And you may think they are awake, whereas they are asleep; and We turn them over to the right and the left – and their dog is on the threshold of the cave, with its paws outstretched; O listener, were you to look at them closely, you would turn back running away from them, and be filled with their dread. 18 And likewise we raised them up that they might question among themselves; there spake a speaker from amongst them: how long have ye tarried? They said we have tarried a day or part of a day. They said, your Lord knoweth best how long ye have tarried; now send one of you with this your money unto the city and let him see which food is purest there, and let him bring you a provision thereof, and let him be circumspect, and let him by no means discover you to anyone. 19 for, behold, if they should come to know of you, they might stone you to death or force you back to their faith - in which case you would never attain to any good!" 20 AND IN THIS way have We drawn [people's] attention to their story, so that they might know - whenever they debate among themselves as to what happened to those [Men of the Cave] that God's promise [of resurrection] is true, and that there can be no doubt as to [the coming of] the Last Hour. And so, some [people] said: "Erect a building in their memory; God knows best what happened to them." Said they whose opinion prevailed in the end: "Indeed, we must surely raise a house of worship in their memory!" 21 So the people will now say, “They are three, their dog is the fourth”; and some will say, “They are five, their dog is the sixth” – just blind guesses; and some will say, “They are seven, and their dog is the eighth”; proclaim (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), “My Lord well knows their number – no one knows them except a few”; therefore do not debate concerning them except what has occurred, and do not ask any of the People of the Book(s) anything concerning them. 22