“While their dog lay with its forelegs outstretched at the entrance.” That is, the dog that accompanied the Companions of the Cave was overtaken by the same sleep that overtook them while it was standing guard. It therefore lay with its forelegs outstretched at the entrance—that is, at the doorway or in its forecourt. This was how He preserved them from the earth. As for their protection from human beings, He informs us that He shielded them by means of the terror that Allah spread around them. Had anyone come upon them, his heart would have been filled with terror and he would have turned and fled from them. This is what enabled them to remain throughout that long period without anyone discovering them, even though they were extremely close to the city. The proof of their proximity is that, when they awoke, they sent one of their number to buy them food from the city and remained waiting for him. This shows just how close they were to it.
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(19–20) “And so We awakened them so that they might question one another. One of them asked, ‘How long have you remained?’ They replied, ‘We have remained a day or part of a day.’ They said, ‘Your Lord knows best how long you have remained. So send one of you with these silver coins of yours to the city, and let him see which food is finest and bring you some provision from it. Let him be discreet and make no one aware of you. * If they discover you, they will stone you or force you back into their religion, and then you will never prosper.’”
Allah Most High says, “And so We awakened them”—that is, from their long sleep—“so that they might question one another”; that is, so that they might discuss the matter in order to ascertain how long they had remained.
“One of them asked, ‘How long have you remained?’ They replied, ‘We have remained a day or part of a day.’” This answer was based on the speaker’s conjecture, and it appears that they became uncertain because of the great length of their stay. They therefore said, “Your Lord knows best how long you have remained,” referring knowledge back to the One whose knowledge encompasses everything, both generally and in detail.
Perhaps Allah Most High subsequently informed them how long they had remained, for He awakened them so that they might question one another. He tells us that they did so and that they expressed all that they knew, but their final position was one of uncertainty. He must therefore have informed them of it with certainty. We know this from His wisdom in awakening them, for He does nothing in vain; from His mercy toward anyone who seeks true knowledge of matters that ought to be known and strives to attain it to the best of his ability, for Allah makes it clear to him; and from what He mentions afterward in His saying: “And thus We caused them to be discovered so that people might know that Allah’s promise is true and that there is no doubt about the Hour.” Had knowledge of their condition not been attained, they could not have served as evidence for what He mentioned.
Then, after they had questioned one another and what Allah related had occurred among them, they sent one of their number with their silver coins—that is, the dirhams they had with them—to buy them food to eat from the city they had left. They instructed him to choose the finest food, meaning the best and most delicious; to exercise discretion while going, making the purchase, and returning; to remain inconspicuous throughout; to conceal the circumstances of his companions; and to make no one aware of them.
They also mentioned the danger they faced if others discovered them and gained power over them: they would meet one of two fates. Either they would be stoned to death—the most gruesome manner of killing—because of the people’s fury against them and their religion, or they would be persecuted until they abandoned their religion and were returned to the people’s faith. In that case they would never prosper; rather, they would suffer loss in their religion, worldly life, and Hereafter.
These two verses contain several lessons.
One is encouragement to seek knowledge and discuss it, since Allah awakened them for that purpose.
Another concerns the proper conduct of someone who is uncertain about a matter of knowledge: he should refer it to one who knows it and remain within the limits of his own knowledge.
Another is the validity of appointing an agent to buy and sell, as well as the validity of partnership in such dealings.
Another is the permissibility of eating wholesome things and delicious foods, provided this does not reach the level of forbidden extravagance, as indicated by His words: “Let him see which food is finest and bring you some provision from it.” This applies especially when only such food agrees with a person. This may be the principal basis relied upon by many commentators who maintained that these youths were sons of kings, since they instructed him to obtain the finest food, which wealthy and eminent people customarily eat.
Another is encouragement to exercise caution, remain concealed, avoid situations in which one’s religion may be put to trial, and maintain secrecy in order to protect oneself and one’s brothers in faith.
Another is the intensity of these youths’ devotion to their religion, their flight from every threat to it, and their abandonment of their homelands for Allah’s sake.
Another is the importance of mentioning the harms and corrupt consequences contained in evil, which call for hating and abandoning it. This is the way of the believers of both earlier and later generations, as indicated by their words: “And then you will never prosper.”