The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
Praise be to God who has sent down to His servant -- the Book, which is free from any ambiguity 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 it (the Koran) warns those who say: 'Allah has taken a son' 4 No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. Mighty is the word that comes out of their mouths [i.e. He begot (took) sons and daughters]. They utter nothing but a lie. 5 Yet perchance, if they do not believe in this tiding, you will consume yourself with grief and follow after them. 6 We have caused earthly things to seem attractive so that We can see who will excel in good 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 Recall what time the youths betook themselves to the cave, then said: our Lord! vouchsafe unto us mercy from before Thee, and prepare for us in our affair a right course. 10 Wherefore We put a covering over their ears in the cave for a number of years. 11 Afterwards. We raised them up again, that We might know which of the two parties would better calculate the while they had tarried. 12