Surah Al-Kahf

ٱلْحَمْدُلِلَّهِٱلَّذِىٓأَنزَلَعَلَىٰعَبْدِهِٱلْكِتَٰبَوَلَمْيَجْعَللَّهُۥعِوَجَا

ALL PRAISE is due to God, who has bestowed. this divine writ from on high upon His servant, and has not allowed any deviousness to obscure its meaning:

قَيِّمًۭالِّيُنذِرَبَأْسًۭاشَدِيدًۭامِّنلَّدُنْهُوَيُبَشِّرَٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَٱلَّذِينَيَعْمَلُونَٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِأَنَّلَهُمْأَجْرًاحَسَنًۭا

[a divine writ] unerringly straight, meant to warn [the godless] of a severe punishment from Him, and to give unto the believers who do good works the glad tiding that theirs shall be a goodly reward-

مَّٰكِثِينَفِيهِأَبَدًۭا

[a state of bliss] in which they. shall dwell beyond the count of time.

وَيُنذِرَٱلَّذِينَقَالُوا۟ٱتَّخَذَٱللَّهُوَلَدًۭا

Furthermore, [this divine writ is meant] to warn all those who assert, "God has taken unto Himself a son."

مَّالَهُمبِهِۦمِنْعِلْمٍۢوَلَالِءَابَآئِهِمْكَبُرَتْكَلِمَةًۭتَخْرُجُمِنْأَفْوَٰهِهِمْإِنيَقُولُونَإِلَّاكَذِبًۭا

No knowledge whatever have they of Him, and neither had their forefathers: dreadful -is this saying that comes out of their mouths, [and] nothing but falsehood do they utter!

فَلَعَلَّكَبَٰخِعٌۭنَّفْسَكَعَلَىٰٓءَاثَٰرِهِمْإِنلَّمْيُؤْمِنُوا۟بِهَٰذَاٱلْحَدِيثِأَسَفًا

But wouldst thou, perhaps, torment thyself to death with grief over them if they are not willing to believe in this message?

إِنَّاجَعَلْنَامَاعَلَىٱلْأَرْضِزِينَةًۭلَّهَالِنَبْلُوَهُمْأَيُّهُمْأَحْسَنُعَمَلًۭا

Behold, We have willed that all beauty on earth be a means by which We put men to a test, [showing] which of them are best in conduct;

وَإِنَّالَجَٰعِلُونَمَاعَلَيْهَاصَعِيدًۭاجُرُزًا

and, verily, [in time] We shall reduce all that is on it to barren dust!

أَمْحَسِبْتَأَنَّأَصْحَٰبَٱلْكَهْفِوَٱلرَّقِيمِكَانُوا۟مِنْءَايَٰتِنَاعَجَبًا

[AND SINCE the life of this world is but a test, dost thou [really] think that [the parable of] the Men of the Cave and of [their devotion to] the scriptures could be deemed more wondrous than any [other] of Our messages?

إِذْأَوَىٱلْفِتْيَةُإِلَىٱلْكَهْفِفَقَالُوا۟رَبَّنَآءَاتِنَامِنلَّدُنكَرَحْمَةًۭوَهَيِّئْلَنَامِنْأَمْرِنَارَشَدًۭا

When those youths took refuge in the cave, they prayed: "O our Sustainer! Bestow on us grace from Thyself, and endow us, whatever our [outward] condition, with consciousness of what is right!"

فَضَرَبْنَاعَلَىٰٓءَاذَانِهِمْفِىٱلْكَهْفِسِنِينَعَدَدًۭا

And thereupon We veiled their ears in the cave for many a year,

ثُمَّبَعَثْنَٰهُمْلِنَعْلَمَأَىُّٱلْحِزْبَيْنِأَحْصَىٰلِمَالَبِثُوٓا۟أَمَدًۭا

and then We awakened Christianity was no longer persecuted and had even become the official religion of the Roman Empire. The ancient coin (dating from the reign of Decius) with which the young man wanted to pay for his purchases immediately aroused curiosity; people began to question the stranger, and the story of the Men of the Cave and their miraculous sleep came to light. them: [and We did all this] so that We might mark out [to the world] which of the two points of view showed a better comprehension of the time-span during which they had remained in this state.

نَّحْنُنَقُصُّعَلَيْكَنَبَأَهُمبِٱلْحَقِّإِنَّهُمْفِتْيَةٌءَامَنُوا۟بِرَبِّهِمْوَزِدْنَٰهُمْهُدًۭى

[And now] We shall truly relate to thee their story: Behold, they were young men who had attained to faith in their Sustainer: and [so] We deepened their consciousness of the right way

وَرَبَطْنَاعَلَىٰقُلُوبِهِمْإِذْقَامُوا۟فَقَالُوا۟رَبُّنَارَبُّٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِوَٱلْأَرْضِلَننَّدْعُوَا۟مِندُونِهِۦٓإِلَٰهًۭالَّقَدْقُلْنَآإِذًۭاشَطَطًا

and endowed their hearts with strength, so that they stood up and said [to one another]: "Our Sustainer is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. Never shall we invoke any deity other than Him: [if we did,] we should indeed have uttered an enormity!

هَٰٓؤُلَآءِقَوْمُنَاٱتَّخَذُوا۟مِندُونِهِۦٓءَالِهَةًۭلَّوْلَايَأْتُونَعَلَيْهِمبِسُلْطَٰنٍۭبَيِّنٍۢفَمَنْأَظْلَمُمِمَّنِٱفْتَرَىٰعَلَىٱللَّهِكَذِبًۭا

These people of ours have taken to worshipping [other] deities instead of Him, without being able to adduce any reasonable evidence in support of their beliefs; and who could be more wicked than he who invents a lie about God?

وَإِذِٱعْتَزَلْتُمُوهُمْوَمَايَعْبُدُونَإِلَّاٱللَّهَفَأْوُۥٓا۟إِلَىٱلْكَهْفِيَنشُرْلَكُمْرَبُّكُممِّنرَّحْمَتِهِۦوَيُهَيِّئْلَكُممِّنْأَمْرِكُممِّرْفَقًۭا

Hence, now that you have withdrawn from them and from all that they worship instead of God, take refuge in that cave: God will spread His grace over you, and will endow you - whatever your [outward] condition - with all that your souls may need!

وَتَرَىٱلشَّمْسَإِذَاطَلَعَتتَّزَٰوَرُعَنكَهْفِهِمْذَاتَٱلْيَمِينِوَإِذَاغَرَبَتتَّقْرِضُهُمْذَاتَٱلشِّمَالِوَهُمْفِىفَجْوَةٍۢمِّنْهُذَٰلِكَمِنْءَايَٰتِٱللَّهِمَنيَهْدِٱللَّهُفَهُوَٱلْمُهْتَدِوَمَنيُضْلِلْفَلَنتَجِدَلَهُۥوَلِيًّۭامُّرْشِدًۭا

And [for many a year] thou might have seen the sun, on its rising, incline away from their cave on the right, and, on its setting, turn aside from them on the left, while they lived on in that spacious chamber, [bearing witness to] this of God's messages: He whom God guides, he alone has found the right way; whereas for him whom He lets go astray thou canst never find any protector who would point out the right way.

وَتَحْسَبُهُمْأَيْقَاظًۭاوَهُمْرُقُودٌۭوَنُقَلِّبُهُمْذَاتَٱلْيَمِينِوَذَاتَٱلشِّمَالِوَكَلْبُهُمبَٰسِطٌۭذِرَاعَيْهِبِٱلْوَصِيدِلَوِٱطَّلَعْتَعَلَيْهِمْلَوَلَّيْتَمِنْهُمْفِرَارًۭاوَلَمُلِئْتَمِنْهُمْرُعْبًۭا

And thou wouldst have thought that they were awake, whereas they lay asleep. And We caused them to turn over repeatedly, now to the right, now to the left; and their dog [lay] on the threshold, its forepaws outstretched. Hadst thou come upon them [unprepared], thou wouldst surely have turned away from them in flight, and wouldst surely have been filled with awe of them.

وَكَذَٰلِكَبَعَثْنَٰهُمْلِيَتَسَآءَلُوا۟بَيْنَهُمْقَالَقَآئِلٌۭمِّنْهُمْكَمْلَبِثْتُمْقَالُوا۟لَبِثْنَايَوْمًاأَوْبَعْضَيَوْمٍۢقَالُوا۟رَبُّكُمْأَعْلَمُبِمَالَبِثْتُمْفَٱبْعَثُوٓا۟أَحَدَكُمبِوَرِقِكُمْهَٰذِهِۦٓإِلَىٱلْمَدِينَةِفَلْيَنظُرْأَيُّهَآأَزْكَىٰطَعَامًۭافَلْيَأْتِكُمبِرِزْقٍۢمِّنْهُوَلْيَتَلَطَّفْوَلَايُشْعِرَنَّبِكُمْأَحَدًا

And so, [in the course of time,] We awakened them; and they began to ask one another [as to what had happened to them]. One of them asked: "How long have you remained thus?" [The others] answered: "We have remained thus a day, or part of a day." Said they [who were endowed with deeper insight]: "Your Sustainer knows best how long you have thus remained. Let, then, one of you go with these silver coins to the town, and let him find out what food is purest there, and bring you thereof [some] provisions. But let him behave with great care and by no means make anyone aware of you:

إِنَّهُمْإِنيَظْهَرُوا۟عَلَيْكُمْيَرْجُمُوكُمْأَوْيُعِيدُوكُمْفِىمِلَّتِهِمْوَلَنتُفْلِحُوٓا۟إِذًاأَبَدًۭا

for, behold, if they should come to know of you, they might stone you to death or force you back to their faith-in which case you would never attain to any good!"