As the Exalted says: "They will say, ‘They were three, their dog the fourth,’ and others will say, ‘They were five, their dog the sixth’—all of this is guesswork about the unseen; and still others will say, ‘They were seven, their dog the eighth.’ Say: ‘My Lord knows best their number; none knows them except a few.’ So do not argue about them except with a clear, outward argument, and do not seek a ruling from any of them concerning them." (al-Kahf 18:22).

This noble verse lays down the proper etiquette for such questions and teaches us the correct conduct when confronted with them. Allah mentions three opinions about the Companions of the Cave, weakens the first two, and remains silent about the third—an indication that it is the sound view, for had it been false He would have rejected it as He did the others. He then guides us to see that knowing their exact number yields no benefit. In cases like this one should simply say, “My Lord knows best their number,” for only a handful of people, whom Allah has informed, truly know it. Hence His words, “So do not argue about them except with a clear, outward argument,” meaning: do not exhaust yourself over something that brings no benefit, and do not ask them about it, for they only hurl guesses at the unseen.

Thus the most excellent manner of reporting differing views is to present all the positions held on the issue, identify the sound opinion, refute the unsound ones, and point out any practical value the disagreement may have. In this way the debate will not drag on over matters of no consequence and distract people from what is more important.

As for someone who reports a disagreement on a question but does not cover all the positions scholars have taken, he is deficient, for the correct view may lie in the opinion he omitted, or he may merely relate