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 Where they will abide for ever; 3 And to warn those who say, "Allah has taken a son." 4 No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. Mighty is the word that comes out of their mouths [i.e. He begot (took) sons and daughters]. They utter nothing but a lie. 5 Perhaps, you, would kill yourself (O Muhammad SAW) in grief, over their footsteps (for their turning away from you), because they believe not in this narration (the Quran). 6 We have adorned the earth with attractive things, so that We may test mankind as to which one is best in conduct, 7 In the ultimate, We shall reduce all that is on the earth to a barren plain. 8 Do you think that the people of the Cave and the Inscription (the news or the names of the people of the Cave) were a wonder among Our Signs? 9 Recall what time the youths betook themselves to the cave, then said: our Lord! vouchsafe unto us mercy from before Thee, and prepare for us in our affair a right course. 10 And thereupon We veiled their ears in the cave for many a year, 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