'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So perhaps you will kill yourself in grief over them if they do not believe in this narration." "Indeed, We have made what is on the earth a decoration for it, that We may test them which of them is best in deed." "And indeed, We will make what is upon it a barren plain." "Or did you think that the companions of the Cave and the Inscription were among Our signs a wonder?" This verse is a consolation for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So perhaps you will kill yourself" is a confirmation and a stopping, meaning a denial against him, that is: do not be like that. And "the one who kills himself" is the one who destroys himself out of grief and sorrow over a matter. From this is the saying of the poet: 'O you who are killing yourself in grief over something that fate has taken from your hands.' He means: 'taken from your hands' and he lightened it. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "over them" is a clear metaphor, as they have turned away and distanced themselves from faith, and turned away from the law, so it is as if they have distanced themselves so much that he is grieving over them in their traces. And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "in this narration," means: in the Qur'an which We are narrating to you. And "in grief" is an accusative of the source. Al-Zajjaj said: grief is the exaggeration in sorrow or anger. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And grief - in this context - is sorrow; because it is for one who does not possess it and is not under the control of grief. If grief were from one who is capable of one who is in his grasp and possession, it would be anger, as His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "But when they angered Us" [Az-Zukhruf: 55], meaning: they made us angry. And if you reflect on this in the speech of the Arabs, it is consistent. And Mundhir ibn Sa'id mentioned it, and Qatadah said here: "in grief": angry, and Mujahid said: "in grief": distressed, and Qatadah also said: sad. And from this word is the saying of Al-A'sha: 'I see a man among you in grief as if he is holding to his sides a hand stained with blood.' He means: sad as if his hand is cut off. And His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Indeed, We have made what is on the earth a decoration for it" is an elaboration in consolation, meaning: do not be concerned with the world and its people, for its matter and their matter is less due to its perishability and disappearance. For indeed, We have made what is on the earth a decoration and a trial and a test. There is a difference of opinion regarding what is meant by it. Ibn Jubayr narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them: He meant men, and this was said by Mujahid. And Ikrimah narrated from Ibn Abbas that the decoration is the caliphs, scholars, and leaders. And a group said: He meant blessings, clothing, fruits, greenery, water, and similar things that have decoration. And the solid mountains and everything that has no decoration in it, like snakes and scorpions, are not included in this. And a group said: He meant everything on the earth, and there is nothing except that it has decoration in terms of its creation, craftsmanship, and perfection. And in the meaning of this verse is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "The world is sweet and green, and indeed Allah is making you successors in it, so look how you act. So fear the world and fear women." And "decoration" is the second object, or an object for the sake of it according to the meaning of "made."

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿We will test them to see which of them is best in deed﴾ means: to test them. In this, there is a warning. Sufyan al-Thawri said: The best of them in deed is the most ascetic in it. Abu Asim al-Asqalani said: The best in deed is the one who abandons it.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: My father, may Allah have mercy on him, used to say: The best of deeds is taking what is right and spending in what is right along with faith, performing the obligatory acts, avoiding the prohibitions, and increasing in what is recommended.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And indeed, We will make what is upon it a barren plain﴾ means: Everything will return to being soil, not adorned with plants and the like. And "the barren plain" refers to the land that has nothing in it of cultivation and adornment; it is the desolate land. This is the state of the land that is flourishing with adornment, and it must have this in the world, piece by piece of the land. Then it will be encompassed by this entirely on the Day of Resurrection. It is said: The land became barren due to drought or locusts or the like when its vegetation went away, and nothing remained in it that is of benefit. There are barren lands. Al-Zajjaj said: The barren plain is the land that does not grow.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is more appropriate to say: the one that did not grow. And "the earth" refers to the surface of the land. It is said: The earth is specifically soil, and it is said: The earth is good land, and it is said: The earth is elevated from the low land.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿Or did you think﴾ the verse. The view of Sibawayh regarding "or" when it comes before an interrogative particle is that it means "but" and the interrogative particle, as if he said: But did you think? It is a shift from the first statement and a question about the second. Some grammarians said: It is like the interrogative particle. As for the meaning of the speech, al-Tabari said: It is a confirmation for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, regarding his account that the companions of the cave came as a wonder, meaning the denial of that against him, that is: Do not magnify that according to what the disbelievers have magnified to you, for indeed the other verses of Allah are greater than their story and more astonishing. This is the saying of Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, and Ibn Ishaq. Al-Zahrawi mentioned that the verse can have another meaning, which is that it could be a question for him: Did he know that the companions of the cave were a wonder? Meaning affirming that they are a wonder, and the benefit of his confirmation is gathering himself to the matter; for his answer would be: I did not think that nor did I know it, and he would be told of their description at that time. The figurative language in this interpretation is in the word "did you think?" So reflect on it.

'The Cave': is the wide opening in the mountain, and what does not widen of it is a cave. Al-Nahhas narrated from Anas ibn Malik that he said: 'The Cave': is the mountain, and this is not well-known in the language. The people differed regarding 'the Raqeem' - Ka'b said: the Raqeem is the village that was opposite 'the Cave'. Ibn Abbas and Qatadah said: 'the Raqeem' is the valley that was opposite it, and it is a valley between Aisban and Aila, below Palestine. Ibn Abbas also said: it is the mountain in which 'the Cave' is. Al-Suddi said: 'the Raqeem' is the rock that was above 'the Cave'. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'the Raqeem' is a written book that was with them, in it is the law that they adhered to from the religion of Jesus, peace be upon him, and it was said: from a religion before Jesus, peace be upon him. Ibn Zayd said: a book whose matter Allah concealed from us and did not explain its story to us. A group said: 'the Raqeem' is a book on a copper tablet. Ibn Abbas said: on two tablets of lead, in which the disbelieving people, from whom the youths fled, wrote their story and made it a record for them, mentioning the time of their loss, how many they were, and the lineage of whom they were. Sa'id ibn Jubair said: 'the Raqeem' is a tablet of stone on which they wrote the story of the companions of 'the Cave' and placed it at the entrance of the Cave.

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

It appears from these narrations that they were a people who recorded events, and that was before the kingdom, which is a beneficial matter. These sayings are derived from writing, and from it: 'a written book' [Al-Mutaffifin: 9], and from it 'Al-Arqam' for its outlining, and from it: 'the Raqmah of the valley', meaning: the place of the flow of water and its bending. It is said: 'You should go to the Raqmah and leave the bank.'

Al-Naqqash said from Qatadah: 'the Raqeem' is their dirhams. Anas ibn Malik and Al-Shabi said: 'the Raqeem' is the dog. Ikrimah said: 'the Raqeem' is the inkpot. A group said: the Raqeem was for other youths in the mountains, and what happened to them happened to the companions of 'the Cave'. It was narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: I do not know what 'the Raqeem' is, is it a book or a building? It was narrated that he said: I know all of the Quran except: Al-Hanan, Al-Awwah, and the Raqeem.