The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Praise belongs to God who has sent down upon His servant the Book and has not assigned unto it any crookedness; 1 an unerringly Straight Book, meant to warn of a stern punishment from Allah, and to proclaim, to those who believe and work righteous deeds, the tiding that theirs shall be a good reward 2 Wherein they shall remain for ever: 3 and also to warn those who say: "Allah has taken to Himself a son," 4 No knowledge whatever have they of Him, and neither had their forefathers: dreadful - is this saying that comes out of their mouths, [and] nothing but falsehood do they utter! 5 Yet it may be, if they believe not in this statement, that thou (Muhammad) wilt torment thy soul with grief over their footsteps. 6 Surely We have made all that is on the earth an embellishment for it in order to test people as to who of them is better in conduct. 7 And verily We are going to make whatsoever is thereon a soil bare. 8 [AND SINCE the life of this world is but a test, dost thou [really] think that [the parable of] the Men of the Cave and of [their devotion to] the scriptures could be deemed more wondrous than any [other] of Our messages? 9 Recall what time the youths betook themselves to the cave, then said: our Lord! vouchsafe unto us mercy from before Thee, and prepare for us in our affair a right course. 10 And thereupon We veiled their ears in the cave for many a year, 11 Then We raised them up that We might know which of the two parties was best able to compute the time for which they remained. 12