seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Quran 18:18. You would think them awake, although they were asleep. And We turned them over to the right, and to the left, with their dog stretching its paws across the threshold. Had you looked at them, you would have turned away from them in flight, and been filled with fear of them.
19. Even so, We awakened them, so that they may ask one another. A speaker among them said, “How long have you stayed?” They said, “We have stayed a day, or part of a day.” They said, “Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed.” “Send one of you to the city, with this money of yours, and let him see which food is most suitable, and let him bring you some provision thereof. And let him be gentle, and let no one become aware of you.”
20. “If they discover you, they will stone you, or force you back into their religion; then you will never be saved.”
21. So it was, that We caused them to be discovered, that they would know that the promise of God is true, and that of the Hour there is no doubt. As they were disputing their case among themselves, they said, “Build over them a building.” Their Lord knows best about them. Those who prevailed over their case said, “We will set up over them a place of worship.”
22. They will say, “Three, and their fourth being their dog.” And they will say, “Five, and their sixth being their dog,” guessing at the unknown. And they will say, “Seven, and their eighth being their dog.” Say, “My Lord knows best their number.” None knows them except a few. So do not argue concerning them except with an obvious argument, and do not consult any of them about them.
23. And never say about anything, “I will do that tomorrow.”
24. Without saying, “If God wills.” And remember your Lord if you forget, and say, “Perhaps my Lord will guide me to nearer than this in integrity.”
The commentary is long this morning....
What is related in this section is clearly applicable to the story of the seven sleepers, as also to the later history of Christianity. Taking the first view, the meaning is that the youths, who fled for fear of persecution and betook themselves to a cave, slept for some time with a dog at the door of the cave. The whole scene was rather awe inspiring; a dark cave, in some distant and uninhabited part of the country, with some men sleeping in it and a dog at the door, would have inspired awe into the heart of a casual looker-on. Applied to the history of Christianity the statement is equally true. In this case it should be borne in mind that ruq∂d (“asleep”) also means inactive, or stagnant. Thus raqada means qa‘ada, ta’akhkhara, i.e., he abstained or held back from the affair . Raqadati-l-s∂qu is equivalent to kasadat, i.e., the market became stagnant or dull with respect to traffic, and ruq∂d is the infinitive noun of raqada. Similarly aiqå˚ (“awake”) is plural of yaqi˚, which means a man vigilant, wary, in a state of caution, or a man having his attention much roused. Tayaqqa˚a-li l-amr means tanabbaha, i.e., he had his attention roused to the affair. The turning about to the right and to the left, which signifies an uneasy condition while sleeping, may be used as expressing the activities of a man or a nation. Thus there may be a reference here to the lethargy in which the Christian nations remained for a long time, and to their subsequent going about in the world to the right and to the left, i.e., spreading in all directions. It may also be noted that Europeans are generally fond of dogs.
The question and the answer may refer either to the time for which the youths slept or to the centuries of inactivity or tardiness of the Christian nations. A day of a thousand years is spoken of in the Holy Qur’ån on more occasions than one, and therefore the word day, applied to the history of a nation, may signify a thousand years.
After having been refreshed with sleep, which might have been brought on by the fatigue of the journey, they thought of procuring food for themselves in that solitary cave and sent one of them to the city, and impressed on him that he should be gentle and should not give an inkling of their whereabouts to anyone. In reference to the history of Christianity, the passage may be said to speak of the commercial activities of the Christian nations.
That is, they would have remained hidden had it not been for the necessities of life, which they had still to procure from the city. It was their going out to purchase food that brought them to the knowledge of the outside world. It is not stated how long they continued in this state: they may have passed some days or months or years, but their daily going out at last made their hiding-place known to others. Comparing this with v. 11, however, we may say that they passed several years in this condition.
The result of their becoming known is described in words which show that they were put to death, because the promise of Allåh as to a future state of life is fully realized only after death.
These words show how their death was brought about: it was by closing the mouth of the cave. This is what is meant by the erection of an edifice over them. The words may also signify the erection of a monument.
The masjid, or the mosque, is the house of worship of the Muslims in particular, but it may mean any house of worship. The people spoken of here are those who prevailed in their affair. This is a later incident, when Christianity became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire, and the reference here seems to be to the saint-worship which prevailed in Christianity. This verse and v. 25, coming as they do after the story is finished, show that these are only conjectures of the people with regard to them. Their number and the number of years during which they remained in the cave are both matters which are said to be only known to Allåh. I‘Ab is, however, of opinion that the words condemning the first two as conjectures show that the last-mentioned number, i.e., seven, is correct. Who are the people referred to in the concluding words, any of them? According to IJ, the people of the Book, or the Christians, are referred to here, though they are not expressly mentioned in what has gone before. It is clear from this that it is really the history of Christianity that is dealt with in the story of the Companions of the Cave.
This verse and verse 25 which again speaks of the same people who are spoken of here, makes it clear that it is the history of Christianity that is really aimed at. Though the words are general, there seems to be a special prophetic reference to the Prophet’s Flight and his taking refuge in a cave. He had entirely to trust in Allåh, Who was to bring it about as He thought best for him.
The meaning is that the difficulties which had to be experienced by the dwellers in the cave would be removed from the Prophet’s way. He had to pass only three days in the cave, and though a powerful enemy exerted itself to its utmost, his hiding-place at only a distance of three miles from the city, whither food was conveyed to him, could not be discovered. Or, in the nearer course there is a reference to the unprecedented triumph of Islåm, which spread over the whole of Arabia within twentythree years, and spread from Spain in the west to China in the east within a century, whereas Christianity remained in a state of subjection in its birth-place for three hundred years, as stated in the verse that follows.
OK... I do see a few things in this message. First of all... they say the seven men in the cave were there so long their money was no good at the market. I learned that from the commentary yesterday. It would be like If....seven confederate soldiers hid in a cave a few miles outside of town and when their supplies ran out they went to town to restock and they tried to use their confederate money..... see?
The commentary also mentions the "one day equals a thousand years" quote from the Bible. So if the seven men and their dog were in the cave for 375 years.... that's a true eternity...agreed?
Then the commentary brought up the Prophet in a cave. In this commentary I saw how Jesus had to trust His Father implicitly to allow humans to put Him in a dark cave for 3 days.... in the pitch black.... after He let humans hang Him on a cross for doing good on the Sabbath and shaming the established church.... those same Jewish leaders who put Jesus to death.... wouldn't lift a finger for a dying man on the Sabbath because their rules told them not to. No wonder Jesus got up and left the cave!
The event that caused these seven men and their dog to be discovered.... was the need for refreshment. Had they not run out of supplies... they would not have gone out. They didn't realize how long they had been in the cave. The commentary says this is about the Christian Church. Maybe, back in the days of Jesus, it was dangerous to go out and restock.... after all the Christians were being hunted.... by men like Saul of Tarsus... that guy who claimed Jesus knocked him down and made him an apostle.
I've been in quarantine since the beginning of 2020 because of my eye.... hubby has had to do all the restocking. We were just talking about that the other day. We were really on edge back then.... COVID.... made people crazier. But... hubby went out.
Had to eat!
