The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Praise belongs to God who has sent down upon His servant the Book and has not assigned unto it any crookedness; 1 (But hath made it) straight, to give warning of stern punishment from Him, and to bring unto the believers who do good works the news that theirs will be a fair reward, 2 and they will live for ever therein. 3 And to warn those who say, "Allah has taken 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 But wouldst thou, perhaps, torment thyself to death with grief over them if they are not willing to believe in this message? 6 We have adorned the earth with attractive things, so that We may test mankind as to which one is best in conduct, 7 And lo! We shall make all that is thereon a barren mound. 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 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 We sealed their ears in the cave for a number of years. 11 Then We roused them, in order to test which of the two parties was best at calculating the term of years they had tarried! 12