الْكَهْف

Praise be to Allah, Who hath sent to His Servant the Book, and hath allowed therein no Crookedness:

(He hath made it) Straight (and Clear) in order that He may warn (the godless) of a terrible Punishment from Him, and that He may give Glad Tidings to the Believers who work righteous deeds, that they shall have a goodly Reward,

Wherein they shall remain for ever:

Further, that He may warn those (also) who say, "Allah hath begotten a son":

No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. It is a grievous thing that issues from their mouths as a saying what they say is nothing but falsehood!

Thou wouldst only, perchance, fret thyself to death, following after them, in grief, if they believe not in this Message.

That which is on earth we have made but as a glittering show for the earth, in order that We may test them - as to which of them are best in conduct.

Verily what is on earth we shall make but as dust and dry soil (without growth or herbage).

Or dost thou reflect that the Companions of the Cave and of the Inscription were wonders among Our Sign?

Behold, the youths betook themselves to the Cave: they said, "Our Lord! bestow on us Mercy from Thyself, and dispose of our affair for us in the right way!"

Then We draw (a veil) over their ears, for a number of years, in the Cave, (so that they heard not):

Then We roused them, in order to test which of the two parties was best at calculating the term of years they had tarried!

We relate to thee their story in truth: they were youths who believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in guidance:

We gave strength to their hearts: Behold, they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and of the earth: never shall we call upon any god other than Him: if we did, we should indeed have uttered an enormity!

"These our people have taken for worship gods other than Him: why do they not bring forward an authority clear (and convincing) for what they do? Who doth more wrong than such as invent a falsehood against Allah?

"When ye turn away from them and the things they worship other than Allah, betake yourselves to the Cave: Your Lord will shower His mercies on you and disposes of your affair towards comfort and ease."

Thou wouldst 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 open space in the midst of the Cave. Such are among the Signs of Allah: He whom Allah, guides is rightly guided; but he whom Allah leaves to stray,- for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to the Right Way.

Thou wouldst have deemed them awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them.

Such (being their state), we raised them up (from sleep), that they might question each other. Said one of them, "How long have ye stayed (here)?" They said, "We have stayed (perhaps) a day, or part of a day." (At length) they (all) said, "Allah (alone) knows best how long ye have stayed here.... Now send ye then one of you with this money of yours to the town: let him find out which is the best food (to be had) and bring some to you, that (ye may) satisfy your hunger therewith: And let him behave with care and courtesy, and let him not inform any one about you.

"For if they should come upon you, they would stone you or force you to return to their cult, and in that case ye would never attain prosperity."