The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance. 1 [a divine writ] unerringly straight, meant to warn [the godless] of a severe punishment from Him, and to give unto the believers who do good works the glad tiding that theirs shall be a goodly reward 2 wherein they shall abide for ever; 3 and to warn those who say, 'God has taken to Himself a son'; 4 No knowledge thereof have they, nor had their fathers. Odious is the word that cometh out of their mouths; they say not but a lie. 5 Yet perchance, if they do not believe in this tiding, you will consume yourself with grief and follow after them. 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 Verily what is on earth we shall make but as dust and dry soil (without growth or herbage). 8 Do you think that the people of the Cave and the Inscription were one of Our wondrous signs? 9 When the youths sought refuge in the cave, they said: Our Lord! grant us mercy from Thee, and provide for us a right course in our affair. 10 And thereupon We veiled their ears in the cave for many a year, 11 And afterward We raised them up that We might know which of the two parties would best calculate the time that they had tarried. 12