The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Most Merciful
Praise belongs to God who has sent down upon His servant the Book and has not assigned unto it any crookedness; 1 Straightforward, that it may warn of a severe violence from before Him, and bring glad tidings to the believers who work righteous works that theirs shall be a goodly hire. 2 therein to abide for ever, 3 Furthermore, [this divine writ is meant] to warn all those who assert, "God has taken unto Himself 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 We have indeed placed all that is on the earth as its adornment in order that We may test them, who among them has the best deeds. 7 And lo! We shall make all that is thereon a barren mound. 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 For many years We sealed up their hearing in the Cave, 11 and thereafter We revived them to find out which of the two parties could best calculate the length of their stay. 12