(1) Added from manuscript B. (2) These reports cited by the author are mentioned by al-Tabari, Tafsir, 15:200-205; al-Suyuti, al-Durr al-Manthur, 5:363-370, 373; al-Qurtubi, 10:358-360; and al-Khazin, 4:160-165. In all their details concerning the youths' departure, their names, the name of their dog, and so forth, these reports are derived from the People of the Book who embraced Islam. Some of the Companions and Successors transmitted them from such sources and related them because of their strangeness and wonder. The following statements by some critical scholars and exegetes spare us the need to comment on such reports in many places: Ibn Kathir states in his Tafsir, 3:76-79: “Allah, Exalted is He, did not tell us where this cave was located, or in which land on earth it lay, since there is no benefit or religious purpose in knowing this. Some exegetes have gone to great lengths and mentioned various opinions concerning it... Allah knows best in which of His lands it was. Had there been a religious benefit in knowing it, Allah and His Messenger would have directed us to it... He informed us of its description but did not inform us of its location.” After mentioning certain views concerning the dog of the Companions of the Cave and its color, he said: “They differed regarding its color in opinions that yield nothing, have no value, lack evidence, and are unnecessary. Rather, this is among what is prohibited, for its basis is speculation about the unseen.” Regarding the names of the youths, he said: “There is doubt concerning the authenticity of assigning them these names, as well as the name of their dog. Allah knows best. Most of this has been received from the People of the Book. Allah says: ‘So do not dispute about them except with a superficial argument.’ That is, lightly and without insistence, for knowing such matters brings no great benefit.” In al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, 2:115, he says: “Many storytellers and exegetes have related lengthy accounts and reports concerning this dog, most of which are derived from Israiliyyat; much of it is false and of no benefit, such as their disagreement over its name and color.” Sayyid Qutb writes in In the Shade of the Quran, 15:2260-2261: “The story of the Companions of the Cave presents a model of faith in believing souls: how they find tranquility through it, prefer it to the adornment and enjoyments of the earth, and take refuge with it in the cave when they can no longer live by it among people; and how Allah cares for these believing souls, protects them from tribulation, and encompasses them with mercy. The story has many differing narrations and numerous claims, for it appeared in some ancient books and in legends in various forms. We confine ourselves to what is stated in the Quran, for it is the only certain source, and we reject all other reports and legends that have crept into Qur'anic commentaries without authentic chains of transmission—especially since the Noble Quran forbade seeking information about them from sources other than the Quran and prohibited disputation and argument concerning them on the basis of speculation about the unseen.” Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti states in Adwa al-Bayan, 4:20: “Know that nothing has been authentically reported from the Prophet beyond what is in the Quran concerning the story of the Companions of the Cave, their names, or the place on earth where they were. Exegetes have related many Israili reports concerning this, which we have omitted because they are unreliable.” See also Muhammad Abu Shahbah, al-Israiliyyat wa al-Mawdu'at, pp. 235-237.