{"collection":"Islam","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/isl/yaq/yaq018.htm","path":"isl/yaq/yaq018.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/isl/yaq/yaq018.htm","text":"The Holy Quran, tr. by Yusuf Ali, [1934]\nIn the name of God, Most Gracious,\n Most Merciful.\n1. Praise be to God,\n Who hath sent to His Servant\n The Book, and hath allowed\n Therein no Crookedness:\n2. (He hath made it) Straight\n (And Clear) in order that\n He may warn (the godless)\n Of a terrible Punishment\n From Him, and that He\n May give Glad Tidings\n To the Believers who work\n Righteous deeds, that they\n Shall have a goodly Reward,\n3. Wherein they shall\n Remain for ever:\n4. Further; that He may warn\n Those (also) who say,\n\"God hath begotten a son\"\n5. No knowledge have they\n Of such a thing, nor\n Had their fathers. It is\n A grievous thing that issues\n From their mouths as a saying.\n What they say is nothing\n But falsehood!\n6. Thou wouldst only, perchance,\n Fret thyself to death,\n Following after them, in grief,\n If they believe not\n In this Message.\n7. That which is on earth\n We have made but as\n A glittering show for the earth,\n In order that We may test\n Them\u2014as to which of them\n Are best in conduct.\n8. Verily what is on earth\n We shall make but as\nDust and dry soil\n (Without growth or herbage).\n9. Or dost thou reflect\n That the Companions of the Cave\n And of the Inscription\n Were wonders among Our Signs?\n10. Behold, the youths betook themselves\nTo the Cave: they said,\n \"Our Lord! bestow on us\n Mercy from Thyself,\n And dispose of our affair\n For us in the right way!\"\n11. Then We draw (a veil)\n Over their ears, for a number\n Of years, in the Cave,\n (So that they heard not):\n12. Then We roused them,\n In order to test which\n Of the two parties was best\n At calculating the term\n Of years they had tarried!\n13. We relate to thee their story\n In truth: they were youths\n Who believed in their Lord,\n And We advanced them In guidance:\n14. We gave strength to their hearts:\nBehold, they stood up\n And said: \"Our Lord is\n The Lord of the heavens\n And of the earth: never\n Shall we call upon any god\n Other than Him: if we\n Did, we should indeed\n Have uttered an enormity!\n15. \"These our people have taken\n For worship gods other\n Than Him: why do they\n Not bring forward an authority\n Clear (and convincing)\n For what they do?\n Who doth more wrong\n Than such as invent\n A falsehood against God?\n16. \"When ye turn away\n From them and the things\n They worship other than God,\n Betake yourselves to the Cave:\n Your Lord will shower\n His mercies on you\n And dispose of your affair\n Towards comfort and ease.\"\n17. Thou wouldst have seen\n The sun, when it rose,\n Declining to the right\n From their Cave, and when\nIt set, turning away\n From them to the left,\n While they lay in the open\n Space in the midst\n Of the Cave. Such are\n Among the Signs of God:\n He whom God guides\n Is rightly guided; but he\n Whom God leaves to stray,\u2014\n For him wilt thou find\n No protector to lead him\n To the Right Way.\n18. Thou wouldst have deemed them\n Awake, whilst they were asleep,\n And We turned them\n On their right and on\n Their left sides: their dog\n Stretching forth his two fore-legs\n On the threshold: if thou\n Hadst come up on to them,\n Thou wouldst have certainly\n Turned back from them in flight,\n And wouldst certainly have been\n Filled with terror of them.\n19. Such (being their state),\n We raised them up (from sleep),\n That they might question\n Each other. Said one of them,\n\"How long have ye stayed (here)?\"\n They said, \"We have stayed\n (Perhaps) a day, or part\n Of a day.\" (At length)\n They (all) said, \"God (alone)\n Knows best how long\n Ye have stayed here\u2026\n Now send ye then one of you\n With this money of yours\n To the town: let him\n Find out which is the best\n Food (to be had) and bring some\n To you, that (ye may)\n Satisfy your hunger therewith:\n And let him behave\n With care and courtesy,\n And let him not inform\n Any one about you.\n20. \"For if they should\n Come upon you, they would\n Stone you or force you\n To return to their cult,\n And in that case ye would\n Never attain prosperity.\"\n21. Thus did We make\n Their case known to the people,\nThat they might know\n That the promise of God\n Is true, and that there can\n Be no doubt about the Hour\n Of Judgment. Behold,\n They dispute among themselves\n As to their affair. (Some) said,\n \"Construct a building over them\":\n Their Lord knows best\n About them: those who prevailed\n Over their affair said,\n \"Let us surely build a place\n Of worship over them.\"\n22. (Some) say they were three,\n The dog being the fourth\n Among them; (others) say\n They were five, the dog\n Being the sixth,\u2014doubtfully\n Guessing at the unknown;\n (Yet others) say they were\n Seven, the dog being the eighth.\n Say thou: \"My Lord\n Knoweth best their number;\n It is but few that know\n Their (real case).\" Enter not,\n Therefore, into controversies\n Concerning them, except\n On a matter that is clear,\n Nor consult any of them\n About (the affair of) the Sleepers.\n23. Nor say of anything,\n \"I shall be sure to do\n So and so to-morrow\"\u2014\n24. Without adding, \"So please God!\"\n And call thy Lord to mind\n When thou forgettest, and say,\n \"I hope that my Lord\n Will guide me ever closer\n (Even) than this\n To the right road.\"\n25. So they stayed in their Cave\n Three hundred years, and (some)\n Add nine (more)\n26. Say: \"God knows best\n How long they stayed:\n With Him is (the knowledge\n Of) the secrets of the heavens\n And the earth: how clearly\n He sees, how finely He hears\n (Everything)! They have no protector\n Other than Him; nor does\n He share His Command\n With any person whatsoever.\n27. And recite (and teach)\n What has been revealed\n To thee of the Book\n Of thy Lord: none\n Can change His Words,\n And none wilt thou find\n As a refuge other than Him.\n28. And keep thy soul content\n With those who call\n On their Lord morning\n And evening, seeking\n His Face; and let not\n Thine eyes pass beyond them,\n Seeking the pomp and glitter\n Of this Life; nor obey\n Any whose heart We\n Have permitted to neglect\n The remembrance of Us,\n One who follows his own\nDesires, whose case has\n Gone beyond all bounds.\n29. Say, \"The Truth is\n From your Lord\":\n Let him who will,\n Believe, and let him\n Who will, reject (it):\n For the wrong-doers We\n Have prepared a Fire\n Whose (smoke and flames),\n Like the walls and roof\n Of a tent, will hem\n Them in: if they implore\n Relief they will be granted\n Water like melted brass,\n That will scald their faces.\n How dreadful the drink!\n How uncomfortable a couch\n To recline on!\n30. As to those who believe\n And work righteousness,\n Verily We shall not suffer\n To perish the reward\n Of any who do\n A (single) righteous deed.\n31. For them will be Gardens\n Of Eternity; beneath them\n Rivers will flow: they will\n Be adorned therein\n With bracelets of gold,\n And they will wear\nGreen garments of fine silk\n And heavy brocade;\n They will recline therein\n On raised thrones.\n How good the recompense!\n How beautiful a couch\n To recline on!\n32. Set forth to them\n The parable of two men:\n For one of them We provided\n Two gardens of grape-vines\n And surrounded them\n With date palms;\n In between the two\n We placed corn-fields.\n33. Each of those gardens\n Brought forth its produce,\n And failed not in the least\n Therein: in the midst\n Of them We caused\n A river to flow.\n34. (Abundant) was the produce\n This man had: he said\n To his companion, in the course\n Of a mutual argument:\n \"More wealth have I\n Than you, and more honour\n And power in (my following\n Of) men.\"\n35. He went into his garden\n In a state (of mind)\n Unjust to his soul:\n He said, \"I deem not\n That this will ever perish,\n36. \"Nor do I deem\n That the Hour (of Judgment)\n Will (ever) come:\n Even if I am brought back\n To my Lord, I shall\n Surely find (there)\n Something better in exchange.\"\n37. His companion said to him,\n In the course of the argument\n With him: \"Dost thou deny\n Him Who created thee\n Out of dust, then out of\n A sperm-drop, then fashioned\n Thee into a man?\n38. \"But (I think) for my part\n That He is God,\n My Lord, and none shall I\n Associate with my Lord.\n39. \"Why didst thou not,\n As thou wentest into\n Thy garden, say, \"God's Will\n (Be done)! There is no power\n But with God!\" If thou\nDost see me less than\n Thee in wealth and sons,\n40. \"It may be that my Lord\n Will give me something\n Better than thy garden,\n And that He will send\n On thy garden thunderbolts\n (By way of reckoning)\n From heaven, making it\n (But) slippery sand!\u2014\n41. \"Or the water of the garden\n Will run off underground\n So that thou wilt never\n Be able to find it.\"\n42. So his fruits (and enjoyment)\n Were encompassed (with ruin),\n And he remained twisting\n And turning his hands\n Over what he had spent\n On his property, which had\n (Now) tumbled to pieces\n To its very foundations,\n And he could only say,\n \"Woe is me! Would I had\n Never ascribed partners\n To my Lord and Cherisher!\"\n43. Nor had he numbers\n To help him against God,\n Nor was he able\n To deliver himself.\n44. There, the (only) protection comes\n From God, the True One.\n He is the Best to reward,\n And the Best to give success.\n45. Set forth to them\n The similitude of the life\n Of this world: it is like\n The rain which We send\n Down from the skies:\n The earth's vegetation absorbs it,\n But soon it becomes\n Dry stubble, which the winds\n Do scatter: it is (only) God\n Who prevails over all things.\n46. Wealth and sons are allurements\n Of the life of this world:\n But the things that endure,\n Good Deeds, are best\n In the sight of thy Lord,\n As rewards, and best\n As (the foundation for) hopes.\n47. One Day We shall\n Remove the mountains, and thou\n Wilt see the earth\n As a level stretch,\n And We shall gather them,\n All together, nor shall We\n Leave out any one of them.\n48. And they will be marshalled\n Before thy Lord in ranks,\n (With the announcement),\n \"Now have ye come to Us\n (Bare) as We created you\n First: aye, ye thought\n We shall not fulfil\n The appointment made to you\n To meet (Us)!\":\n49. And the Book (of Deeds)\n Will be placed (before you);\n And thou wilt see\n The sinful in great terror\n Because of what is (recorded)\n Therein; they will say,\n \"Ah! woe to us!\n What a book is this!\n It leaves out nothing\n Small or great, but\n Takes account thereof!\"\n They will find all that they\n Did, placed before them:\n And not one will thy Lord\n Treat with injustice.\n50. Behold! We said\n To the angels, \"Bow down\n To Adam\": they bowed down\n Except Ibl\u012bs. He was\n One of the Jinns, and he\n Broke the Command\n Of his Lord.\n Will ye then take him\n And his progeny as protectors\n Rather than Me? And they\n Are enemies to you!\n Evil would be the exchange\n For the wrong-doers!\n51. I called them not\n To witness the creation\n Of the heavens and the earth,\n Nor (even) their own creation:\n Nor is it for Me\n To take as helpers\n Such as lead (men) astray!\n52. One Day He will say,\n \"Call on those whom ye\n Thought to be My partners,\"\n And they will call on them,\n But they will not listen\n To them; and We shall\n Make for them a place\n Of common perdition\n53. And the Sinful shall see\n The Fire and apprehend\n That they have to fall\n Therein no means will they\n Find to turn away therefrom.\n54. We have explained\n In detail in this Qur-\u0101n,\n For the benefit of mankind,\n Every kind of similitude:\n But man is, in most things,\n Contentious.\n55. And what is there\n To keep back men\n From believing, now that\n Guidance has come to them,\n Nor from praying for forgiveness\n From their Lord, but that\n (They ask that) the ways\n Of the ancients be repeated\n With them, or the Wrath\n Be brought to them\n Face to face?\n56. We only send the apostles\n To give glad tidings\n And to give warnings\n But the Unbelievers dispute\n With vain argument, in order\n Therewith to weaken the truth,\n And they treat My Signs\n As a jest, as also the fact\n That they are warned!\n57. And who doth more wrong\n Than one who is reminded\n Of the Signs of his Lord,\n But turns away from them,\n Forgetting the (deeds) which his hands\n Have sent forth? Verily We\n Have set veils over their hearts\n Lest they should understand this,\n and over their ears, deafness.\n If thou callest them\n To guidance, even then\n Will they never accept guidance.\n58. But your Lord is most forgiving,\n Full of Mercy. If he were\n To call them (at once) to account\n For what they have earned,\n then surely He would\n Have hastened their Punishment:\n But they have their appointed\n Time, beyond which they\n Will find no refuge.\n59. Such were the populations\n We destroyed when they\n Committed iniquities; but\n We fixed an appointed time\n For their destruction.\n60. Behold, Moses said\n To his attendant, \"I will not\n Give up until I reach\n The junction of the two\n Seas or (until) I spend\n Years and years in travel.\"\n61. But when they reached\n The Junction, they forgot\n (About) their Fish, which took\n Its course through the sea\n (Straight) as in a tunnel.\n62. When they had passed on\n (Some distance), Moses said\n To his attendant: \"Bring us\n Our early meal; truly\n We have suffered much fatigue\n At this (stage of) our journey.\"\n63. He replied: \"Sawest thou\n (What happened) when we\n Betook ourselves to the rock?\n I did indeed forget\n (About) the Fish: none but\n Satan made me forget\n To tell (you) about it:\n It took its course through\n The sea in a marvellous way!\"\n64. Moses said: \"That was what\n We were seeking after:\"\n So they went back\n On their footsteps, following\n (The path they had come).\n65. So they found one\n Of Our servants,\nOn whom We had bestowed\n Mercy from Ourselves\n And whom We had taught\n Knowledge from Our own\n Presence.\n66. Moses said to him:\n \"May I follow thee,\n On the footing that\n Thou teach me something\n Of the (Higher) Truth\n Which thou hast been taught?\"\n67. (The other) said: \"Verily\n Thou wilt not be able\n To have patience with me!\n68. \"And how canst thou\n Have patience about things\n About which thy understanding\n Is not complete?\"\n69. Moses said: \"Thou wilt\n Find me, if God so will,\n (Truly) patient: nor shall I\n Disobey thee in aught.\"\n70. The other said: \"If then\n Thou wouldst follow me,\n Ask me no questions\n About anything until I\n Myself speak to thee\n Concerning it.\"\n71. So they both proceeded:\n Until, when they were\n In the boat, he scuttled it.\n Said Moses: \"Hast thou\n Scuttled it in order\n To drown those in it?\n Truly a strange thing\n Hast thou done!\"\n72. He answered: \"Did I not\n Tell thee that thou canst\n Have no patience with me?\"\n73. Moses said: \"Rebuke me not\n For forgetting, nor grieve me\n By raising difficulties\n In my case.\"\n74. Then they proceeded:\n Until, when they met\n A young man, he slew him.\n Moses said: \"Hast thou\n Slain an innocent person\n Who had slain none?\n Truly a foul (unheard-of) thing\n Hast thou done!\"\n75. He answered, \"Did I not\n Tell thee that thou canst\n Have no patience with me?\"\n76. (Moses) said: \"If ever I\n Ask thee about anything\n After this, keep me not\n In thy company: then wouldst\n Thou have received (full) excuse\n From my side.\n77. Then they proceeded:\n Until, when they came\n To the inhabitants of a town,\n They asked them for food,\n But they refused them\n Hospitality. They found there\n A wall on the point of\n Falling down, but he\n Set it up straight.\n (Moses) said: \"If thou\n Hadst wished, surely thou\n Couldst have exacted some\n Recompense for it!\"\n78. He answered: \"This is\n The parting between me\n And thee: now will I\n Tell thee the interpretation\n Of (those things) over which\n Thou wast unable\n To hold patience.\n79. \"As for the boat,\n It belonged to certain\n Men in dire want:\n They plied on the water:\nI but wished to render it\n Unserviceable, for there was\n After them a certain king\n Who seized on every boat\n By force.\n80. \"As for the youth,\n His parents were people\n Of Faith, and we feared\n That he would grieve them\n By obstinate rebellion\n And ingratitude (to God and man).\n81. \"So we desired that\n Their Lord would give them\n In exchange (a son)\n Better in purity (of conduct)\n And closer in affection.\n82. \"As for the wall,\n It belonged to two youths,\n Orphans, in the Town;\n There was, beneath it,\n A buried treasure, to which\n They were entitled; their father\nHad been a righteous man:\n So thy Lord desired that\n They should attain their age\n Of full strength and get out\n Their treasure\u2014a mercy\n (And favour) from thy Lord.\n I did it not of my own\n Accord. Such is the interpretation\n Of (those things) over which\n Thou wast unable\n To hold patience.\"\n83. They ask thee concerning\n \u1e92ul-qarnain. Say,\n\"I will rehearse to you\n Something of his story.\"\n84. Verily We established his power\n On earth, and We gave him\n The ways and the means\n To all ends.\n85. One (such) way he followed,\n86. Until, when he reached\n The setting of the sun,\n He found it set\n In a spring of murky water:\n Near it he found a People:\n We said: \"O \u1e92ul-qarnain!\n (Thou hast authority,) either\n To punish them, or\n To treat them with kindness.\"\n87. He said: \"Whoever doth wrong,\n Him shall we punish; then\n Shall he be sent back\n To his Lord; and He will\n Punish him with a punishment\n Unheard-of (before).\n88. \"But whoever believes,\n And works righteousness,\u2014\nHe shall have a goodly\n Reward, and easy will be\n His task as we order it\n By our command.\"\n89. Then followed he (another) way,\n90. Until, when he came\n To the rising of the sun,\n He found it rising\n On a people for whom\n We had provided\n No covering protection\n Against the sun.\n91. (He left them) as they were:\n We completely understood\n What was before him.\n92. Then followed he (another) way,\n93. Until, when he reached\n (A tract) between two mountains,\n He found, beneath them, a people\n Who scarcely understood a word.\n94. They said: \"O \u1e92ul-qarnain!\n The Gog and Magog (people)\n Do great mischief on earth:\n Shall we then render thee\n Tribute in order that\n Thou mightest erect a barrier\n Between us and them?\n95. He said: \"(The power) in which\n My Lord has established me\n Is better (than tribute):\n Help me therefore with strength\n (And labour): I will\n Erect a strong barrier\n Between you and them:\n96. \"Bring me blocks of iron.\"\n At length, when he had\n Filled up the space between\n The two steep mountain-sides,\n He said, \"Blow (with your bellows)\"\n Then, when he had made\n It (red) as fire, he said:\n \"Bring me, that I may\n Pour over it, molten lead.\"\n97. Thus were they made\n Powerless to scale it\n Or to dig through it.\n98. He said: \"This is\n A mercy from my Lord:\n But when the promise\n Of my Lord comes to pass,\n He will make it into dust;\n And the promise of\n My Lord is true.\"\n99. On that day We shall\n Leave them to surge\n Like waves on one another\n The trumpet will be blown,\n And We shall collect them\n All together.\n100. And We shall present\n Hell that day for Unbelievers\n To see, all spread out,\u2014\n101. (Unbelievers) whose eyes\n Had been under a veil\n From Remembrance of Me,\n And who had been unable\n Even to hear.\n102. Do the Unbelievers think\n That they can take\n My servants as protectors\n Besides Me? Verily We\n Have prepared Hell\n For the Unbelievers\n For (their) entertainment.\n103. Say: \"Shall we tell you\n Of those who lose most\n In respect of their deeds?\u2014\n104. \"Those whose efforts have\n Been wasted in this life,\n While they thought that\n They were acquiring good\n By their works?\"\n105. They are those who deny\n The Signs of their Lord\n And the fact of their\n Having to meet Him\n (In the Hereafter): vain\n Will be their works,\n Nor shall We, on the Day\n Of Judgment, give them\n Any weight.\n106. That is their reward,\n Hell; because they rejected\n Faith, and took My Signs\n And My Messengers\n By way of jest.\n107. As to those who believe\n And work righteous deeds,\n They have, for their entertainment,\n The Gardens of Paradise,\n108. Wherein they shall dwell\n (For aye): no change\n Will they wish for from them.\n109. Say: \"If the ocean were\n Ink (wherewith to write out)\n The words of my Lord,\n Sooner would the ocean be\n Exhausted than would the words\n Of my Lord, even if we\n Added another ocean\n Like it, for its aid.\"\n110. Say: \"I am but a man\n Like yourselves, (but)\n The inspiration has come\n To me, that your God is\n One God: whoever expects\n To meet his Lord, let him\n Work righteousness, and,\n In the worship of his Lord,\n Admit no one as partner.\np. 760 p. 761 p. 762 p. 763 p. 764 p. 765 p. 766","title":"The Holy Quran: S\u016bra XVIII. Kahf, or the Cave","type":"page"}