18-18 And thou mightest think them awake while they were asleep, and We turned them about to the right and to the left, with their dog outstretching its paws at the entrance. If thou didst look at them, thou wouldst turn back from them in flight, and thou wouldst be filled with awe because of them.a
وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًۭا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌۭ ۚ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِ ۖ وَكَلْبُهُم بَـٰسِطٌۭ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِٱلْوَصِيدِ ۚ لَوِ ٱطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًۭا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًۭا (۱۸)
18-18a: أَيْقَاظًۭ – یَقَظة is the opposite of sleep and its verb is اِسۡتَیۡقَظَ, and یَقۡظان is its adjective whose plural is اَیۡقَاظ and this is also the plural of یَقِظ and یَقُظ which means alert, a person who has wisdom and intelligence (LA).
رُقُود – رُقاد is a good short nap and رُقُود is a verbal noun and also the plural of رَاقد (R). The meaning of رَقَد الحرُّ is the heat has subsided, and the meaning of اَرۡقَدَ بالمکانِ is stayed in the house (LA).
وَصِيدِ – is the courtyard of a house or hut and وَصِيدِۃ is a house made in the mountains with stones for storage (LA). اوصَدُت الباب the door was closed and secured and this is also the meaning of اٰصَدَ. مؤصدۃ is derived from it as in إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِم مُّؤْصَدَةٌۭ : Surely it is closed in on them (104:8) meaning closed in on them from all sides (LA). Some have translated وَصِيدِ as door or doorsill (IJ).
ٱطَّلَعْتَ – طَلَعَ is sunrise and derived from it طَلَعَ and اِطِّلَعَ (verbal noun اِطِّلَاع ) means learned the condition by seeing it (R) as in: هَلْ أَنتُم مُّطَّلِعُونَ : Will you look? (37:54); أَطَّلِعُ إِلَىٰٓ إِلَـٰهِ مُوسَىٰ : knowledge of Moses’ God (28:38).
Sleep of the Dwellers of the Cave: If this verse refers to the people who went into the Cave, then it is obvious that the duration of the sleep is not for years or centuries because in the explanation of the word رُقُود by Imam Raghib, this word is used to denote a short period of sleep and not a prolonged and deep sleep. However, several questions arise here. First, what is meant by the statement that they were sleeping but an onlooker would think they were awake. Some have said this was because their eyes remained open, others have said it was because of their watchfulness for safety, and their remaining unchanged over time, and their turning in their sleep. No satisfactory explanation is found in any of these interpretations. It has also been stated that they changed positions only once or twice a year. What is the real meaning of keeping their eyes open and why has this incident been relayed again? Moreover, there is the mention of a dog with them. Did the dog also sleep as part of the miracle? Some say yes while others say no. The latter say it kept guard over them and obtained nutrition by licking its paws. The question arises why a guard dog was even needed. Since the Dwellers were protected from snakes and scorpions in the Cave, could they not be protected in the same way from wild beasts? What is the wisdom in specifically mentioning their changing sides while sleeping. If they slept for three hundred years as a miracle, was it beyond Allah’s powers to allow them to sleep without moving? Even if they moved around as they slept, what is meant by mentioning it?
European nation’s worldly smartness and religious neglect: In my opinion, the people mentioned in the above verse are the ones referred to in the last verse of the previous section as مَن يُضْلِلْ whom He leaves in error (18:17), who are the successors of the أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ Dwellers of the Cave, and who became engrossed in worldly matters and hence became أَصْحَـٰبَ َٱلرَّقِيمِ the People of Inscription. In their worldly matters they are very aware and not only are they awake but show a high degree of efficiency and intelligence. However, from the perspective of truth seeking, they are asleep even though they roam the earth to their right and left, traveling in all directions without exception. The description of the Dajjal (Antichrist) in the Hadith mentions that it is blind in the right eye and this is a metaphorical reference to religious blindness. Hence the hadith repeat and confirm what is said in this verse. The mention of a dog is to highlight a distinguishing feature of this nation because the love that it has for dogs is unparalleled by any other nation. Their women often carry their dogs in their lap and love them more than their children, doting upon them. Nearly every westerner keeps a dog. This may be due to a deep affinity because a dog is known for eating greedily, and these nations have taken greed for worldly wealth to extreme level. Another possible interpretation for the mention of a dog is that a nation among these European nations, because of its extreme power, acts like a watchdog for the other nations. Just like a dog, it sits on the threshold and provides security for them. See 18-22a for this. The last part of the verse would indicate that people look at their technical advancement, the abundance of material goods, and the high standard of living with its outwardly glamor and glitter, and are overawed.
18-19 And thus did We rouse them that they might question each other. A speaker from among them said: How long have you tarried? They said: We have tarried for a day or a part of a day. (Others) said: Your Lord knows best how long you have tarried. Now send one of you with this silver (coin) of yours to the city, then let him see what food is purest, and bring you provision from it, and let him behave with gentleness, and not make your case known to anyone.a
وَكَذَٰلِكَ بَعَثْنَـٰهُمْ لِيَتَسَآءَلُوا۟ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ قَالَ قَآئِلٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ ۢ ۚ قَالُوا۟ رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ فَٱبْعَثُوٓا۟ أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَـٰذِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ فَلْيَنظُرْ أَيُّهَآ أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًۭا فَلْيَأْتِكُم بِرِزْقٍۢ مِّنْهُ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا (۱۹)
18-19a: وَرِقِ – means leaves of a tree. The singular is وَرَقَة and its plural is اَوۡراق, as in مَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ : there falls not a leaf (6:59). Other meanings of this word include the pages of a book, and excessive wealth since abundant wealth is comparable to the abundance of leaves on a tree. Similarly, wealth is also called تری or تُراب earth or dust or سیل flood. The meaning of ورقِ and وَرِقِ is dirhams or rupees (R).
يَتَلَطَّفْ – لطیف is an attributive name of Allah for which see 6-103a, and لطیف is one who gently provides what is needed. Ibn al-Athir states that لطیف is one who has the following qualities: is gentle in actions, has an intricate knowledge of what is advisable, and has the ability to guide to what he has estimated. لُطف is being gentle with another, and تَلَطَّف in an affair is being تَرَفُّق or gentle.
In this verse, there is a mention of أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ again. In verse 18:10, it was stated that when they took refuge in the Cave, they supplicated to Allah to open a beneficial way for them, so eventually Allah called them to this task. There remains the question of how long they stayed in the Cave. In verse 18:11 it is called سِنِينَ عَدَدًۭا several years and this seems reasonable given the normal human life span. The 300 years in verse 25 of this chapter will be taken up for discussion later. Their saying that they tarried for a day or part of a day is from the perspective that the word یوم is used in a broad sense and is not necessarily a day of twenty-four hours. It may be that they meant that they had spent their life or a greater part of their life in the Cave. It seems to be indicated in: رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ : Your Lord knows best how long you have tarried, that this was the plan of Allah, and the time they spent in the Cave was not wasted but the groundwork was prepared for their mission. During this period, their worship of Allah completed their moral development which is necessary for the work of calling people to Allah.
After this, they try to determine how to set about doing their work and they decide to send a person to the town with some money to bring back provisions. In this way, they sought to establish a relationship with the townsfolk and through their gentleness in conversation and propagation try to slowly draw the townsfolk to the truth without making them aware of their real purpose. It would be unwarranted to assume that they did not eat food prior to this encounter because people who live in isolation in caves make arrangements for their food and very often make do with things that are growing in the wild. The objective of sending a person to town is to slowly develop a relationship with the townspeople. This strategy of the few أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ has a striking similarity with the initial history of Christianity which remained in a state of subservience for three hundred years. During this period, its preaching was done secretly and with great gentleness. It could not be propagated openly as is also indicated in the next verse. The strange thing is that even today the Christian nations of Europe use the same tactics to achieve their political goals. They first make inroads into a country on the pretext of trade and gently proceed till they gain complete control in the country, also using wealth to ease the way to achieve their objective. They get what they want and ensure that their real intention remains hidden. Thus, in the narration of the أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ there is a retelling of the history of Christianity.
18-20 For if they prevail against you, they would stone you to death or force you back to their religion, and then you would never succeed.
إِنَّهُمْ إِن يَظْهَرُوا۟ عَلَيْكُمْ يَرْجُمُوكُمْ أَوْ يُعِيدُوكُمْ فِى مِلَّتِهِمْ وَلَن تُفْلِحُوٓا۟ إِذًا أَبَدًۭا (۲۰)
18-21 And thus did We make (men) to get knowledge of them, that they might know that Allah’s promise is true and that the Hour — there is no doubt about it. When they disputed among themselves about their affair and said: Erect an edifice over them. Their Lord knows best about them. Those who prevailed in their affair said: We shall certainly build a place of worship over them.a
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَعْثَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ حَقٌّۭ وَأَنَّ ٱلسَّاعَةَ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهَآ إِذْ يَتَنَـٰزَعُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ أَمْرَهُمْ ۖ فَقَالُوا۟ ٱبْنُوا۟ عَلَيْهِم بُنْيَـٰنًۭا ۖ رَّبُّهُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ ۚ قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ غَلَبُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَمْرِهِمْ لَنَتَّخِذَنَّ عَلَيْهِم مَّسْجِدًۭا (۲۱)
18-21a: The real plan of the أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ discovered: The most common way commentators have explained كَذَٰلِكَ أَعْثَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ : thus did We make (men) to get knowledge of them is to say that because of the dirham coin, which was three hundred years old, people found out about them. They came to see the Dwellers, though some reports state that the townspeople did not see them, because whenever one of them gathered courage and stepped forward to look, he would be terrified and backed away. Encountering people from three hundred years ago made them realize that the Resurrection is true, and the dead will be raised to life. At this point the commentators showed some doubts that even if it is accepted that the أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ slept for a long time, how does this lead to the knowledge that there is resurrection after death. The only reply given is that both incidents provide testimony of Divine power, since the God who could keep bodies in suspended animation for so many years, can also give life again. The question remains however, that if by witnessing one example of Divine power, knowledge can be gained of another aspect of Divine power, what was the need for preserving the bodies for such a long period? There are thousands of examples of Divine power that one sees every day which should be sufficient to convince a person that even when the body disintegrates after death, the person would be resurrected. Besides, it is hard to believe that reliance on the testimony of one person can create such certainty in others. In my opinion, أَعْثَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ : get knowledge of them means getting knowledge of the true aim of the أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ who kept gradually explaining their views to people till they got convinced that what they were being called to is true and that resurrection after death is undoubtedly correct. It is only by the teachings of the prophets that people become convinced of the afterlife. When the أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ slowly educated them on goodness and morality, the people became convinced of their truthfulness.
The actual intention of European nations made manifest: If the narration of أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ is taken to understand the intentions of the European nations through the history of Christianity, this story becomes very meaningful because the world has come to know of their designs. In this interpretation, the pronoun in لِيَعْلَمُوٓا۟ stands for these European nations meaning, when people wise up to the real purpose of the European nations and frustrate their designs, this failure will make the Europeans turn their attention to the truth. They will realize that worldly progress is not everything and there is another life to plan for.
In the last part of the verse, the people who accepted the invitation of the أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ . are mentioned. Initially no one listened to the Dwellers of the Cave, but their situation changed to where people wanted to construct memorials to honor them for their piety. The next stage came when those people gained dominance and became rulers, and made these virtuous and pious people their deities. ( غَلَبُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَمْرِهِمْ means غلبہ sway, supremacy, hegemony, as in واللّٰہ غالب علیٰ امرہ , with the pronoun in أَمْرِهِمْ pointing to those who became dominant.
ارادوا امرا لم یتعسر علیہم انہم اذ If they wanted something, it was not difficult for them (RM)). The deification of Jesus in Christianity became solidified with the conversion of Constantine. A hadith in Bukhari states: لعن اللّٰہ الیھود و النصاریٰ اتخذ اقبور انبیاء ھم مساجد May the curse of Allah be on the Jews and Christians, for they made the graves of their prophets places of worship. In another hadith, it is stated: اذا کان فیہم الرجل الصالح فمات بنوا علی قبرہ مسجدا و صور وا فیه تلك الصور When a pious person among them died, they would make his grave a shrine and would make images in it of their holy people and worship them. This verse seems to refer to the same practice. This is an example of their unjustly elevating the status of Allah’s pious people. Some Muslims take this as a justification for making shrines at gravesites, but this is peculiar logic because the authentic hadith are calling it an error. Such practices lay the foundation of associating partners with Allah.
18-22 (Some) say: (They were) three, the fourth of them their dog; and (others) say: Five, the sixth of them their dog, making conjectures about the unseen. And (others) say: Seven, and the eighth of them their dog. Say: My Lord best knows their number — none knows them but a few. So contend not in their matter but with an outward contention, and question not any of them concerning them.a
سَيَقُولُونَ ثَلَـٰثَةٌۭ رَّابِعُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ خَمْسَةٌۭ سَادِسُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ رَجْمًۢا بِٱلْغَيْبِ ۖ وَيَقُولُونَ سَبْعَةٌۭ وَثَامِنُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ ۚ قُل رَّبِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِم مَّا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌۭ ۗ فَلَا تُمَارِ فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مِرَآءًۭ ظَـٰهِرًۭا وَلَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِم مِّنْهُمْ أَحَدًۭا (۲۲)
18-22a: سَيَقُولُونَ – س is prefixed future particle andis used in combination with the imperfect (present tense) verb to form the future tense. The imperfect verb (فعل مضارع) is third person masculine plural and is in the indicative mood (مرفوع). سوف performs the same function but according to some, the future in this case is more expansive (Mughni al Labib).
تُمَارِ – مراء و مماراۃ and امتراء have the same meaning, to dispute about a perplexing subject (R). مراء is an argument in which one party tries to get information from the other, which leads to its meanings as doubt, suspicion and perplexity. The meaning of مَرَیۡت الشاۃ is I milked the goat.
ظَـٰهِرًۭا – ظَھَر الشئُ means something emerged onto the back of the earth, or came above the ground and therefore did not remain hidden. (ظَھۡر means the back). بَطَنَ means something entered the bowels of the earth and was hidden. مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ : such of them as are apparent and such as are concealed (7:3 3). So, everything that is clear and can be known either by seeing it with the eye or by an inference is called ظاھر (R). Commentators have interpreted it in several different ways. Some have taken it to mean not well-versed or not conversant, some have taken it to mean a quarrel about something obvious, in some writings it is described as a dispute with a scholar who is certain about his information, in others it is an assertion that people can see, and in yet others it is an argument that nullifies the argument of the adversary.
This verse mentions what people will say in the future and not what was said in the past. Commentators have explained this by stating that after reading what is said in the Quran people will speculate about the number of the أَصْحَـٰبَ ٱلْكَهْفِ but unless such speculation existed beforehand about whether there were three or five or seven, there is no reason to speculate now. If such speculation existed beforehand, then why would Allah say سَيَقُولُونَ which is in the future tense. The second difficulty is that if the Quran had given a number, only then would these words would be appropriate, because after listening to the number stated in the Quran, people may respond in the manner stated. However, the Quran assiduously avoids stating a number; neither is their number mentioned in the beginning nor at the end where it is just stated: رَّبِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِم : My Lord best knows their number. Later in the verse, it is stated:
مَّا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌۭ : none knows them but a few but a reference to their number is left out and it is only stated that none knows them but a few.
The meaning cannot be that a few know this narration or the number, because just knowing would not warrant its mention in the Quran. So, who are these few? The few are those scholars who realize that this narration is not about numbers but understanding the deeper meaning of the narration from the circumstances and situation that existed. In لَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِم مِّنْهُمْ أَحَدًۭا question not any of them concerning them, the pronoun them in مِّنْهُمْ is taken to refer to the Ahl al-Kitab من اھل الکتاب from the People of the Book(R) even though there is no mention of them here, unless one considers that the purpose of this whole narration is about the Ahl al-Kitab, or the Christians.
Among the Ahl al-Kitab the commonly accepted number of the Dwellers in the Cave is seven. Even if there had been speculation about their number being three or five, it is not surprising that it was not recorded because many erroneous matters have found their way in this narrative, as commonly happens, and hence are not mentioned in the Quran. In my opinion, the focus here is primarily on the history of Christianity, and this is indicated in غَلَبُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَمْرِهِمْ prevailed in their affair (18:21), indicating that they came out of a condition of subservience to become dominant, and this is why ثَلَـٰثَةٌۭ three – خَمْسَةٌۭ five – سَبْعَةٌۭ seven are simply stated as numbers without any reference to what or who they pertain to. It is possible, that these numbers may pertain to three, five, or seven men or to three, five, or seven nations or to three, five, or seven governments etc. In لَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِم مِّنْهُمْ :question not any of them concerning them indicates that this narration is not about the counting of those men, because this story was known to the Ahl al-Kitab who widely believed the Dwellers were seven. In the last two verses كَلْبُهُمْ refers to such a nation or government that acts like a dog or a guard for them, providing them with security. Further, instead of كَلْبُهُمْ in one recitation there is کالبہم , that is صاحب کلبہم their dog owner (RM) from which it seems that all of them, including the dog, are members of the same group and species. Nevertheless, it has been very difficult to interpret this verse. It is possible that Allah may open its meaning to someone someday. Another possible interpretation of this verse can be that there have been eight powerful Christian nations, which is a number the Quran has mentioned. These are: America, Britain, France, Spain, Austria, Germany, Italy and Russia. Only four of these are considered to be super-powers: America, Britain, France and Russia. Sometimes Germany and Italy are included and these powers become six and without a doubt one of them provides security to the rest. In رَّبِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِم : My Lord best knows their number, it is conveyed that actually there are more of them, and only Allah knows their number.
Bayan-ul-Quran 