Explanation

Regarding the noble verse that the author cites, some people have claimed that the Companions of the Cave were not seven with their dog as the eighth, and they seized upon Allah’s words, “Say: My Lord knows best their number.” Undoubtedly this is a mistaken reading of the verse, for Allah says, “Say: My Lord knows best their number,” after having already invalidated two opinions and remained silent about the third. His silence indicates that the third is the sound view; had it been otherwise, He would have made its error clear, for Allah does not leave matters contrary to reality. He then adds, “None knows them except a few.” If the phrase “My Lord knows best their number” meant that no human being at all knew their number, it would contradict “None knows them except a few.” Thus the verse unequivocally shows that the Companions of the Cave were seven, and their dog was the eighth.

There is also a subtle point about the way the number is expressed. Allah says, “seven, and their dog is the eighth,” rather than “eight, their dog being the eighth,” because the dog belongs to a different species. When something is of another kind, it is not included in the count itself but mentioned afterward. For the same reason, Allah says, “No secret counsel of three takes place but that He is the fourth,” and He does not say, “of four, He is the fourth,” for He is the Creator and they are created beings.

As for His words, “So do not argue about them except with clear argumentation,” the author—may Allah have mercy on him—explains that the meaning is: do not wear yourself out by probing deeply and disputing about their number, for there is no benefit in it. A similar approach appears in some hadiths where the man involved in an incident is left unnamed: “A man said,” “A man came,” “A Bedouin entered,” and the like. Yet you will find some people exhausting themselves trying to identify that man even though no useful purpose is served, and they occupy