The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has sent down to His slave (Muhammad SAW) the Book (the Quran), and has not placed therein any crookedness. 1 and which rightly directs, to give warning of stern punishment from Him, and to proclaim to the believers who do righteous deeds that they shall have an excellent recompense, 2 wherein they will remain [in a state of bliss] forever. 3 Furthermore, [this divine writ is meant] to warn all those who assert, "God has taken unto Himself a son." 4 a thing about which they have no knowledge, neither they nor their ancestors. Dreadful is the word that comes out of their mouths. What they utter is merely a lie. 5 Thou wouldst only, perchance, fret thyself to death, following after them, in grief, if they believe not in this Message. 6 Behold, We have willed that all beauty on earth be a means by which We put men to a test, [showing] which of them are best in conduct; 7 In the ultimate, We shall reduce all that is on the earth to a barren plain. 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 When the youth sought refuge in the cave they prayed "Lord, grant us mercy and help us to get out of this trouble in a righteous way". 10 We then thumped upon their ears in the Cave for a number of years. (* Put them to sleep.) 11 Then We roused them to find out which of the party had the correct account of the duration of their sleep in the cave. 12