The Roosters hummed,
No matter how long the path goes
the truth is with Rabb
no doubt, He will grant it victory
My strength has become
like a speeding horse
And even if my feet stumble
my strength would increase
And we will go forward
without chains
love will prevail
for Allah Al-Wadood **)
Shama said, "Now, let's continue our discussion. O Jack Russel, please go on!" Then Jack Russel said, "There were no signs of sleep on their bodies in spite of having been put to sleep for such a long period of time. In fact, they were in a condition that anyone who looked at them would think that they were awake. The mufassireen, generally say that their eyes were open. The body is relaxed in sleep but this relaxation was not there. The change in the momentum of breathing that comes upon the sleeping was also not there. It is obvious that this state too, was nothing short of being extraordinary, a kind of Thaumaturgy (karaamah), in which the apparent consideration of wisdom was their protection lest someone taking them to be asleep attacks them, or steals things with them. If someone had looked at them, he would have turned from them in flight and been filled by them with terror.
One can ask as to why did these worthy men of Allah take a dog with them? It is reasonably imaginable that these people who had property and livestock may have kept a dog for their protection from intruders and since the faithfulness of a dog is well known, the dog followed them. Dogs are a symbol of mutual trust. Once the dog believes in someone, it will faithfully follow and guard him.
Allah created the dog, with instinct to guard. Allah revealed that the dogs of these young men did not enter the cave but stretched out their legs and lay in the mouth of the cave. This shows that the dog's job is outside the house, to look after livestock and plants. The prohibition of keeping a dog is an injunction of the Shari'ah brought by the Prophet (ﷺ) and it is possible that it may not be so prohibited in the law brought by Prophet 'Isa, peace be upon him.
The way these young men sleep, was not like the habitual sleep of common people, very similarly, their rising too was distinct from natural habit. Their long sleep was a Divine sign. Similarly, sitting up all awake after hundreds of years - fit and healthy without usual nourishment - was also another perfect Divine sign. And it was also Divinely intended that they too should come to know that they have been sleeping through hundreds of years. So, Allah awakened them that they might question one another. One of them said, "How long have you remained here?" They said, "We have remained a day or part of a day." They differed about the period of their stay in the Cave and that one of them did say the right thing. These young men had entered the Cave in the morning and when they woke up, it was evening. Therefore, they thought, that was the day they had entered the Cave and the duration of their sleep was just about a day. But, some from among these very people realized that, perhaps, this was not the day they had entered the Cave. If so, who knows how many days have gone by? Therefore, they decided to let this particular knowledge about the event rest with Allah. By saying, "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. Indeed, if they come to know of you, they will stone you or return you to their religion. And never would you succeed, then - ever."
They dismissed this debate as unnecessary and turned their attention to the need of the hour, that is, to send a man to the city to bring some food from there. These good men had also brought some money with them when they came to the Cave. From here we know that the procurement and management of essential expenditures in life is not contrary to the norms of Zuhd (abstention from worldly desires) and Tawakkul (trust in Allah). The food they were looking for was a halal food. They were alert to the need for such precaution because at the time they had left the city, people used to slaughter animals in the name of idols and that was what they sold in the market. Therefore, they stressed upon the man going out to bring food only after making sure that it was Halal. These young men then picked up a man from among them to go to the city and gave him the money to buy food which he would bring back.
Centuries went by, the Mushrik king Diqyanus, the oppressive ruler of that city, died. Then, it was taken over by people who were pure monotheists. Their king was a righteous man, whose name has been given as Baidusis. During his time, it so happened that differences became rampant on the issue of the dead rising again on the day of Resurrection. One sect rejected the possibility of human bodies rising again after the process of decomposition, disintegration and dispersal as scattered particles all over the world. Baidusis, the king of the time, started worrying about ways to dispel these doubts. When nothing worked, he got into ragged clothes, sat down on a heap of ash and prayed to Allah. Lamenting and pleading earnestly, he said, 'O Allah, now it is up to Thee to make things work out in a way that the belief of my people gets corrected and they take to the right path.' On one side, the king engaged in his plaint and prayer while, on the other side, Allah arranged to have his supplication answered in His ownway.
The People of Kahf woke up. They sent one of their men, reportedly named Tamlikha, to the city bazaar to buy food. He went to a shop and paid for the food he bought in the form of a silver coin dating back to the time of king Daqyanus, who reigned there three hundred years ago. The shopkeeper was taken aback. Where did this coin come from? What period does it belong to? He was confused. He showed it to other shopkeepers. Everyone said that the man had struck some treasure and was there with a coin from it. This young man told them that nothing of that kind had happened to him and the coin was his own.
The shopkeepers detained him and produced him before the king. As said earlier, this king was a righteous man of Allah. It is said that he was aware of the old state treasure house and in its archaeological section he had also seen the tablet inscribed on which there was a list of the names of the People of Kahf along with the description of the incident of their escape. According to some, the cruel king, Daqyanus, was the one who had ordered that such a tablet should be inscribed to declare them as proclaimed offenders, to preserve their names and addresses and to have them arrested on sight. Some other reports say that there were people in the royal court who disapproved of idol-worship by heart and took the People of Kahf as votaries of truth. But, they did not have the courage to declare it openly. What they did was to have this tablet inscribed to be kept as memorabilia. The name of this tablet was Raqim because of which the People of Kahf were also called the People of Raqim. So, this king knew something about this event and a t that time he was busy praying to Allah that He would somehow make his people believe that making dead bodies rise again was not beyond His most perfect power.
Therefore, when he inquired into the background of Tamlikha, he was convinced that the man was one of the People of Kahf. He said that he used to pray to Allah in the hope that He would somehow make him fortunate enough to meet the people who had run away from Daqyanus for the sake of their faith. Now that Allah had perhaps heard his prayer, he was grateful. May be there is, in this event, some decisive proof that makes people believe in the rising of the dead. After saying this, he asked this man to take him to the Cave from where he had come.
Some say that the king and the public followed the young man up the mountain, but when they reached a spot near the cave, they could not discover which direction the young man had taken. Finally after a long search they could not find the cave and returned and in the mountain they erected a building of worship in the remembrance of the people of the Kahf. Another say that the king arrived there with a retinue of people from the city. When the Cave came close, Tamlikha asked the king to wait there for a while, so that he could go in and inform his companions about the situation. He would tell them that the king was there to meet them along with his people and that the king was a believer, a monotheist and so were his people. If he failed to do that, and the king appeared there unannounced, it was likely that they might take him to be their enemy like the previous one. When Tamlikha went in the Cave, he related the whole story before his companions. They were pleased. They greeted the king showing due respect for him. Then they returned to their Cave. It was at that time that Allah Ta'ala sent death to them. However, the people of the city now had before them a marvel of Divine power manifested so decisively and clearly. They came to believe in the working of that power. They saw living human beings kept alive for three hundred years without food and things essential in life. And then, they also saw them raised intact, healthy and fit after having been kept asleep for such a long time. With all this in view, why should it be at all difficult for that power to make these bodies come alive after having met their death? Through this event, their perception that the resurrection of bodies was a far out proposition stood refuted. They now realized that taking the Power of the master of the universes on the analogy of the power of human beings was an act of ignorance by itself. Then the people decided to erect a memorial building for them. Allah knows best the reality as it is."
Myna asked, "Actually, how many people are they?" Jack Russell said, "Allah says, 'They will say there were three, the fourth of them being their dog; and they will say there were five, the sixth of them being their dog - guessing at the unseen; and they will say there were seven, and the eighth of them was their dog. Say, [O Muhammad], "My Lord is most knowing of their number. None knows them except a few. So do not argue about them except with an obvious argument and do not inquire about them among [the speculators] from anyone."
In this story Allah revealed what was necessary for the major object of the story i.e., for bringing on awareness in Allah’s power and the rising of the dead from their graves. For that purpose all the necessary details have been given. Now it advises us not to concern him with unnecessary other details which is of no use knowing."
Sparrow asked, "Why was the story of people of al-Kahf involving the youth, not the elder?" Jack Russel said, ""In general, the issue of predestination, bewildered the youth. Belief in predestination is one of the pillars of Eemaan and Imaan is not complete without it. This belief entails the belief that Allah, Who is pure, knows what is going to happen and what is predestined for the skies and earth. The prophet (ﷺ) has prevented us from quarrelling and debating in the matter of predestination. Engrossing oneself and quarrelling in the matter of predestination lands a person in a maize from which he does not have the ability to emerge. The path of salvation is that you should aspire to do well and strive in the doing of good as you have been ordered because Allah has granted you intellect and understanding, and sent to you Messengers and revealed with them. And Allah knows best."References :
Jack Russell then said, "Imam al-Bukhari, in his Saheeh, related that a man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment) saying, "When will the Hour be?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "What have you prepared for it?" The man said, "Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "You will be with those whom you love."
O my brothers and sisters, whoever loves good people, he too gets a share from their goodness. See when the dog of the Ashab al-Kahf loved them and followed them closely as if appended with them, Allah mentioned it in the Quran. When a dog can reach this station by being in the company of the righteous and the saintly, imagine how high the station of true believers and pure monotheists who love righteous men of Allah would be. In fact, there is comfort and good news in this event for Muslims who are weak in deeds but do love the Prophet (ﷺ) fully and duly. And Allah knows best."
"Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - they will have the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging, Wherein they abide eternally. They will not desire from it any transfer. " - [QS.18:107-108]
- Maulana Hifzur Rahman Soeharwy, Qasasul Ambiyaa, Idara Impex
- The History of Al-Tabari Volume IV : The Ancient Kingdoms, translated by Moshe Perlmann, SUNY Press
- Maulana Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Ma'rifatul Quran, Volume V, Maktaba-e-Darul-'Uloom
- Ibn Kathir, Stories of The Qur'an, Dar Al-Manarah
*) Credited to Maydani, et al., for Tsabat 1000 Mujahid
**) Credited to Maher Zain, et al., for Alhubbu Yasood
