Thou wouldst have thought them awake, as they lay sleeping, while We turned them now to the right, now to the left,' and their dog 'stretching its paws on the threshold. Hadst thou observed them surely thou wouldst have turned thy back on them in flight, and been filled with terror of them. 18 And similarly, We awakened them that they might question one another. Said a speaker from among them, "How long have you remained [here]?" They said, "We have remained a day or part of a day." They said, "Your Lord is most knowing of how long you remained. So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the city and let him look to which is the best of food and bring you provision from it and let him be cautious. And let no one be aware of you. 19 For they, if they should come to know of you, will stone you or turn you back to their religion; then ye will never prosper. 20 Thus did We make their case known to the people, that they might know that the promise of Allah is true, and that there can be no doubt about the Hour of Judgment. Behold, they dispute among themselves as to their affair. (Some) said, "Construct a building over them": Their Lord knows best about them: those who prevailed over their affair said, "Let us surely build a place of worship over them." 21 Some will say, "They were three, the fourth was their dog," and others will say, "They were five, the sixth was their dog," guessing at random. And yet others say, "They were seven, the eighth was their dog." Say, "My Lord knows best their number." Only a few know anything about them. Therefore, do not enter into controversies over them, nor seek information about them from any of them; 22