Story of companions of the cave

Story of companions of the cave

In Christianity and Islam, seven cave-dwelling young men who fled the city of Ephesus in 250 AD to escape religious persecution spent 300 years in caves. The story is narrated in the Qur'an (Surah Kahf, verses 9-26) as much as it is important for Islam. In addition, 300 solar years have been inserted as equivalent to 309 lunar years. The Islamic version mentions a dog that enters the cave with young men and keeps an eye on it. In Islam, these young men are called "cavemen".

Story of companions of the cave in the Language of the Quran-

9. Do you think that the inhabitants of the caves and caverns were among the wonders of My signs?

10. When the youths take refuge in the caves of the mountains, they pray: Our Lord, grant us mercy from Yourself and fulfill our duty for us.

11. Then I threw the curtain over their ears in the cave for a few years.

12. Then We resurrected them so that We might know which of the two parties was best able to determine.

13. I am describing their history to you accurately. They were a few young men. They believed in their Lord, and We increased their strength.

14. I strengthened their minds when they stood up. Then they said: Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth; we will never call upon any god besides Him. If I did, it would be an abomination.

15. They are our own people; they have taken many gods instead of Him. Why don't they present public evidence about them? Who is more sinful than he who invents a lie about Allah?

16. When you are separated from them, and from what they worship besides God, then take refuge in the cave. Your Lord will have mercy on you, and He will make your deeds fruitful for you.

17. Thou shalt see the sun, when it rises, cut off from their caves and go to the right, and when it sets, it passes by them and goes to the left, while they are in the wide courtyard of the cave. This is one of the signs of Allah. Whomever GOD guides is the one who is guided, and whomsoever He sends astray, you will never find for him a guide or a helper.

18. You will think they are awake, but they are asleep. I turn them to the right and to the left. Their dog had two front legs extended into the cave. If you peeked at them, you would run back and be terrified of them.

19. I thus awakened them so that they might question one another. One of them said: How long have you tarried? Some of them said: I am staying for a day or part of the day. Some said: Your Lord knows best how long you have tarried. Now send one of you to the city with this coin of yours; He looks as if any food is sacred. Then let them bring you some food from it; Let him go humbly and never tell anyone about you.

20. If they find out about you, they will stone you to death or turn you back to their religion. Then you will never succeed.

21. Thus did We make known to them that they might know that the promise of Allah is true and that there is no doubt about the Hour. And when they disputed with one another about their affair, they said: Build on them a tower. Their Lord knows best about them. Those who insisted on their duty said: We will surely build a mosque in their place.

22. On the basis of conjecture about the unknown, they will now say: They were three; The fourth of them is their dog. Say the same thing; They are five. The sixth of them was their dog. He will say: They were seven. The eighth of them was their dog. Say: My Lord knows best their number. Few people know their news. Do not argue about them without general discussion and do not question any of them about their condition.

23. You don't say anything about work, I'll do it tomorrow.

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24. Except for saying, "God willing." When you forget, remember your Lord and say: I hope that my Lord will guide me to the nearest truth.

25. Three hundred years have passed in the caves of their superiors, an additional nine years.

26. Say: Allah knows best how long they stayed. To Him belongs the knowledge of the unseen of the heavens and the earth. How wonderful he sees and hears. There is no helper for them but He. He does not share anyone's authority.

Islamic interpretation

According to Muslim scholars, Allah revealed the above verses about the cavemen, because the people of Makkah asked Muhammad (peace be upon him) questions from the Jews of Medina to verify their authenticity, and also challenged Muhammad (peace be upon him). They asked him about the young men who had disappeared in the past, about the man who had traveled from earth to east, about Zulkarnain and the soul. This incident is consistent with the Christian version, here it describes a group of young believers who opposed their king from worshiping others on the side of God and took refuge in a cave, which caused them to fall asleep for a long time. When they woke up, they thought they had been asleep for a day or part of a day, and they sent one of them back to town for food.

And according to some historians, the name of the mountain was Binajlus. Their dog's name was Hamran. Someone said they were Jesus. People of later times and were Christians. But the Jews' emphasis on them and their interest in gathering news about them prove that they are people from the pre-Jesus era. From the wording of the verse, it is evident that the people of their community were polytheists. They worshiped idols. Many historians are of the opinion that they belonged to an aristocratic dynasty during the reign of King Dakranum. Some say they were princes.

Incidentally, they gather at the festival of their community and see people worshiping idols. They observe it with deep attention. GOD breaks the veil of their hearts and reveals to them the truth. As a result, they realize that these activities of their community are completely baseless. Young people abandon their religion and concentrate on the worship of one God.

Many commentators and theologians have told many stories about the dog. But none of this is taken from the Israeli narrative and most of it is a blatant lie. There is no benefit to this.

A lot has changed since they slept for three hundred years. A few generations had passed. State power changed hands. When one of them goes to the city, the city seems unfamiliar to him. The townspeople feel unfamiliar when they see him. His shape, speech, and currency seem unfamiliar to them. The townspeople handed him over to the king on suspicion of being a spy. When he escaped from there and informed his companions about the incident, they realized that their sleep was a sign from Allah Almighty.