The Young Men of the Cave

In Surah Al-Kahf, Allah tells us a wonderful true story about some young men, a cave and a very long sleep.

Long ago, there were some young men who believed in Allah, their Lord. Allah made their faith grow stronger and stronger. Their people worshipped other gods besides Allah, but these young men stood up and said: “Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth.”

They decided to go to a cave, to keep their faith safe. In the cave, they made dua: “Our Lord, give us mercy from You, and guide us to what is right.”

Then Allah made them fall asleep in the cave, for many, many years. When the sun rose, it moved away from their cave on the right. When it set, it passed them by on the left. If you had seen them, you would have thought they were awake, but they were fast asleep! Allah turned them to the right and to the left as they slept. And their dog lay at the entrance of the cave, with his front legs stretched out.

Then Allah woke them up. One of them asked: “How long have we stayed here?” They said: “A day, or part of a day.” Then they said: “Our Lord knows best how long we stayed.”

They wanted some food, so they sent one of them to the city with a silver coin, to find the best and purest food. They told him to be careful and gentle, so no one would find out about them.

Do you know how long they had been asleep? The Quran tells us they stayed in their cave three hundred years, and nine more. And Allah says that He knows best how long they stayed.

People argued about how many young men there were. Some said three, some said five, some said seven. Allah tells us that He knows their number best, so we do not need to argue about it.

In the same surah, Allah teaches us to say In sha Allah, which means if Allah wills, when we talk about something we plan to do tomorrow. Allah looked after the young men because they trusted Him. And Allah’s promise is always true.