Al Kahf

أَمْ حَسِبْتَ أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْكَهْفِ وَالرَّقِيمِ كَانُوا مِنْ ءَايَاتِنَا عَجَباً

إِذْ أَوَي الْفِتْيَةُ إِلَي الْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيّـِءْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَداً

9. “Or do you think that the people of the Cave and of the inscription were of Our wonderful signs?”
10. “When the youths sought refuge unto the Cave, then they said: ‘Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Your Presence, and provide for us in our affair a right course’.”

Occasion of Revelation

Several chiefs of Quraysh sent two friends of theirs toward the Jewish scholars in Medina in order to investigate about the invitation of the holy Prophet of Islam (S) and to know whether there had been anything recorded in the former Books concerning his advent. The couple of men went to Medina and communicated with the Jewish scholars therein. Those scholars told them to go to Muhammad (S) and ask him three questions. If he could answer two of them, he was a true prophet from the side of the Lord, otherwise he was a liar and they could decide about him whatever they wished.

They were told to ask what the story of the youths was, who, in ancient times, separated from their tribe, because they had a wonderful adventure. Also, they should ask him (S) who the man was who traveled round the world and reached the East and the West of the earth, and what his story was. They would also ask about the reality of the soul. Those two men went to the Prophet (S) and asked him their questions. The Prophet (S) told them that he might answer them the next day, while he did not mention the holy phrase: ‘If Allah wills’. It passed fifteen days and nights that there revealed no revelation from the side of Allah unto the Prophet (S).

That circumstance was heavy upon him (S). But, finally, Gabriel appeared and brought Surah Al-Kahf from Allah, wherein there was the explanation of the story of those youths and also the story of that traveller around the world. Besides that, Gabriel brought him (S) the verse saying:

In the former verses, there was delivered an illustration of the life in this world and the circumstance of men’s trial in the course of their lives. In view of the fact that the Qur’an often illustrates the general sensitive matters with a similitude or parables, or some examples from the history of the past, here, too, at first it refers to the adventure of the Companions of the Cave, and mentions them as an example and as a goodly pattern. A group of clever and faithful youths, who were living in a splendid, comfortable and welfare life with kinds of bounties and facilities, in order to protect their godly belief and to challenge with the illegitimate ruler of their time, left all of those merits and sought refuge to a cave of a mountain which was empty of every thing.

By this way, they proved their straightness and their steadfastness in the path of Faith. The Qur’an says at first:

Allah implies that He has some more wonderful signs in the heaven and the earth, each of which is a sample of the glory and greatness of creation. There are also so many wonderful signs in this great heavenly Book of yours, and certainly the story of the Companions of the Cave is not more wonderful than them. Then the Qur’an says:

They become helpless and could do nothing. So, they called Allah:

They asked their Lord to provide a way for them that they could deliver from that straitened circumstance and that it would lead them to goodness and happiness, so that they could perform their duties.

Explanations

1. The Qur’anic term /raqim/ here means: ‘an inscription or a tablet on which the story of the Companions of the Cave is written and their names figured in it’. The Arabic term /kahf/ means: ‘a large cave’.

2. The Arabic word /fityah/ is the plural form of /fata/ which means ‘youth’. Imam Sadiq (as) has said that a faithful person is called ‘youth’, because though they were aged, Allah has introduced them ‘youth’ because of their Faith. ³

3. The Qur’anic term /rušd/ has been rendered in the sense of: ‘growth, salvation, and Allah’s pleasure’. ⁴

In this Surah, the term has been applied in three occurrences.