His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿When the youth sought refuge in the cave, they said, 'Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us in our affair right guidance.'﴾ ﴿So We struck upon their ears in the cave for a number of years.﴾ ﴿Then We awakened them so that We might know which of the two parties was best at calculating the time they had remained.﴾

"The 'youth' in what has been narrated: They were a group from the sons of the nobles of the city of Daqyus, the disbelieving king. It is said in it: Daqlayus, and it is said: Daqyanus. It has been narrated that they were adorned and surrounded with gold, and they were from the Romans and followed the religion of Jesus, peace be upon him. It is said: They were before Jesus. As for their names, they are foreign, and the chain of transmission in knowing them is weak. However, what Al-Tabari mentioned are these: Maksaylamina, who is the eldest and the one spoken of, and Majsaylaminia, and Tamlikha.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And he is the one who went with the silver to the city when they were sent from their sleep. And Martus, and Kushutqush, and Bayrunus, and Dinamus, and Yutunus.

The narrators have differed regarding the stories of these youth, and how their gathering and their exit to the cave was. Most historians have elaborated on that, but we will summarize from their accounts and mention what the verse does not suffice without, and we will mention some of the differences in its details, by the will of Allah.

Mujahid narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that these youth were in the religion of a king who worshipped idols, slaughtered for them, and disbelieved in Allah, glorified and exalted is He. The people of the city followed him in that. The youth received knowledge from some of the disciples - as mentioned by Al-Naqqash - or from some believers of the nations before them - according to the differences we mentioned - so they believed in Allah and saw with their insight the evil actions of the people. They took their souls by adhering to the religion and worship of Allah, exalted is He. Their matter was raised to the king, and it was said to him: They have forsaken your religion, belittled your gods, and disbelieved in them. The king summoned them to his council and commanded them to follow his religion and slaughter for his gods, and he threatened them with death for forsaking that. They said to him - in what has been narrated -: ﴿Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth﴾ [Al-Kahf: 14], up to His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And when you withdraw from them﴾ [Al-Kahf: 16].

It has been narrated that they said something similar to this, but not exactly. The king said to them: You are young and inexperienced, you have no understanding, and I will not rush you, rather I will delay. Go to your homes and deliberate your affair and return to my command. He set for them a deadline. Then he traveled during the deadline, and the youth consulted about escaping with their religions. One of them said to them: I know a cave in such a mountain where my father used to put his sheep. Let us go to it and hide in it until Allah opens for us. So they went out - in what has been narrated - playing with sticks and a ball, rolling it towards their path so that the people would not feel them. It is said that they were educated and attended a festival, so they mingled with the people, then they began to play with the sticks until they managed to do so.

A group narrated that the matter of the Companions of the Cave was that they were from the sons of the nobles. A festival for the people of the city took place, and the young men saw what the people were practicing in that festival of disbelief and the worship of idols and the slaughtering for them. Faith entered their hearts, and they all agreed to separate from the people so that they would not be afflicted by the punishment with them. They distanced themselves from the people and went to the cave.

And Wahb ibn Munabbih narrated that their matter was that a disciple of Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon him, came to the city of the Companions of the Cave wanting to enter it. He rented himself from the owner of the bathhouse and worked there. The owner of the bathhouse saw great blessings in his work, so he entrusted him with everything. That man was known by some young men from the people of the city, so he spread faith among them and introduced them to Allah, glorified and exalted is He. They believed and followed him in his religion, and their association with him became well-known. One day, the king's son came to that bathhouse with a woman of ill-repute, wanting to be alone with her. The disciple forbade him, and he refrained. Then he came to him again and forbade him and insulted him, but he persisted in his intention to enter the bathhouse with the harlot. He entered, and they both died there. That disciple and his companions were accused of killing him, so they all fled until they entered the cave.

And Ubaid ibn Umayr said: The Companions of the Cave were young men from the sons of the great, surrounded and enclosed, possessing beards. Faith entered them individually. Each one of them resolved to flee with his religion from the land of disbelief. Allah brought them out on one day for what He intended for them. One of them went out and sat in the shade of a tree at a distance from the city. A second one came out, and when he saw the one sitting, he sat with him. Then the third, and then the rest, until they all gathered in the shade of the tree. Allah cast into their souls that their goal was one. They questioned each other, and some of them were startled by others and kept it secret. Then they agreed on two of them, saying: Let them separate and confide in each other, for if you both agree, we will be with you. They rose up and expressed their faith and their escape with the religion, then they returned and revealed the matter, and the others followed them, and they set out to the cave.

As for the dog, it was narrated that it was a hunting dog of one of them. It was also narrated that they found a shepherd with a dog on their way, and the shepherd followed them according to their opinion, and the dog went with them. The name of the dog was Hamran, and it was said: Qitmīr. They all entered the cave according to all these sayings.

A group narrated that Allah, the Exalted, struck upon their ears at that time for what He intended of concealing them. Their location became hidden from the people of the kingdom. The people were astonished by the strangeness of their disappearance, so they relaxed that matter and recorded it on two tablets of lead or bronze. They placed it at the gate of the city, containing their names, the names of their fathers, and a mention of their nobility, and that they had gone missing in such a manner at such a time. It was said that the one who wrote this and was concerned about it were two judges, believers, who concealed their faith from the people of the kingdom. They hid it and buried the two tablets with them. It was also said, according to the narration, that the king came to the cave's entrance, and that they buried that in the king's building by the cave.

Another group narrated that when the king went, the youths ordered to trace their footsteps. This led their followers to the cave's entrance. The king was informed, so he mounted with his army until he stood upon it. He ordered to enter upon them, but the men feared that. One of his ministers said to him: 'Aren't you, O king, if you bring them out, you will kill them?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'What kind of killing is more effective than hunger and thirst? Seal the cave's entrance upon them and let them die in it.' So he did, and Allah, the Exalted, struck upon their ears before that for what He intended of securing them. The people dated their matter in the two tablets, or the two men dated it according to the disagreement. The name of one of the two men, as mentioned by al-Tabari, is Nidrūs, and the name of the other is Rūqās.

It was narrated that this king, from whom the youths fled from his religion, had tested the believers where he sensed them, killing them and hanging their bodies and heads on the walls of his city. He intended to go in that manner, as mentioned - the religion of Jesus, peace be upon him, and he and his people were from the Romans.

Then Allah, the Exalted, informed about the youths that when they sought refuge in the cave, meaning: they entered it and made it a refuge for them and a place of safety, they called upon Allah, the Exalted, to grant them mercy from Him, which is the provision as mentioned by the interpreters, and to prepare for them in their matter a guidance, meaning: a beautiful salvation. The majority read: 'guidance' with the opening of the 'r' and 'sh', and Abu Rajā' read: 'guidance' with the 'r' being pronounced and the 'sh' being silent. The first is more preferable due to its similarity to the endings of the verses before and after. This supplication from them was concerning their worldly affairs, and its wording necessitates that. They had confidence in the guidance of the Hereafter and its mercy.

Every believer should make his supplication regarding his worldly affairs based on this verse only, for it is sufficient. The mention of mercy may be intended for the matter of the Hereafter. I have summarized this story and have not neglected any important aspect of it according to my endeavor. And Allah is the Helper with His mercy.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'So We struck upon their ears,' is an expression of Allah, the Exalted, casting sleep upon them. This is expressed by striking to clarify the strength of the directness and the intensity of the attachment in the matter being discussed and the obligation. Among it is the striking of humiliation and submission, and among it is the striking of resurrection, and among it is the saying of al-Farazdaq:

The spider has woven its web over you, and the book that was sent down has decreed upon you. This is used in the context of the necessity of eloquence. As for the specification of the ears with the mention, it is because they are the organ through which the great corruption of sleep occurs. Rarely does the sleep of a sleeper cease except from the direction of his ear, and no sleep is firmly established except with the hearing being disabled. Among the mention of the ear in sleep is his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "That is a man in whom the devil has urinated in his ear," he indicated, blessings and peace be upon him, a man who sleeps deeply and does not rise at night. And His saying, the Exalted, "a number" is an adjective for the years, and the intent is to express abundance, meaning: it needs a number, and it is of a number. Al-Zajjaj said: It is permissible for "a number" to be in the accusative as a source. And "the resurrection" is the stirring after stillness, and this is consistent with the term "resurrection" wherever it occurs. And the stillness may be in the person or concerning the matter in which he is resurrected, even if the person is moving. And His saying, the Exalted, "so that We may know" is an expression of the emergence of that thing into existence. This is in accordance with the speech of the Arabs, meaning: so that We may know that thing as existing, otherwise Allah, the Exalted, already knew which of the two parties counted the duration. Al-Zuhri read: "so that He may know" with a ya. And "the two parties" are the two groups, and it appears from the verse that the one party is the youths when they thought their stay was brief, and the second party is the people of the city who sent the youths during their time when the history concerning the youths was with them. This is the opinion of the majority of the commentators. A group said: They are two parties of the disbelievers who differed regarding the duration of the companions of the cave. Another group said: They are two parties of the believers. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This does not relate to the words of the verse. As for His saying, the Exalted, "counted," the apparent good in it is that it is a past tense verb, and "a duration" is in the accusative as a direct object. "The duration" is the limit, and it comes as an expression of the period in terms of the period having a limit which is its duration in reality. Al-Zajjaj said: "counted" is an active form, and "a duration"—on this—was placed in the accusative as an explanation. This statement is subject to the objection that "active forms" do not occur from a four-letter verb except in rare cases, and "counted" is a four-letter verb. He supports the statement of Abu Ishaq by saying that "active forms" from the four-letter verbs are masculine, like your saying: He did not give him for wealth and granted him for goodness. And the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said regarding his description of Hell: "It is blacker than pitch," and he said regarding the description of his pond, peace be upon him: "Whiter than milk." And Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "It is more lost than anything else." All of these are "active forms" from the four-letter verbs. Mujahid said: "a duration" means: a limit. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is an interpretation by meaning, in the context of approximation. Al-Tabari said: The accusative of "a duration" is with "they remained," and this is not a correct direction.