the Holy Quran in English Translation: Mamdouk Bickthal Surat A

The Cave

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

[18:1]
Praise be to Allah Who hath revealed the Scripture unto His slave, and hath not placed therein any crookedness,
[18:2]
(But hath made it) straight, to give warning of stern punishment from Him, and to bring unto the believers who do good works the news that theirs will be a fair reward,
[18:3]
Wherein they will abide for ever;
[18:4]
And to warn those who say: Allah hath chosen a son,
[18:5]
(A thing) whereof they have no knowledge, nor (had) their fathers, Dreadful is the word that cometh out of their mouths. They speak naught but a lie.
[18:6]
Yet it may be, if they believe not in this statement, that thou (Muhammad) wilt torment thy soul with grief over their footsteps.
[18:7]
Lo! We have placed all that is on the earth as an ornament thereof that We may try them: which of them is best in conduct.
[18:8]
And lo! We shall make all that is thereon a barren mound.
[18:9]
Or deemest thou that the People of the Cave and the Inscription are a wonder among Our portents ?
[18:10]
When the young men fled for refuge to the Cave and said: Our Lord! Give us mercy from Thy presence, and shape for us right conduct in our plight.
[18:11]
Then We sealed up their hearing in the Cave for a number of years.
[18:12]
And afterward We raised them up that We might know which of the two parties would best calculate the time that they had tarried.
[18:13]
We narrate unto thee their story with truth. Lo! they were young men who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.
[18:14]
And We made firm their hearts when they stood forth and said: Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We cry unto no God beside Him, for then should we utter an enormity.
[18:15]
These, our people, have chosen (other) gods beside Him though they bring no clear warrant (vouchsafed) to them. And who doth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie concerning Allah ?
[18:16]
And when ye withdraw from them and that which they worship except Allah, then seek refuge in the Cave; your Lord will spread for you of His mercy and will prepare for you a pillow in your plight.
[18:17]
And thou mightest have seen the sun when it rose move away from their cave to the right, and when it set go past them on the left, and they were in the cleft thereof. That was (one) of the portents of Allah. He whom Allah guideth, he indeed is led aright, and he whom He sendeth astray, for him thou wilt not find a guiding friend.




[18:18]
And thou wouldst have deemed them waking though they were asleep, and We caused them to turn over to the right and the left, and their dog stretching out his paws on the threshold. If thou hadst observed them closely thou hadst assuredly turned away from them in flight, and hadst been filled with awe of them.
[18:19]
And in like manner We awakened them that they might question one another. A speaker from among them said: How long have ye tarried ? They said: We have tarried a day or some part of a day, (Others) said: Your Lord best knoweth what ye have tarried. Now send one of you with this your silver coin unto the city, and let him see what food is purest there and bring you a supply thereof. Let him be courteous and let no man know of you.
[18:20]
For they, if they should come to know of you, will stone you or turn you back to their religion; then ye will never prosper.
[18:21]
And in like manner We disclosed them (to the people of the city) that they might know that the promise of Allah is true, and that, as for the Hour, there is no doubt concerning it. When (the people of the city) disputed of their case among themselves, they said: Build over them a building; their Lord knoweth best concerning them. Those who won their point said: We verily shall build a place of worship over them.
[18:22]
(Some) will say: They were three, their dog the fourth, and (some) say: Five, their dog the sixth, guessing at random; and (some) say: Seven, and their dog the eighth. Say (O Muhammad): My Lord is Best Aware of their number. None knoweth them save a few. So contend not concerning them except with an outward contending, and ask not any of them to pronounce concerning them.
[18:23]
And say not of anything: Lo! I shall do that tomorrow,
[18:24]
Except if Allah will. And remember thy Lord when thou forgettest, and say: It may be that my Lord guideth me unto a nearer way of truth than this.
[18:25]
And (it is said) they tarried in their Cave three hundred years and add nine.
[18:26]
Say: Allah is Best Aware how long they tarried. His is the Invisible of the heavens and the earth. How clear of sight is He and keen of hearing! They have no protecting friend beside Him, and He maketh none to share in His government.
[18:27]
And recite that which hath been revealed unto thee of the Scripture of thy Lord. There is none who can change His words, and thou wilt find no refuge beside Him.
[18:28]
Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance; and let not thine eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case hath been abandoned.
[18:29]
Say: (It is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve. Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire. Its tent encloseth them. If they ask for showers, they will be showered with water like to molten lead which burneth the faces. Calamitous the drink and ill the resting-place!
[18:30]
Lo! as for those who believe and do good works - Lo! We suffer not the reward of one whose work is goodly to be lost.