The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
Praise belongs to God who has sent down upon His servant the Book and has not assigned unto it any crookedness; 1 unswerving. To warn of great violence from Him, and to give good tidings to the believers who do good deeds that theirs shall be a goodly wage 2 They will abide therein for ever. 3 And to warn those (Jews, Christians, and pagans) who say, "Allah has begotten a son (or offspring or children)." 4 They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak not except a lie. 5 Yet perchance, if they do not believe in this tiding, you will consume yourself with grief and follow after them. 6 We have appointed all that is on the earth for an adornment for it, and that We may try which of them is fairest in works; 7 and We shall surely make all that is on it barren dust. 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 young men sought refuge in the cave, they said, "Our Lord, grant us Your special mercy and give us right guidance in our affair." 10 We lulled them to sleep in that cave for a number of years 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