His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"And you see the sun, when it rises, inclining away from their cave to the right, and when it sets, it passes away from them to the left, while they are in a spacious place therein. That is of the signs of Allah. Whomever Allah guides, he is the rightly guided, and whomever He leads astray, you will never find for him a guiding ally."

"And you would think they were awake while they were asleep. And We turn them to the right and to the left, and their dog stretches its forelegs at the entrance. If you had looked at them, you would have turned away from them in flight and would have been filled with terror from them."

Between these two verses is a brevity that is clarified by what has preceded from the verses. Its estimation is: they sought refuge, and Allah caused them to sleep, and they remained like that.

Ibn Kathir, Nafi', and Abu Amr read: "tazawwaru" with a doubling of the zay and the merging of the ta. And Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "tazawaru" with its lightening, estimating it as: "tatazawaru," so one of the two ta's was omitted. And Ibn Amer, Ibn Abu Ishaq, and Qatadah read: "tazawarru" in the form of "tahmarru." And Al-Jahdari and Abu Rija' read: "tazawarru" with an alif after the waw. The meaning of the term in all of these forms is: it inclines, it swerves, and it tilts. These are the expressions of the interpreters. As for Al-Akhfash, he said: "tazawarru" means: it contracts, and "zawr" is the inclination. "Al-Azwar" in the eye is the one whose gaze is inclined to one side, and it is used in other than the eye, as in the saying of Ibn Abu Rabi'ah:

"And on my side, the fear of the people inclines."

And from the term is the saying of Antarah:

"So it inclined from the strike of the spear upon its belly."

And from it is the saying of Bishr ibn Abu Hazim:

"They lead to the waters of the palms, and in it is an inclination of the two banks."

And in the narration of the Battle of Mu'tah, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, saw in the bed of Abdullah ibn Rawahah an inclination from the beds of Ja'far and Zayd ibn Harithah.

And the majority read: "taqriḍuhum" with the ta. And a group read: "yaqriḍuhum" with the ya, meaning the cave, as if it is from "qaraḍ," which is cutting, meaning: the cave cuts them off from the light of the sun with its shade. And the majority who read with the ta mean that they were not touched by the sun at all, and this is the saying of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them. They interpret "taqriḍuhum" to mean: it leaves them, as if it is with him cutting off everything that it does not reach from itself. And a group of those who read with the ta interpreted that it was in the evening that it reached them, so it was as if it "taqriḍuhum," meaning it cuts them off from what it does not reach. And they said: there was in its touching them in the evening a benefit for their bodies. And Al-Tabari narrated that the Arabs say: "qaraḍtu mawdi'a katha," meaning: I cut it, and from it is the saying of Dhī al-Rummah:

"To the tents that cut across the borders of the highlands, to the left and to their right are the knights."

And from it: 'Lend me a dirham,' meaning: cut it for me from your wealth. This attribute with the sun necessitates that they had a barrier from the direction of the south, and a barrier from the direction of the west, while they were in its corner. Al-Zajjaj and others narrated that the entrance of the cave faced the daughters of the coffin, and this was said by Abdullah ibn Muslim. This is similar to what we said, except that the cave was covered from above by the rain. Al-Zajjaj went on to say that the action of the sun was a sign from Allah, glorified and exalted is He, without the entrance of the cave being in a direction that necessitates that.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'from the right side' and 'from the left side' may mean: from the right side of the cave, by estimating the entrance of the cave as equivalent to the face of a person, for the sun comes from it at the beginning of the day from the right and at its end from the left. It may also mean: from the right side of the sun and from its left side, by estimating the rays extending from it to the cave as equivalent to the face of a person. The first interpretation is clearer.

And 'the opening' means the spacious area, and its plural is 'fijaa'. Qatadah said: in a space from it, and from it is the hadith: 'The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, would walk with his neck extended, and when he found an opening, he would stop.' Ibn Jubair said: 'in an opening from it': in an inner place.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'That is from the signs of Allah' refers to the matter in its entirety. According to Al-Zajjaj's statement, 'the sun would incline and cut without a barrier,' the reference is specifically to this meaning. Then he continued by glorifying Allah, the Exalted, and submitting to Him, and what necessitates directing hopes to Him.

And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: 'And you think they are awake while they are asleep' is a description of a state that has been negated, and its actions have come in the future as a figure of speech and in a broad sense.

And 'awake' is the plural of 'wakeful,' like 'arm' and 'arms,' and it is the one who is alert. The people of tafsir said: their eyes were open while they were sleeping, so the observer would think they are awake.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is possible that the observer thinks this due to the intensity of the protection that was upon them, and the little change, for it is common for sleepers to have relaxation and postures that necessitate sleep. Indeed, there are many sleepers in states that have not changed from the state of wakefulness, so the observer thinks he is awake even if his eyes are closed. If it were true that their eyes were open with a chain that cuts off the excuse, it would be clearer for him to think they are alert.

And the majority read: 'And We turn them' with the pronoun of greatness, and Al-Hasan read: 'And their turning' with an open 'ta' and a pronounced 'lam' and 'ba,' which is a raised source at the beginning, as Abu Hatim said. Ibn Jinni narrated the reading from Al-Hasan with an open 'ta' and a pronounced 'lam' and an open 'ba,' and he said: this is an accusative with a verb that is implied, as if he said: 'and you see' or 'you witness their turning.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And Abu Hatim affirmed.

And a group believed that the turning is what caused the observer to think they are awake.

And this - although the turning is for whoever encounters his vision a proof of that - the words of the verse do not convey anything except a news that is initiated. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: This turning occurred twice in the year. A group said: Once every year. Another group said: Once every seven years. Another group said: They were turned only in the last nine days, but not in the three hundred. Some of the interpreters mentioned that their turning was merely a preservation from the earth. It was narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: If the sun had touched them, it would have burned them, and if it were not for the turning, the earth would have consumed them.

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

And the sign of Allah, the Exalted, in their sleeping for this long duration and their living without nourishment is more astonishing than their preservation with the sun touching them and their remaining on the earth. However, these are narrations that differ and require further contemplation. The apparent words of the interpreters indicate that the turning was by the command of Allah, the Exalted, and the action of His angels. It is possible that this was by the decree of Allah upon them while they were in the depths of sleep, not noticing, as often happens to many sleepers; for the people were not dead.

And His saying, the Exalted: "And their dog." Most of the interpreters agree that it is a real dog, which belonged to one of them according to what has been narrated. It is said that it was a shepherd's dog that passed by them and accompanied them.

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

My father, may Allah be pleased with him, told me that he heard Abu al-Fadl al-Jawhari on the pulpit of his sermon in the year 469 saying: Whoever loves the people of goodness will attain their blessings. A dog loved the people of virtue and accompanied them, and Allah, the Exalted, mentioned it in His clear revelation. It is said that it was a black dog, and it is said that it was red. A group said: It was a man who cooked for them, as narrated by al-Tabari, who did not name the one who said it. Another group said: It was one of them, and he sat at the entrance of the cave as a lookout for them.

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

So he was named after the animal that was associated with that place among the people, just as the star that follows the constellation of Gemini is called a dog because it is from it like the dog is from man. It is also called the dog of the giant. However, this saying is weakened by the mention of the stretching of the two arms, for they are in common parlance a characteristic of the dog in reality. From it is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "And let none of you stretch his arms in prostration like the stretching of a dog." Abu Umar al-Mutarraz mentioned in the Book of Jewels that it was recited: "And their dog was stretching its arms." It is possible that by "the dog" he meant this man, according to what has been narrated; for the stretching of the arms and the lying flat on the ground with the lifting of the face to look is the posture of a person hiding himself. It is also possible that by "the dog" he meant the dog, and His saying, the Exalted: "stretching its arms" employs the active participle and means moving forward, for it is a narration and not intended to inform about the action of the dog.

'And the 'wasid' is the threshold that is for the door of the cave, or its place where it is not. Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, and Ibn Jubair said: 'wasid' is the courtyard. Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with him - also said: 'wasid' is the door. Ibn Jubair also said: 'wasid' is the dust. The first saying is more correct. The closed door is the one that is locked, meaning: he has stopped at his 'wasid.'

Then Allah, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned what surrounded them of terror and what encompassed them of awe. He read: 'If it had appeared' with a kasra on the waw, the majority of the reciters. Al-Amash and Ibn Wathab read: 'If it had appeared' with a damma on it. This has also been mentioned from Nafi', Shaiba, and Abu Ja'far. Ibn Kathir, Nafi', and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them - and the people of Mecca and Medina read: 'It would have been filled' with a strong lam for emphasis, meaning: it was filled and then (p-583) it was filled. The others read: 'It would have been filled' with a light lam, and the lightening is more famous in the language. The heavy reading has come in the saying of the poet Al-Mukhabbal Al-Sa'di:

When the Numan struck the people while in ihram, He was filled with the chains of Ka'b ibn Awf.

A group said: This terror surrounded them due to the length of their hair and their nails, as mentioned by Al-Mahdawi and Al-Zajjaj. This saying is far-fetched. If their condition were like this, they would not have said: 'We remained a day or part of a day' [Al-Kahf: 19]. The correct matter regarding them is that Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, preserved for them the state they were in so that it would be a sign for them and for others. Their clothing did not wear out, nor did their appearance change, and the one who rose to the city did not deny anything except the landmarks of the land and the buildings. If there had been a condition in himself that he denied, it would have been more significant for him, and this has been narrated.

The majority read: 'terror' with the 'ayn being silent. Abu Ja'far and 'Isa read: 'terror' with a damma on it. Abu Hatim said: They are two languages.