The Cave (Al-Kahf)
In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace
Praise be to Allah, Who hath sent to His Servant the Book, and hath allowed therein no Crookedness: 1 an unerringly Straight Book, meant to warn of a stern punishment from Allah, and to proclaim, to those who believe and work righteous deeds, the tiding that theirs shall be a good reward 2 and they will live for ever therein. 3 And to warn those who say: Allah hath chosen a son, 4 No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. Mighty is the word that comes out of their mouths [i.e. He begot (took) sons and daughters]. They utter nothing but a lie. 5 Then perhaps you would kill yourself through grief over them, [O Muhammad], if they do not believe in this message, [and] out of sorrow. 6 We have caused earthly things to seem attractive so that We can see who will excel in good deeds. 7 In the ultimate, We shall reduce all that is on the earth to a barren plain. 8 Do you think that the people of the Cave and the Inscription were one of Our wondrous signs? 9 When the youth sought refuge in the cave they prayed "Lord, grant us mercy and help us to get out of this trouble in a righteous way". 10 So We cast [a cover of sleep] over their ears within the cave for a number of years. 11 and then We awakened 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. 12