The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
(All) praise is due to Allah, Who revealed the Book to His servant and did not make in it 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 In which they will abide forever. 3 and admonish those who say that God has begotten a son. 4 They have no knowledge of this, as their fathers did not have. How terrible are the words they utter! They speak nothing but lies. 5 (O Muhammad), if they do not believe in this Message, you will perhaps torment yourself to death with grief, sorrowing over them. 6 Surely We have made whatever is on the earth an embellishment for it, so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in works. 7 And indeed, We will make that which is upon it [into] a barren ground. 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 [Mention] when the youths retreated to the cave and said, "Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance." 10 We then thumped upon their ears in the Cave for a number of years. (* Put them to sleep.) 11 Then We raised them up that We might know which of the two parties was best able to compute the time for which they remained. 12