in that state, he would have turned and fled, his heart filled with dread. Once, however, they were raised from their sleep, Allah made them known—that is, He let people discover them—when they sent one of their number into the city to purchase food. There is no report that the townspeople ran from the Companions of the Cave or were struck with terror when they encountered them after their awakening. If the townspeople themselves felt no fear on seeing them once they had risen, then a fortiori any claim of fear is even less applicable to the Prophet ﷺ when Allah informed him of their story; he is far above the slander penned by that writer who is ignorant of his true rank.

Ibn Kathir, commenting on Allah’s words, “Thus We made them known” (Qur’an 18:21), writes: “That is, We caused the people to discover them so that they might know that Allah’s promise is true and that the Hour is beyond all doubt.” He further explains: “His saying, ‘Thus We made them known’ means that just as We caused them to sleep and then awakened them in their very state, We caused the people of that time to discover them so that they might know that Allah’s promise is true and that the Hour is beyond all doubt.”

Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Jarir, and many other exegetes, historians, and traditionists have narrated the story of the Companions of the Cave in full detail, and it contains the most decisive refutation of the writer’s fabrications and his disrespectful assertion that the Prophet ﷺ was seized with terror at them, and of the claim that the image