Surah Al-Kahf
Why Surah Al-Kahf?
The Holy Quran is full of a lot of stories about people and nations lived before us. Allah mentioned their stories in the Quran in order to give us a chance to study it and learn from it. Anyone who studies the Holy Quran and look deeply into its meanings, will able to avoid the falls of the old nations and the mistakes of other people. Allah is great and he sent us the Quran to teach and guide all human beings to the right path. But also to know that we need respect and honesty in our lives. Today we will discuss the story of the cave people that was mentioned in Surah Al-Kahf.
Some scientists said that Allah put Surah Al-Kahf in the Quran because the people of Quraysh tripe sent a number of questions to a Jewish man. So he can ask them to the Prophet Mohamed peace be upon him. With this way he can make sure if he is a true Prophet or he is lying. The people of Quraysh wanted to ask the Prophet Mohamed about the following:
- People in the past who went away and no one knew anything about them.
- A man who will travel around the earth.
- The soul and its secrets.
As for the people in the past who went away, they are the cave people. While the man who will travel around the earth is “Zi Al Karnyn” and his story was mentioned in Surah Al-Kahf too. Regarding the soul, it is full of secrets and unknown issues. Some of these issues were mentioned in the Quran, while other things Allah kept them from us.
The cave people (Ahl Al Kahf)
Now let’s talk about the story of the cave people (Ahl Al Kahf). In a time that we do not know and in a place that we can not determine. There was a town full of tyrants and people who don’t worship the creator of the world. The people of this town used to worship things that can’t have anything to do with god. They knew that such things are not truce gods. But the people of the town used to defend their gods against anyone who doubt it. So they kept punishing or torturing anyone who says that these are not gods.
Amid this darkness, there was a group of pure young men who refused to kneel for anyone but Allah. Because they used their minds and knew that people who worship statues made of wood or stones. And those who worship the moon or the sun, can never be right and the creator of the world is Allah and only He deserve to be worshiped.
These young men were not Prophets or messengers from the creator. But their souls refused to follow what is wrong. They decided to rescue themselves and their pure hearts through immigrating to an isolated cave with their dog. They wanted to dedicate the rest of their lives for building and worshiping the true god.
Sleep for Three hundred and nine years
The men rested on the ground, after putting their dog on the entrance of the cave to guard them but Allah sent his miracle. Allah made the young men sleep for Three hundred and nine years. And they were moving on their both sides while sleeping so that their bodies won’t get hurt. When they woke up one of them asked “how long did we sleep?” and one of them said “few hours or a day”.
When the cave people woke up, they sent one of them to buy food and come back without being seen by the people of the town. They did this in order to avoid being hurt by the people of the town. When the young man went out of the cave towards the town, he was shocked to see a different town with different places and new people. The people of the town managed to recognize the pure young man from the cave. Because of his clothes and the old money he was holding to buy food. The man knew that the evil king who was ruling the town died and a new good king replaced him. The people of the town knew that Allah is the creator of everything and they stopped worshiping the old fake gods.
People of the town
Its also mentioned in Surah Al-Kahf that the people of the town were very pleased to know the story of the cave people. Because they were the first to know the true god and they had great faith that pushed them to abandon the evil town and go to an isolated cave to have a new beginning. When they knew the story of the young men, the people of the town became sure that Allah is capable of reviving the dead. As he revived the faithful friends after three hundred and nine years. The young men died again, but this time they died forever and some of the people of the town decided to construct a building in front of the cave, while others wanted to build a Mosque. In the end a Mosque was built.
How many people?
There is information that no one knew about the cave people, as no one knows how many they were. In surah Al-Kahf its mentioned that they were three and their dog is the fourth. Some say five and their dog is the sixth. Others say seven and their dog is the seventh. Also no one knows when they lived. Before Jesus or after him. And no one knew whether they believed in Allah because of someone who guided them or they just knew it through their minds and their hearts.
It is not important how many they were or when they lived. But the most important idea is that amid all the darkness and evil in our world, we still can keep our pure hearts and maintain our clean souls. Dear Young men and women, please give up some of the things you are interested in, if it keeps you away from your faith and from Allah. Always know that you always have a chance to remain on the right way. Even if all the people around you are wrong.