Taysir al-Latif al-Mannan fi Khulasat Tafsir al-Quran - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (الكتاب/334)

The Story of the Companions of the Cave

They were young men whom Allah guided and inspired with faith. They came to know their Lord and repudiated the idolatry practised by their people. Standing openly among them—yet fearful of their people’s might—they affirmed their creed, saying:

“Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We shall never call upon any deity other than Him; were we to do so, we would indeed have spoken an outrageous falsehood. These, our people, have taken gods besides Him. Why do they not bring for them a clear proof? Who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah?” (18:14-15).

When they had agreed upon this stance and realised that they could not profess it publicly, they implored Allah to ease their affair: “Our Lord, grant us mercy from Yourself and provide for us, in our affair, right guidance” (18:10).

So they sought refuge in a cave that Allah had perfectly prepared for them: roomy within, its entrance facing north so that the sun never penetrated it, neither at sunrise nor at sunset. There they slept under Allah’s protection and care for three hundred years—plus nine more (18:25).

Allah then cast a mantle of awe around them, though they were near their people’s town. Inside the cave He Himself preserved them: “We turned them to the right and to the left” (18:18), so that the earth would not consume their bodies.

قصة أصحاب الكهف وهم فتيةٌ وفَّقَهم اللهُ، وألهمَهم الإيمانَ، وعَرَفوا ربَّهم، وأنكرُوا ما عليهِ قومَهم من عبادةِ الأوثانِ، وقامُوا بينَ أظهرِهم معلنيِنَ فيما بينَهم عقيدتَهم، خائفينَ من سطوةِ قومِهم، فقالوا: ﴿رَبُّنَا رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَنْ نَدْعُوَ مِنْ دُونِهِ إِلَهًا لَقَدْ قُلْنَا إِذًا﴾ [الكهف: ١٤] أي: إنْ دعَوْنا غيرَهُ، ﴿شَطَطًا﴾ أي: زورًا وبهتانًا وظلمًا، ﴿هَؤُلَاءِ قَوْمُنَا اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ آلِهَةً لَوْلَا يَأْتُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِسُلْطَانٍ بَيِّنٍ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا﴾ [الكهف: ١٥]. فلما اتفقُوا على هذا الأمرِ، وعَرَفوا أنهم لا يمكنُهم إظهارُ ذلكَ لقومِهم؛ سألُوا اللهَ أنْ يسهِّلَ أمرَهم فقالوا: ﴿رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا﴾ [الكهف: ١٠]. فآوَوْا إلى غارٍ يسَّرَهُ اللهُ غايةَ التيسيرِ، واسعِ الفجوةِ، بابهُ نحوَ الشمالِ، لا تدخلُهُ الشمسُ، لا في طلوعِها ولا في غروبِها، فنامُوا في كهفِهم بحفظِ اللهِ ورعايتهِ ﴿ثَلَاثَ مِائَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُوا تِسْعًا (٢٥)﴾. وقدْ ضرَبَ اللهُ عليهم نطاقًا من الرعبِ، على قربِهم من مدينةِ قومِهم، ثم إنهُ في الغارِ تولَّى حفظَهم بقولهِ: ﴿وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ﴾ [الكهف: ١٨]؛ وذلك لئلَّا تُبليَ الأرضُ أجسادَهم.