The Cave (Al-Kahf)
Allah - beginning with the name of - the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
ALL PRAISE BE to God who has revealed to His votary the Book which is free of all obliquity, 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 Where they will abide for ever; 3 And to warn those who say “Allah has chosen a child.” 4 they have no knowledge of it, they nor their fathers; a monstrous word it is, issuing out of their mouths; they say nothing but a lie. 5 Then perhaps you would kill yourself through grief over them, [O Muhammad], if they do not believe in this message, [and] out of sorrow. 6 We have appointed all that is on the earth for an adornment for it, and that We may try which of them is fairest in works; 7 Verily what is on earth we shall make but as dust and dry soil (without growth or herbage). 8 Did you know that the People of the Cave and People close to the Woods, were Our exceptional signs? 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 Then We smote their ears many years in the Cave. 11 We then awakened them to see which of the two groups more accurately tells the period they had stayed. 12