And thou wouldst have deemed them waking though they were asleep, and We caused them to turn over to the right and the left, and their dog stretching out his paws on the threshold. If thou hadst observed them closely thou hadst assuredly turned away from them in flight, and hadst been filled with awe of them. 18 In the course of time, We raised them up again so that they might question one another. One of them asked, "How long have you stayed [here]?" They said, "We have stayed a day, or part of a day." But others said, "Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed here. Let one of you go then with these silver coins to the town, and let him find out what food is purest there, and bring you back a supply of it. Let him conduct himself with caution and not disclose your whereabouts to anyone: 19 For surely if they prevail against you they would stone you to death or force you back to their religion, and then you will never succeed. 20 AND IN THIS way have We drawn [people's] attention to their story, so that they might know - whenever they debate among themselves as to what happened to those [Men of the Cave] that God's promise [of resurrection] is true, and that there can be no doubt as to [the coming of] the Last Hour. And so, some [people] said: "Erect a building in their memory; God knows best what happened to them." Said they whose opinion prevailed in the end: "Indeed, we must surely raise a house of worship in their memory!" 21 Anon they will say: they were three the fourth of them their dog. And they will say: they were five, the sixth of them their dog - guessing at the unknown - and they will say: they were seven, the eighth of them their dog. Say thou: my Lord is the Best Knower of their number; there knew them only a few; so debate thou not regarding them except an outward debating, and ask not regarding them anyone of them. 22