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 Such (being their state), we raised them up (from sleep), that they might question each other. Said one of them, "How long have ye stayed (here)?" They said, "We have stayed (perhaps) a day, or part of a day." (At length) they (all) said, "Allah (alone) knows best how long ye have stayed here.... Now send ye then one of you with this money of yours to the town: let him find out which is the best food (to be had) and bring some to you, that (ye may) satisfy your hunger therewith: And let him behave with care and courtesy, and let him not inform any one about you. 19 "For if they come to know of you, they will stone you (to death or abuse and harm you) or turn you back to their religion, and in that case you will never be successful." 20 And this is how We made them known for people to know that the promise of Allah is true and that there is no doubt concerning the Last Day; when the people began disputing among themselves regarding them, they said, “Construct a building over their cave”; their Lord well knows them; those who dominated in this matter said, “We promise we will build a mosque over them.” 21 Some will say, "They were three, the fourth was their dog," and others will say, "They were five, the sixth was their dog," guessing at random. And yet others say, "They were seven, the eighth was their dog." Say, "My Lord knows best their number." Only a few know anything about them. Therefore, do not enter into controversies over them, nor seek information about them from any of them; 22