And thou wouldst have deemed them waking though they were asleep, and We caused them to turn over to the right and the left, and their dog stretching out his paws on the threshold. If thou hadst observed them closely thou hadst assuredly turned away from them in flight, and hadst been filled with awe of them. 18 We roused them from their sleep so that they would question each other about their stay in the cave. One of them said, "How long do you think we have stayed here?" They replied, "A day or part of a day." They added, " Your Lord knows better how long we have stayed here. Let us send one of us with this money to the city to get some pure food so that we might eat. He should be careful so that no one will know about us. If they were to recognize us, 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 thus We made their case known to the people, that they might know that the Promise of Allah is true, and that there can be no doubt about the Hour. (Remember) when they (the people of the city) disputed among themselves about their case, they said: "Construct a building over them, their Lord knows best about them," (then) those who won their point said (most probably the disbelievers): "We verily shall build a place of worship over them." 21 Some will say, "They were three, the fourth was their dog," and others will say, "They were five, the sixth was their dog," guessing at random. And yet others say, "They were seven, the eighth was their dog." Say, "My Lord knows best their number." Only a few know anything about them. Therefore, do not enter into controversies over them, nor seek information about them from any of them; 22