The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
Praise be to God. He has sent the Book to His servant and has made it a flawless guide (for human beings) 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 Where they will abide for ever; 3 And to warn those who say: Allah hath chosen a son, 4 Neither they nor their fathers had any knowledge of such utterance (that God has begotten a son). Whatever they say about (this matter) is vicious blasphemy and plain lies. 5 Yet perchance, if they believe not in this tiding, thou wilt consume thyself, following after them, of grief. 6 Lo! We have placed all that is on the earth as an ornament thereof that We may try them: which of them is best in conduct. 7 And indeed We shall one day make all that is on it a barren plain. 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 took refuge in the Cave saying, 'Our lord, give us mercy from Thee, and furnish us with rectitude in our affair.' 10 Wherefore We put a covering over their ears in the cave for a number of years. 11 Then We awakened them that We might show which of the two factions was most precise in calculating what [extent] they had remained in time. 12