idols alongside Him. Thus, they meant: “When you have withdrawn from them and from all that they worship besides Allah, you have not withdrawn from worshipping Him. So take refuge in the cave,” that is, seek shelter in it. “Your Lord will spread out for you,” that is, extend for you, “of His mercy, and make easy for you,” that is, facilitate for you, “a means of comfort in your affair”—that is, whatever will bring you ease and relief.

Abu Ja'far, Nafi', and Ibn 'Amir recited it as marfaqan, with the mīm fathah and the fā' kasrah, while the others recited it with the mīm kasrah and the fā' fathah. Both have the same meaning: that by which a person finds comfort.

“And you would see the sun, when it rose, inclining away from their cave to the right, and when it set, passing them by on the left, while they lay in an open space within it. That is among the signs of Allah. Whoever Allah guides is rightly guided; but whoever He leaves astray, you will never find for him a protecting guide. (17) You would think them awake, though they were asleep. And We turned them over to the right and to the left, while their dog lay with its forelegs stretched out at the entrance. Had you looked upon them, you would certainly have turned away from them in flight and been filled with terror of them. (18)”

Concerning His saying, “And you would see the sun, when it rose, inclining away”: Ibn 'Amir and Ya'qub recited it as tazwarru, with an unvocalized zāy and a doubled rā', following the pattern of tahmarru. The Kufans recited it as tazāwaru, with a fathah on the undoubled zāy and an alif after it. The others recited it as tazzāwaru, with a doubled zāy. 217/A All of these have one meaning: it inclines and turns aside.

“From their cave to the right,” that is, toward the right-hand side. “And when it set, passing them by,” that is, leaving them and turning away from them, “on the left.” The basic meaning of qard is cutting. “While they lay in an open space within it,” that is, in a spacious part of the cave; its plural is fajawāt.

Ibn Qutaybah said: Their cave faced the Great Bear, so that the sun did not fall upon it at sunrise, sunset, or at any time in between. He said: Allah chose for them a resting place (2) in a sheltered location where the sun would not reach them, harm them with its heat, or alter their complexion; yet they were in a spacious place where they received the coolness and gentle breeze of the wind, which kept from them the distress and gloom of the cavern.

Some said: This view—that the cave faced the Great Bear and that, consequently, the sun did not fall upon them—is mistaken. Rather, Allah turned the sun away from them by His power and placed a barrier between it and them. Do you not see that He said: “That is among the signs of Allah,” meaning, among the wonders of Allah’s creation and the indications of His power, from which people may take heed?

“Whoever Allah guides is rightly guided; but whoever He leaves astray,” that is, whoever Allah leads astray and does not direct, “you will never find for him a protecting guide”—a helper to guide him.

Concerning His saying, “You would think them awake”: that is, alert; it is the plural of yaqiz and yaquz. “Though they were asleep,” that is, sleeping—the plural of