The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
All praise unto Allah who hath sent down unto His bondman the Book, and hath not placed therein any crookedness. 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 Further, that He may warn those (also) who say, "Allah hath begotten a son": 4 Surely, of this they have no knowledge, neither they nor their fathers; it is a monstrous word that comes from their mouths, they say nothing but a lie. 5 Possibly you may risk your life by grieving (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him) for them if they do not believe in this narration. 6 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. 7 In the ultimate, We shall reduce all that is on the earth to a barren plain. 8 Or deemest thou that the People of the Cave and the Inscription are a wonder among Our portents? 9 When the young men took refuge in the Cave – then said, “Our Lord! Give us mercy from Yourself, and arrange guidance for us in our affair.” 10 We then thumped upon their ears in the Cave for a number of years. (* Put them to sleep.) 11 and then We awakened them: [and We did all this] so that We might mark out [to the world] which of the two points of view showed a better comprehension of the time-span during which they had remained in this state. 12