18:10
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!”
18:11
Then We draw (a veil) over their ears, for a number of years, in
the Cave, (so that they heard not):
18:12
Then We roused them, in order to test which of the two parties
was best at calculating the term of years they had tarried!
18:13
We relate to thee their story in truth: they were youths who
believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in guidance:
18:14
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!
18:15
“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?
18:16
“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.”
18:17
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
18:18
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.
18:19
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.
18:20
“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.”
18:21
Thus did We make 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 of Judgment. Behold, they dispute
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.”
18:22
(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 knoweth
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.
18:23
Nor say of anything, “I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow”-
18:24
Without adding, “So please Allah!” and call thy Lord to mind
when thou forgettest, and say, “I hope that my Lord will guide
me ever closer (even) than this to the right road.”
18:25
So they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, and (some) add
nine (more)
Yahiya Emerick Translation:
(Some people say that the Companions of the Cave) stayed in
their cave for three hundred years, and (others) add nine (more
years to that figure).
18:26
Say: “Allah 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 haveno
protector other than Him; nor does He share His Command with
any person whatsoever.
18:27
And recite (and teach) what has been revealed to thee of the
Book of thy Lord: none canchange His Words, and none wilt
thou find as a refuge other than Him.
18:28
And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord
morning and evening, seeking HisFace; and let not thine eyes
pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life; no
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.
18:29
Say, “The truth is from your Lord”: Let him who will believe,
and let him who will, reject (it): for the wrong doers We have
prepared a Fire whose (smoke and flames), like the walls and
roof of a tent, will hem them in: if they implore relief they will
be granted water like melted brass, that will scald their faces,
how dreadful the drink! How uncomfortable a couch to recline
on!
18:30
As to those who believe and work righteousness, verily We shall
not suffer to perish the reward of any who do a (single) righteous
deed.
18:31
For them will be Gardens of Eternity; beneath them rivers will
flow; they will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and
they will wear green garments of fine silk and heavy brocade:
They will recline therein on raised thrones. How good the
recompense! How beautiful a couch to recline on!
18:32
Set forth to them the parable of two men: for one of them We
provided two gardens of grape-vines and surrounded them with
date palms; in between the two We placed corn-fields.
18:33
Each of those gardens brought forth its produce, and failed not
in the least therein: in the midst of them We caused a river to
flow.
18:34
(Abundant) was the produce this man had : he said to his
companion, in the course of a mutual argument: “more wealth
have I than you, and more honour and power in (my following
of) men.”
18:35
He went into his garden in a state (of mind) unjust to his soul:
He said, “I deem not that this will ever perish,
18:36
“Nor do I deem that the Hour (of Judgment) will (ever) come:
Even if I am brought back to my Lord, I shall surely find (there)
something better in exchange.”
18:37
His companion said to him, in the course of the argument with
him: “Dost thou deny Him Who created thee out of dust, then
out of a sperm-drop, then fashioned thee into a man?
18:38
“But (I think) for my part that He is Allah, My Lord, and none
shall I associate with my Lord.
18:39
“Why didst thou not, as thou wentest into thy garden, say:
’Allah’s will (be done)! There is no power but with Allah!’ If
thou dost see me less than thee in wealth and sons,
18:40
“It may be that my Lord will give me something better than thy
garden, and that He will send on thy garden thunderbolts (by
way of reckoning) from heaven, making it (but) slippery sand!-
18:41
“Or the water of the garden will run off underground so that thou
wilt never be able to find it.”
18:42
So his fruits (and enjoyment) were encompassed (with ruin), and
he remained twisting and turning his hands over what he had
spent on his property, which had (now) tumbled to pieces to its
very foundations, and he could only say, “Woe is me! Would I
had never ascribed partners to my Lord and Cherisher!”
18:43
Nor had he numbers to help him against Allah, nor was he able
to deliver himself.
18:44
There, the (only) protection comes from Allah, the True One. He
is the Best to reward, and the Best to give success.