The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Praise belongs to Allah who has sent down the Book to His worshiper (Prophet Muhammad) and has not made any crookedness in it, 1 [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 2 wherein they shall remain forever, 3 and to warn those who say, 'God has taken to Himself a son'; 4 They have no knowledge of this, as their fathers did not have. How terrible are the words they utter! They speak nothing but lies. 5 Possibly you may risk your life by grieving (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him) for them if they do not believe in this narration. 6 We have indeed placed all that is on the earth as its adornment in order that We may test them, who among them has the best deeds. 7 And most surely We will make what is on it bare ground without herbage. 8 [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? 9 Recall what time the youths betook themselves to the cave, then said: our Lord! vouchsafe unto us mercy from before Thee, and prepare for us in our affair a right course. 10 We sealed off their ears in the cave for a number of years, 11 Then We roused them, in order to test which of the two parties was best at calculating the term of years they had tarried! 12