Praise be to God, 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 forever. Further, that He may warn those also who say, “God 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.
O Prophet, 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 signs?
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 drew a veil over their ears for a number of years in the cave (so that they hear 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 God? When ye turn away from them and the things they worship other than God, betake yourselves to the cave. Your Lord will shower His mercies on you and dispose 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 God. He whom God guides is rightly guided, but he whom God 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 forelegs on the threshold. If thou hadst come upon 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, “God 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 anyone 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.”
Thus did We make their case known to the people, that they might know that the promise of God is true and that there can be no doubt about the Hour of Judgment. Behold, they disputed among themselves as to their affair. Some said, “Construct a building over them.” Their Lord knows best about them. Those who prevailed over their affair said, “Let us surely build a place of worship over them.”
Some say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; others say they were five, the dog being the sixth—doubtfully guessing at the unknown. Yet others say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say thou, “My Lord knows best their number. It is but few that know their real case.”
Enter not, therefore, into controversies concerning them except on a matter that is clear, nor consult any of them about the affair of the Sleepers. Nor say of anything, “I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow” without adding, “So please God,” and call thy Lord to mind when thou forget, and say, “I hope that my Lord will guide me ever closer even than this to the right road.” So they stayed in their cave three hundred years, and some add nine more. Say, “God knows best how long they stayed. With Him is the knowledge of the secrets of the heavens and the earth. How clearly He sees, how finely He hears everything! They have no protector other than Him, nor does He share His command with any person whatsoever.
And recite and teach what has been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord. None can change His words, and none wilt thou find as a refuge other than Him. And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His face. And let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this life, nor obey any whose heart We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds.
(S: 18, V: 1–28)
Three Questions:
In the fields of Makka, upon instigations of Christians and Jews, in order to test the knowledge of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), three questions were put to him.
- Who were the Companions of the Cave?
- Who is Khizar?
- Does he know the story of Zulqarnain?
All the stories concerning these questions were buried in Christian and Jewish history, and Arabs were not familiar with them. The purpose of asking these questions was to ascertain whether the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was really versed in divine knowledge or not.
Ephesus, the city of Rome, was built in the 11th century BC. Afterwards, it turned into a great center of worshipping the goddess Diana. People from far away visited this city. Sorcerers, priests, witch doctors, magicians, divination experts, and specialists of amulets and charms of this city were famous the world over. These things were practiced up to Syria and Egypt. Jews, ascribing their connection to Solomon, had the biggest contribution in this business. Infidelity and pagan worship based upon superstitions were common.
It is said that there was a king named Decius in Rome. He had a large empire with a sizable army of soldiers. Once another king attacked Rome. Decius defeated him and won the war. The enemy king was killed and his sons were imprisoned. According to some, they were five, and some say they were not five but six brothers. The Kaiser of Rome enslaved them and they were made to serve him.
The Kaiser proclaimed to be a god and made the people prostrate before him. One night all these brothers had a discussion among themselves to find a way out of slavery and attain freedom to worship. One suggested that they should escape. They planned to escape.
One day, when the Kaiser went to play a game of javelin and took these brothers with him, one of them, by the close of the day, threw the javelin out of the ground and went after it, pretending to fetch it. The king started back, and the other brothers also stealthily sneaked away and joined their brother. Soon, they were out of the Kaiser’s domain.
Christian Mythology:
The brief account of the details of this story as collected by Gregory of Tours in his book Meraculorum Liber is given here.
When the teachings of Christ reached Rome, a few youths of that city left pagan worship, embraced Christianity, and switched over to worshipping one God. Decius, the Kaiser of Rome, summoned seven of these young men and asked them, “What is your religion?”
They knew that the Kaiser was after the lives of Christians, but they fearlessly said, “Our Lord is the Lord of the earth and the heavens, and we do not acknowledge anyone other than Him to be our Lord. And if we would do so, we would be committing a sin.”
This offended the Kaiser greatly and he said angrily, “O you! Shut up, otherwise I’ll slay you. You are young, so I give you respite for three days. If you mend your ways and return to the religion of your people, I’ll spare your lives. Otherwise, you will be put to the sword.”
Taking advantage of the given time, the youths escaped from the city toward the mountains to take refuge in a cave. On the way, a dog joined them. Finding a large cave, they hid themselves in there, and the dog sat near the entrance of the cave. They were tired and exhausted, so they all went to sleep. The Quran mentions this thus:
Do you think that the Companions of the Cave and of the Inscription were wonders among Our signs? When 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 patted upon their ears to put them to deep slumber for a number of years in the cave. (S: 13, V: 9–11)
Decius:
When Decius, the Kaiser of Rome, came to know of their escape and found that they were hiding in a cave, he ordered a wall to be constructed to seal the cave so that they should perish within and the cave be turned into their grave as a punishment for their crime of not listening to him and trying to run away from his domain. The man who was given the task of constructing the wall was a person of good nature. He got the names of those youths and the details of the happening inscribed on a bronze tablet and buried it near the foundation of the wall in a copper box. According to the legends, a similar tablet containing the names of those youths was deposited in the royal treasury.
After some time, Decius died and centuries passed by. Kings came and perished, so much so that a righteous king named Badros became the ruler of Rome and ruled the country for 68 years. In his times, people were divided upon the issue of life after death. Some of the people, under the influence of distorted teachings of Judaism, denied any concept of life after death and resurrection. Badros, who himself was a Christian and believed in resurrection and life after death, grew worried. He wanted people to have faith in resurrection and life after death. So he earnestly prayed to God to grant him some sign that should convince his people of resurrection after the Doomsday and life after death.
In those days, a person chose that cave to use it as a pen for his sheep and got the wall demolished. When the wall fell and the people saw in the cave, it terrified them and they ran away in fright.
If thou had come upon them, thou would certainly have turned back from them in flight and would certainly have been filled with terror of them. (S: 18, V: 18)
They got up fresh and bright, full of life and filled with inner solace and bliss. They offered their prayers and asked one another if someone had any idea as to how long they had been there sleeping.
And they stayed in that cave for three hundred years and some add it up to nine hundred. Say, “God knows best how long they stayed, with Him is the knowledge of the secrets of the heavens and the earth.” (S: 18, V: 25–26)
Then they sent one of them, whose name was Yamlikha, giving him some money to go to the town to bring some food for them. They also told him to be careful lest he be recognized and they be traced through him.
When Yamlikha reached the town, he couldn’t recognize it. It was all changed. All had become Christians and there was nobody to worship Diana. He managed to find a baker. When he made the payment for his purchases using the coins that had the picture of Decius, the baker was surprised to see that coin and asked him as to where he had found that coin because it was a centuries-old coin and that he must have found an old treasure.
It was his own money. And, so that the matter reached the mayor, the baker told him about the found treasure because the coin he was having belonged to the era of Decius who had died many centuries before. When Yamlikha heard that Kaiser Decius had passed away centuries ago, he was dumbfounded and couldn’t say anything. After a while, when he recovered his senses, he told the mayor it was only yesterday when he, along with his companions, had fled from the town and had taken refuge in a cave in the nearby mountains to save themselves from the tyranny of Decius. And that, if they wished, he could take them to them. The mayor and the chiefs of the town, along with a number of onlookers, came to the cave where his other companions were hiding.
Names of the Cave Companions:
When they saw a mob coming toward the cave, they thought that their companion had been apprehended and had given them in to Decius’s army. But when the people reached the cave and saw the others, and it was confirmed that they belonged to the era of Decius and had been asleep till then, the people had much firmer faith in rising after death. The mayor saw the copper box, and upon opening it, he found the bronze tablet having their names and the name of their dog, which were: Mccilmena, Yamlikha, Martens, Benonus, Sarinonus, Zononus, Chasfieti, Taunus, and the name of their dog was Qatmeer.
It was written on that tablet that these, in this cave, fearing Decius, had taken refuge to save their faith and religion. Decius, upon coming to know, sealed off the cave by constructing this wall. This is written so that whenever this cave is opened, people should have knowledge about them.
This inscription left everyone wonder-struck, and people celebrated the praises of God, who had sent a sign for them to believe in resurrection and life after death. The mayor informed the king Badros, who visited the cave and thanked God for acceding to his prayer. The Companions of the Cave met the king and went back to the cave to enter the realm of eternal slumber.
Point to note:
In those times, Doomsday and the Day of Judgment were the most popular topics of discussion among the people. A group of Jews, Sadoquies, had opted to deny the Doomsday and the Day of Judgment altogether. They used quotations from the Old Testament to support their arguments with such skill and tact that the Christian scholars had no answer to their reasoning, nor could they prove it with any example that the Hereafter is another phase of life. The minds of the Sadoquies were set so low that they were not ready to accept that after the life of this world, they would ever be resurrected and there would be a Day of Judgment when they would be called to account for their deeds in the life of this world. This debate usually ended in favor of the Jews who rejected the concept of life hereafter altogether.
God has narrated the story of the Companions of the Cave to put an end to their misleading thinking. It is not at all difficult for God to put someone to sleep and awaken him after three hundred or more years, and in spite of the passage of this long duration of time, his form and features are also maintained without suffering any signs of aging. Extraordinary events can take place as and when God so wills.