Cave after a very long period Allah has provided, a sign for the people concerning the occurrence of the Day of Resurrection. Therefore, what was needed, was that whenever they discussed about the People of the Cave they kept this point in view and as the center of their attention and talked on this point only. But their devotees sidetracked the real issue and concentrated on the issue of building a memorial for them.

35. That is: These are all inventions of their imagination.

36. Those who had no interest in the purpose behind this event, and those who did not want to learn any lesson from it, they initiated the unnecessary discussion about the number of the People of the Cave. Without giving an answer to their discussion, Qur’an narrated their story in its precise and well balanced style and brought into prominence the instructive aspect of the chronicle. In addition, it directed that such discussions should be entertained only in a casual way and Muslims should not seriously get themselves involved in these discussion.

About the number of the People of the Cave, Qur’an did not deny the third statement (that they were seven), nor did it say that it was a correct statement, but said that the Lord knew best what was their real number. Therefore, we must, without any hesitation, act on this direction.

It appears that even at that time the chronicle of the People of the Cave had assumed the form of a popular fiction story. Qur’an brought out its reality, which had been buried in its fictitious form into the open, has directed the people of faith that now it was not necessary to ask anyone about this chronicle. But it is a pity that even after this direction the fictitious Christian tales about this chronicle have found place in the tafseers, to the extent that the names of the People of the Cave and of their dog too have been mentioned!