The polytheists of Makkah asked
three questions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH); 1. Who were the companions of the
Cave? 2. What is the truth about Hazrat Khidr (PBUH)? 3. What is the story of
Dhu Qarnayn (PBUH)
Praise belongs to Allah
who has send down the Book to His servant, and allowed no crookedness in it, a
straightforward Book to warn of a severe punishment from Him, and to give the
good news to the belieers, who do righteous deeds, that they will have an
excellent reward (Paradise) in which they will dwell forever, and to warn those
who have said that Allah has had a son, while they have no knowledge about it,
nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths. They
say nothing but lie. So, (O Prophet) perhaps you are going to kill yourself
after them, out of grief, if they do not believe in this discourse. Surely, We
have made what is on earth and adornment for it, so that We test them as to who
among them is better in deeds. And surely, We are going to turn whatever is
thereon into a barren land. Do you think that the People of Kahf (the Cave) and
Raqim (inscription) were unusual out of Our signs? When the young men took
refuge in the Cave and said; Our Lord, bless us with mercy from Your own and
provide us with guidance in our matters. So, We sealed up their hearing (putting
them to sleep) in the Cave for a number of years. Thereafter We raised them up,
so that We know which of the two groups had better calculated the period in
which they remained (sleeping). We narrate to you their story with truth. They
were young men who believed in their Lord and We gave them more guidance. We
made their hearts firm when they stood up and said; Our Lord is the Lord of the
Heavens and the earth. We shall never invoke and god other than Him, otherwise
we would be saying something far from the truth. These, our people, have
adopted gods other than Him. Why do they not bring a clear proof in their
favor? So, who is more unjust than the one who fabricates a lie against Allah?
When you have turned away from them, and those whom they worship, except Allah,
then seek refuge in the cave, and your Lord will extend His mercy for you, and
provide you ease in your matters. You would see the sun, when it rose, turning
away from their Cave towards the right; and when it set, it bypassed them
towards the left and they were (lying) in the hollow thereof. That is one of
the signs of Allah. Whomsoever Allah guides is the one who gets the right path
and whomsoever He lets go astray, for him you will find no one to help, no one
to lead. And you would think they were awake wile they were asleep. We turned
them on their sides, right and left. And their dog had its forelegs stretched
out to the doorstep. If you had a look at them, you would have fled away from
them and would have been filled with awe of them. In this way We raised them up
until they asked each other. One of them said; How long did you tarry? They
said; A day, or part of a day. They said, Your Lord knows best how long you
tarried. So, send one of you with this silver (coin) of yours to the city and
let him look around which of the eatables are the purest and let him bring you
some food from there. And he must act in polite manner, and must not let anyone
know about you. If they (the habitants of the city) will know about you, they
will force you to revert to their faith, and in that case, you will never find
success. And in this way, We made them known to the people (of the city), so
that they realize that Allah;s promise is true, and that there is no doubt
about the Hour (the Day of Resurrection). When they were disputing among
themselves in their matter, they said; Erect a building over them. Their Lord
knows them best. Said those who prevailed in their matter: We will certainly
make a mosque over them. Some will say: (They were) three, the fourth of them
being their dog, and some will say: Five, the sixth of them being their dog,
just making conjectures. And other will say: Seven, the eighth of them is their
dog. Soy: My Lord knows best about their number. No one knows them except a
few, so do not argue about them except an apparent argumentation. And do not
ask anyone of these about them. And never say about anything: I will do this
tomorrow, unliess (you say-- if) Allah wills. And remember your Lord if you
forget, and say (to those who asked you about the story of the People of the
Cave) May be, my Lord will lead me to something closer than this to guidance.
They stayed in their Cave for three hundred years and added nine. Say: Allah
knows best how long they stayed. To Him belongs the unseen of the heavens and
the earth – how well He sees and how well He hears! They have no supporter
other than Him and He lets no one share His authority. And recite what has been
revealed to you of the Book of your Lord. There is no one to change His words,
and you will never find a refuge beside Him. Keep yourself content with those
who call their Lord morning and evening, seeking His pleasure, and let not your
eyes over look them, seeking the splendor of the worldly life. And do not obey
the one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, and who has followed
his desire and whose behavior has exceeded the limits. (Quran, 18:1 - 28)
The Polytheists of
Makkah asked three questions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Who wre the companions
of the Cave?
What is the truth about
Hazrat Khidr (PBUH)?
What is the story of
Dul Qarnayn (PBUH)?
The stories they asked
about were related to the history of the Christians and Jews, but were not
common stories amongst the Arabs. By asking these questions, their intention
was to find out whether the messenger of God harboured knowledge of the unseen.
The event of the
companions of the cave took place in the city of Rome, Ephesus, which was built
at around Eleventh century BC. Later on, it become a major center for idol
worship. People used to worship a statue of a goddess named Diana who was
famous worldwide. People used to travel from long distances to worship at the
statue. Magicians, operators, astrologists and amulet writers of this city were
well renowned and their influence spread to other locations such as Syria,
Palestine and Egypt. Jews had a big share in this business, and would relate
their then knowledge to that of the Prophet Solomon (PBUH). Polytheism and the
worship of imaginary gods were embedded within the culture. In Arabic, ‘Kahaf’
means a big cave.
According to history,
there was a kind of Rome named Decius with a huge kingdom and massive army.
Once, a king from another country attacked him. Decius fought and was
victorious – the enemy king was killed and his sons arrested. According to some
historians, the enemy king had six sons but others says that he is fact had
five, The king of Rome, Decius, kept them all for his own service.
The king of Rome used
to claim himself a god and commanded that everyone bow down to him. One night,
the captured brothers sat together and began a discussion. The eldest of them
said,
“This cursed person
troubles us every day and also asks us to bow down to him. It is better for us
to not serve him and escape from here to worship our Lord, Who created the earth
and the heavens: and that will be best for us when the end of the world comes.”
All of te brothers accepted this willingly. One of them said, :We need to
somehow escape from here.”
Another proposed,
“When the king goes to
play Choghan (a game similar to Polo), I will throw the ball out of the ground.
When I go out to fetch it you all should follow, wearing old clothes a s
disguise.”
The next day, the kind
decided to play Choghan and took the captured brothers with him. In the
evening, after the game finished, the bothers followed their plan and escaped
Decius; kingdom.
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