CHAPTER-41
STORIES OF AL-QUR’AN
1- Adam and Iblees
The Qur’an, in its
various passages, throws light on the story of Adam (the father of
humankind) and Iblees (a jinn who had been included among the
angels) in an interesting manner. Briefly speaking the story told by
the Qur’an is that Allah intended to create Adam out of potter’s
clay and appoint him viceroy (caliph) in the earth. The angels
objected to it as they perceived that such a creation (having a
large freedom of action) would (create a big disorder in the earth
and would) shed blood. According to a tradition their this
perception was based on their past experience of previous Adams (humanbeings)
or adam-like creations who had been given independence of thought
and action and who had made mischief in the earth. However, the
angels were satisfied when Allah taught Adam the names of various
things, showed them to the angels and they could not tell their
names but Adam did. Then Allah asked the angels to prostrate to
Adam. All did save Iblees. When Iblees was asked why he had not
obeyed, he said that he was created from fire while Adam was created
from mud and therefore he was superior. At this God declared him
outcast and expelled him from heaven. However, Iblees challenged
that if he is given respite, he would beguile Adam and his
off-spring from the right path of God. Allah accepted this challenge
and gave him reprieve till the Day of Judgement. So the first action
which Iblees took in this way was taken against Adam whom God had
allowed to live in Paradise with his wife and eat everything he
wished except fruit of a particular tree. Iblees approached Adam and
his wife and made them eat fruit of the forbidden tree and thus got
them expelled from Paradise for their disobedience to God’s
commandment.
Here are some of
the passages of the Holy Qur’an which tell various aspects of this
story:
·
And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am
about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt Thou place
therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we,
we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that
which ye know not. And He taught Adam all the names, then showed
them to the angels, saying: Infrom me of the names of these if ye
are truthful. They said: Be glorified! We have no knowledge saving
that which Thou hast taught us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower,
the Wise. He said: O Adam! Inform them of their names, and when he
had informed them of their names, He said: Did I not tell you that I
know the secret of the heavens and the earth? And I know that which
ye disclose and which ye hide. And when we said unto the angels:
Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save
Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever. And
We said: O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden and eat ye
freely (of the fruits) thereof where ye will; but come not nigh this
tree lest ye become wrongdoers. But Satan caused them to deflect
therefrom and expelled them from the (happy) state in which they
were; and We said: Fall down, one of you a foe unto the other! There
shall be for you on earth a habitation and provision for a time.
Then Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He
relented toward him. Lo! He is the Relenting, the Merciful. We said:
Go down, all of you, from hence; but verily there cometh unto you
from Me a guidance; and whoso followed My guidance, there shall no
fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. But they who
disbelieve, and deny our revelations, such are rightful owners of
the Fire. They will abide therein. (2:Al-Baqarah:30-39)
·
And We created you, then fashioned you, then told
the angels: Fall ye prostrate before Adam! And they fell prostrate,
all save Iblis, who was not of those who make prostration. He said:
What hindered thee that thou didst not fall prostrate when I bade
thee? (Iblis) said: I am better than him. Thou createdst me of fire
while him Thou didst create of mud. He said: Then go down hence! It
is not for thee to show pride here, so go forth! Lo! thou art of
those degraded. He said: Reprieve me till the day when they are
raised (from the dead). He said: Lo! thou art of those reprieved. He
said: Now, because Thou hast sent me astray, verily I shall lurk in
ambush for them on Thy Right Path. Then I shall come upon them from
before them and from behind them and from their right hands and from
their left hands, and Thou wilt not find most of them beholden (unto
Thee). He said: Go forth from hence, degraded, banished. As for such
of them as follow thee, surely I will fill hell with all of you. And
(unto man): O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden and eat
from whence ye will, but come not nigh this tree lest ye become
wrong-doers. Then Satan whispered to them that he might manifest
unto them that which was hidden from them of their shame, and he
said: Your Lord forbade you from this tree only lest ye should
become angels or become of the immortals And he swore unto them
(saying): Lo! I am a sincere adviser unto you. Thus did he lead them
on with guile. And when they tasted of the tree their shame was
manifest to them and they began to hide (by heaping) on themselves
some of the leaves of the Garden. And their Lord called them
(saying): Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you: Lo!
Satan is an open enemy to you? They said: Our Lord! We have wronged
ourselves. If Thou forgive us not and have not mercy on us, surely
we are of the lost! (7:Al-A’raf:11-23)
The above
story has also been told in a bit different words but with the same
theme in verses 61 to 65 of Surah 17, in verses 116 to 123 of Surah
20 and in verses 71 to 85 of Surah 38 of the Holy Qur’an.
2- Cain and
Abel
The story of
Cain (Qaabil) and Abel (Haabil) has been told by the Qur’an in
verses 27-31 of its Surah (Chapter) 5 very briefly without even
mentioning the names of these two sons of Adam. Cain was elder and
was a farmer while Abel was younger to him and was engaged in the
profession of rearing sheep. Both the brothers offered sacrifice (or
gift) to Allah. Cain offered some carn from his tilth and Abel
offered a sheep. It so happened that Abel’s offering was accepted
whereas Cain’s offering was rejected. At this Cain became very angry
and he threatened Abel to kill him. But Abel did not lose his calm
and only said: “Allah accepts gifts from those who are righteous. If
you stretch out your hand against me to kill me, I shall not stretch
out my hand to kill you as I fear Allah”. However, these nice words
could not pacify the wrath of Cain who attacked his younger brother
Abel and killed him merely out of jealousy. He thus became a
wrongdoer and a loser.
Now Cain did
not know what to do with his brother’s dead body. So Allah sent a
raven who started digging up the ground to show him how to hide his
brother’s naked corpse. Seeing this Cain was ashamed and with
regrets he said: “Woe unto me! Am I not able to be as this raven and
so hide my brother’s naked corpse!” So he became repentant.
This was the
first murder of a human being. A brother had killed a brother. Since
Allah had made the life of a human being very sacred, so He decreed
at this human murder: “Whosoever kills a human being for other than
manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had
killed all mankind, and whoso saves the life of one, it shall be as
if he had saved the life of all mankind- (Al-Qur’an 5:32). Killing
an innocent human being is as big a crime as the crime of killing
all humankind, and since Cain was the first one to commit this
crime, he shares the burden of crime of every murder committed after
him according to a tradition.
The moral of
the story is that murder of a human being is a big offence and so
one should not commit it for any cause whatsoever except in the
course of justice.
3- Joseph and
his brothers
The story of Prophet Joseph has been
described by the Qur’an in its Surah 12 which has been named after
him and it has been called the best of the narratives (Ahsanal
Qasas). According to a version, this story is stated to have been
revealed to Muhammad (PBUH) to enable him to answer a question put
by the pagans of Makkah at the suggestion of the Jews that how did
the Israelites go to Egypt. The story has been narrated by the
Qur’an in a very very beautiful and vivid manner and it can neither
be abridged successfully nor it can be reproduced with its original
beauty. This is perhaps the only story of a Prophet which has been
told by the Qur’an in detail and in chronological order and in one
Surah. I would try to reproduce this story very briefly and would
request the reader to condone my lapses.
Joseph was son
of Prophet Jacob (also named Israel), grandson of Prophet Isaac and
great grandson of Prophet Abraham. He had eleven brothers, ten step
and one real and he lived with his parents and brothers in his
ancestral home in the land of Cannan. While a child in his teens he
saw a dream that eleven stars, the sun and the moon were prostrating
to him. He related his dream to his father Jacob who told him that
God would choose him a Prophet, give him knowledge of interpretation
of dreams and perfect His favours on him. But Jacob forbade him not
to mention his dream to his brothers lest they devise a plot against
him. However, Joseph’s handsome stature, amiable manners and the
special love and affection which he enjoyed of his father had
already aroused jealousy and ill-feelings in the hearts of his
brothers. So they devised a plot to get rid of Joseph and,
therefore, they convinced their father to let Joseph go with them on
a picnic so that Joseph could enjoy sport and play. Jacob yielded to
their demand unwillingly. They took Joseph out of the home and
according to an already agreed scheme they threw him down to the
bottom of a well. Then the brothers returned home weeping and told
their father that they engaged in racing and left Joseph with their
luggage when a wolf came and devoured him. It was a great shock for
Jacob but he could do nothing except to remain patient and have
trust in God.
Meanwhile a
caravan of merchants which was going to Egypt came to the place
where Joseph’s brothers had thrown him in the well. They picked up
Joseph and sold him as a slave in an Egyptian market. The Egyptian
who purchased Joseph was a big officer (Aziz) in the court of
Pharaoh. He instructed his wife (whose name was Zulaikha according
to some scholars) to keep Joseph with honour as he may prove useful
to them or they may adopt him as a son. But Zulaikha developed
passion for young and handsome Joseph. One day she closed the door
of the room and asked Joseph of evil act. But Joseph refused and ran
towards the door to escape from her. At the door they found the
husband of Zulaikha. Though Zulaikha strongly tried to put blame on
Joseph but the enquiry revealed that Zulaikha was guilty. The news
of this event spread in the town specially among ladies who started
ridiculing Zulaikha for her madness for a slave. Zulaikha arranged a
feast for the ladies and ordered Joseph to come before them. The
ladies were so impressed by Joseph’s wonderful personality that they
cut their hands with the knives which had been provided to them to
cut fruits.
The men in the
city were, however, alarmed at the mad craving which Joseph’s charm
had aroused among their ladies. In order to remove Joseph from the
eyes of their women, they put Joseph in a prison for few years
although they were convinced of his innocence. In prison Joseph met
two prisoners. One of them was king’s cup-bearer and the other was
king’s baker. Joseph interpreted their dreams, informing the former
that he would be released and telling the latter that he would be
hanged. Joseph also asked the former to mention him to the king, but
he forgot when he was released and reinstated in his post in the
king’s court. Meanwhile the king saw in a dream seven fat cows whom
seven lean cows were eating, and he also saw seven green ears of
corn and seven others which were dry. He asked his courtiers to
interpret his dream which none could do. King’s cup-bearer, however,
immediately remembered Joseph and told the king that Joseph could
interpret it. Joseph interpreted the dream of the king and asked him
to beware of the coming famine and make arrangements to offset its
impact. The king was so impressed by Joseph that he appointed him as
his grand minister for treasury and stores and handed over to him
full authority and power.
Soon the
foretold famine seized Egypt and its neighbouring countries in its
grip. Due to Joseph’s wise and in-time planning, Egypt was, however,
saved from the horrors of the great famine. Rather it became a
market for supply of corn to the famine-hit neighbouring lands.
Driven by famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy corn. They
could not recognize Joseph but Joseph at once recognized them.
Joseph treated his brothers well and gave them good measure. He also
inquired about the members of their family and asked them to bring
their youngest brother with them next time, otherwise they would not
get corn. Joseph’s brothers returned home and when they opened their
saddle-bags, they found that the money which they had paid for
purchase of corn had been returned to them. With a lot of pleading
they succeeded in convincing their father Jacob to let their
youngest brother Benjamin to accompany them. But Jacob exacted a
solemn promise from them to bring Benjamin back to him and to that
promise he called Allah to witness.
Thus Joseph’s
eleven brothers including Benjamin arrived in Egypt for the second
time for purchase of corn. Joseph received them with more kindness
and affection which he had shown them in their first visit as they
had fulfilled their pledge and had brought Benjamin with them. He
secretly disclosed to Benjamin that he was his brother Joseph When
the saddle-bags of Joseph’s brothers were being filled by corn, a
drinking cup of the king was placed in Benjamin’s saddle bag so that
Benjamin should be held responsible for its theft and should be
detained under Hebrew law. This was scheme of Joseph to retain his
brother with him and the scheme succeeded remarkably. The request of
the brothers that one of them should be detained in place of
Benjamin was rejected. So Joseph’s brothers returned to their home
in Cannan and could not explain to their aged father Jacob as to why
they had failed to honour their pledge and bring back Benjamin to
him. Loss of Benjamin added much to Jacob’s grief and having hope
for Allah’s mercy he directed his sons to go to Egypt again and
search for Joseph and his brother Benjamin.
Thus Joseph’s
brother again came to Egypt and this time they expressed their
extreme helplessness to Egypt’s grand minister Joseph. They even
begged him of charity. At this Joseph’s heart was so softened that
he revealed his identity, forgave them all their wrongdoings and
directed them to return to Cannan and bring their father Jacob and
all family members to Egypt. As soon as Joseph’s shirt was put on
the face of Jacob, his eyesight recovered. All the family reached
Egypt and Joseph provided them dwellings and fertile lands with
Pharaoh’s permission and settled them with honour and dignity in
Egypt. Joseph’s childhood dream was also fulfilled when his parents
and his eleven brothers paid homage to him by falling in prostration
before him. In this way the children of Israel migrated to Egypt and
settled there for a very long period till their exodus from that
country under Moses.
4- Moses and
the learned man
The Qur’an
tells the story of Moses and the learned man in verses 60-82 of its
Chapter 18 i.e. Surah Al-Kahf. However, the emphasis of the Qur’an
is on the moral aspects of the story and not on its form or details,
as usual. The Qur’an neither provides us the name of the learned
man, the name of the servant of Moses, nor it informs us as to why
Moses met the learned man. However, some information regarding this
story is available in Hadith literature. If this is added to the
information given by the Qur’an then the following story emerges:
One day Moses
was giving a sermon to the Israelites. Impressed by the profoundity
of his knowledge, one of the audience asked: “Is there any more
knowledgeable person than you? To this question, Moses was expected
to say: “Allah knows better.” But he said: “None”. At this Moses
incurred displeasure of Allah who told him to go to a place where
two rivers (or two seas) meet. There he would find a slave of Allah
who knows more than him. Thus Moses set upon a long journey,
accompanied by his young servant (whose name the Quranic scholars
have given as Joshu’a), to meet the said learned slave of Allah
(whose name has been reported as Khidher) in order to learn some
knowledge from him. Moses had his meal and a fried fish with him
which was being carried by his servant in a basket. When they
reached the junction of the two seas, they decided to rest a while
near a rock where Moses fell asleep. His servant saw that the fish
miraculously slipped and made its way into the sea. But when Moses
got up, the servant forgot to mention the escape of the fish to him.
So they resumed their journey. After some time, Moses felt tired and
hungry and so he asked his servant to give him his meal. At this the
servant remembered and told Moses what had happened to the fish they
had brought to eat. Moses at once remarked that the place where the
miracle of the fish had happened was in fact the place which they
were looking for. So they went back to the place where Moses found
Khidher. Moses said to him: “May I accompany you so that you may
teach me the wisdom which Allah taught you?” Khidher replied: “You
cannot bear with me as you cannot have patience regarding a matter
of which you have no knowledge”. However, when Moses promised to be
patient and not to ask any question, Khidher agreed to take him in
his company. So they proceeded. When they entered into a boat to
cross the river, Khidher made a hole in it. At this Moses got
annoyed and said: Have you made hole in it so that all who are in it
should drown? Khidher said: Did I not tell you that you can have no
patience to bear with me? At this Moses remembered his promise and
kept quiet. When they went further, they met a young boy whom
Khidher killed. At this Moses became angry and remarked: Have you
killed an innocent person who had done no crime? Khidher reminded
him of his promise and so Moses again became silent. After some
time, they reached a village whose people refused to entertain them.
There Khidher saw a wall which was about to fall. He repaired the
wall without any remuneration. At this act of kindness to the rude
people, Moses protested and said to Khidher: If you had wished you
could have asked wages for the repair of this wall? Khidher declared
it parting of the ways with Moses and then he revealed the mystery
of the events at which Moses could not keep patience. He said: As
for the boat, it belonged to the poor people who earned their
livelihood through plying it on hire. I made a hole in it so that a
king who was taking every good boat by force on the other side of
the river may not take it considering it a defective boat. And as
for the boy, his parents were believers and I feared he would be
rebellious and disbeliever. I killed him so that Allah bless them
with a better child in his place. And as for the wall, it belonged
to orphan boys whose father was a righteous person. Beneath it there
was treasure. I repaired it so that they should bring forth their
treasure when they come to their strength. I did not do these acts
on my own. It is the mercy of Allah on His creatures that He
commanded me to perform these acts.
5- Solomon and
the Queen of Saba
Prophet
Solomon, son of Prophet David, succeeded his father as the king of
Israel which was great empire in the ancient times. Allah had
bestowed many favours on him, He taught him language of the birds
and subjugated winds to his control. His rule was not only on men
but also on jinn, beasts and birds. His name has been mentioned in
the Qur’an many times while some of the events of his life have been
referred to in verses: 21:78-82, 27:15-44, 34:12-14 and 38:30-40 of
the Qur’an.
The story of
Solomon’s meeting with the Queen of Saba (called Shehba in the Old
Testament) has been narrated by the Qur’an in verses 20-44 of its
chapter 27 (called Surah An-Naml). As Solomon’s rule was also on
birds and he had assigned to birds various duties, he checked the
attendance of the birds one day and found hoopoe missing. He said:
“I will punish him with hard punishment if he does not explain his
absence.” A little later the hoopoe came and informed him that in
Saba (region of Yemen) there was a queen (whose name has been
mentioned as Bilquis in Jewish literature) ruling over the people
and she had a beautiful throne. She and her people worshipped the
sun instead of Allah and the Satan had debarred them from the right
way. Solomon said: “I shall see whether you are speaking truth or
telling lie. Go with this letter and throw it to her and come back
with her reply”. When the letter was dropped near Queen Bilquis and
she read the letter, she said to her courtiers: “O Chiefs! There has
been thrown to me a noble letter. It is from Solomon. It starts in
the name of Allah and it says: Exalt not yourselves against me, but
come to me as those who submit”. She further said: “O Chiefs! I
always consult you in my decisions. Give your opinion what I should
do in this matter.” They said: “We are ready to fight as we are
mighty people and strong warriors. However we shall do what you
command us to do.” At this answer of her courtiers, she said: “War
is destructive. When the kings enter a town, they ruin it and make
its noble people low. We should avoid war. Let me send some presents
to Solomon and see with what answer the envoys return.”
When the envoys
of the Queen with valuable gifts arrived in Solomon’s court, Solomon
rejected the gifts and said to them: “Do you want to give me wealth?
Allah has given me more wealth as compared to what you have. Take
back your gifts. Tell the queen and your people to surrender.
Otherwise I shall send my troops who will destroy you.” When the
envoys returned and told the queen about Solomon’s power, she
decided to submit to his call. When Solomon heard that the queen had
set out to appear before him, he told his courtiers that he wanted
queen’s thrown to be brought to him before she arrived. One of the
courtiers who had knowledge of the Scripture brought the throne in
as little a time as twinkling of the eye. Solomon found the throne
near him. Then he ordered some changes to be made in the throne as
he wanted to test whether the queen would recognize it or not.
The queen came
to the court with great pomp and show in the company of a large
delegation. She was asked about the throne which she recognized at
once and said: It looked as if it were her throne. Then she was
invited in the palace to royal banquet which Solomon had hosted in
her honour. The floor of the palace was paved with pieces of
polished glass and crystal looking as if clear water was flowing.
She thought it was really water, so she tucked up her clothes and
uncovered her feet and ankles to set foot in it. Solomon told her
that there was no water and the floor was made of glass. Impressed
by the grandeur of Solomon’s court and his control over winds, jinn,
beasts and birds, she acknowledged Solomon as a man of God. She
declared her belief in God, embraced Islam and became Muslim. Some
commentators of the Bible and of the Qur’an have tried to give the
story a romantic touch and hold that Solomon married her and the
Abyssinians claim to be their offspring, but this view has no
reliable historical evidence in its support.
6- Zulqarnain
and Yajuj Majuj
The Qur’an
relates this story in verses 83 to 98 of its Surah Al-Kahf. This
story is also stated to have been revealed to Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) to provide him an answer to the question asked by the pagans
of Makkah at the instance of the Jews as a test of his prophethood.
The question was: Ask him of a much traveled man who reached the
sunrise and the sunset regions of the earth, what was his history?
In response to this question the story of Zulqarnain was revealed.
It is briefly stated in the light of the Qur’an as under: Allah
established power of Zulqarnain on earth and blessed him very vast
resources. His expeditions to far off places in the West and the
East have been briefly mentioned. In the West he found a people on
whom Allah gave him power and told him that he was authorized to
either punish them or show them kindness. He said that he would
punish the wrongdoers only but to those who believed and performed
good deeds he would give kind treatment. This shows that Zulqarnain
was great king and conquerer and he believed in God and was a
righteous person.
Then the Qur’an
tells us about his expeditions in the East. In the East he comes to
a place between the two mountains where he meets a people who
complain to him about Gog and Magog who spoil their land and bring
havoc upon them. So they request him to set a barrier between them
and their enemies. Their offer of kharaj (aid in money) is rejected
by Zulqarnain. However, he asks them to provide him labour and
material and thus he builds a strong wall or barrier leveling the
gap between the two mountains. The wall was strong enough to check
the onslaught of the Gog and Magog as they were unable to surmount
it or pierce into it. After building it, Zulqarnain declares: “This
(the construction of a strong wall) is a mercy from my Lord; but
when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will level it to the
ground.” His this statement also shows that he believed in God and
had full trust in Him.
The Qur’an,
however, does not tell us as to who was Zulqarnain, where and when
he lived, which wall he built and who were Gog and Magog. About
these questions there is a lot of difference of opinion among the
scholars and the commentators. Some scholars say that Zulqarnain was
Alexander the Great of Greece who conquered a substantial part of
the world. But majority of the scholars identify him with Cyrus the
Great. He was a ruler of ancient Persia in the sixth century B.C.,
described in the Bible as a noble king. He conquered Babylon and
liberated the Jews and settled them again in Jerusalem when
Jerusalem had been completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, a
Babylonian king, in 587 B.C. and about six hundred thousand Jews had
been taken in captivity to Babylon. About the wall he built, there
is also a difference of opinion. To identity the wall built by
Zulqarnain, Maulana Hafiz-ur-Rahman Sevharvi in his book
Qasas-ul-Qur’an, has discussed the following four walls in the
region where Gog and Magog used to attack: 1) The Great Wall of
China; 2) The Wall of Derbend near Bukhara; 3) Wall near Daghistan
called Babul Abwab or Al-Bab; 4) Wall near Daryal pass called
Caucasus Wall. And he identifies the fourth one as the wall built by
Zulqarnain. The view of the Maulana is supported by many. This wall
has been built with iron and molten copper and was constructed by
Cyrus to protect the people from the brutal invasions of Scythian
tribes.
The question
that who are the Gog and Magog has also irritated many a mind
throughout ages. Very interesting legends have been woven by the
historians around them. However, according to most of the Muslim
historians and commentators, Gog and Magog are just like other human
beings having no extraordinary or superhuman physique or features or
qualities. They are the two tribes from the children of Japeth, son
of Noah. Hafiz Ibn Kathir in his book al-Bidaya-wal-Nihaya writes:
“And Japeth is the ancestor of the Tartars. Therefore, Gog and Magog
are a branch of the Tartarians and are the Mongolian tribes, and are
much more strong, savage and brute than the (other) Tartars.” These
were the wild tribes of North Eastern Asia and their chain starts
from the Northern Asia and spreads through Tibet and China and
towards the west it expands up to Turkistan.
7- The
Companions of the Cave
The story of
the companions of the cave has been related by the Qur’an in verses
9 to 26 of its Chapter 18 which is named Surah Al-Kahf after this
event. According to a tradition, this story was revealed to the
Prophet of Islam to provide him answer to the question of the pagans
of Makkah which they had asked at the instance of the Jews. The
question was: Ask him of some youth of old, what was their fate, for
they have a strange story. The Jews had assured the pagans that
Muhammad (PBUH) would not be able to answer this question and thus
his claim of Prophethood would be exposed. However, Allah revealed
the answer to His Prophet in the above mentioned verses of the
Qur’an and he recited it before the Makkans. The story is briefly
stated as under in the light of the Qur’an.
According to
the Qur’an a few youngmen, who believed in Allah, rose up and
declared. “Our Lord is One Who is the Lord of the heavens and the
earth. We will not invoke any other god beside Him. Our people have
adopted other deities. Since we have forsaken their deities, we
should (in order to escape their oppression and persecution) take
refuge in a cave.” So they left their people and took refuge in the
cave. There Allah lulled them to a deep sleep for a number of years.
If an outsider had seen them, it would appear to him as if they were
awake, whereas in fact they were asleep. Allah turned them to the
right and to the left sides. And their dog was sitting at the
entrance of the cave with outstretched forelegs. After a long
period, Allah raised them up. They asked one another for how long
they had remained in that condition. Some of them said that they
might have stayed for a day or a part of a day. But the others said
that only Allah knew for how long they stayed. Then they sent a man
of them with a silver coin to purchase some food for them warning
him to be careful lest their cruel people discover them and put them
to death or force them back into their faith. Thus Almighty Allah
revealed their secret to the people so that the people should know
that Allah’s promise of raising them after their death and the
coming of the Day or Resurrection is true.
The Qur’an has
neither disclosed the exact number of the persons who took refuge in
the cave nor it has told the exact number of years they stayed in
the cave. It merely quotes the people about the number of the
persons and the number of the years and at the end says that Allah
knows best.
This story is
identified by the Western writers (particularly by Gibbon) with
legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. Emperor Decius, who ruled
the Roman Empire from 249 to 251 A.D., was mercilessly persecuting
the Christians. So during his reign seven young Christians left the
city and hid themselves in a cave where they fell into sleep. After
about 200 years or so, they woke up in 445 or 446 A.D. when Emperor
Theodosius was ruling the Roman Empire and the whole of nation had
embraced Christianity.