وَتَرَى الشَّمسَ إِذا طَلَعَت تَزاوَرُ عَن كَهفِهِم ذاتَ اليَمينِ وَإِذا غَرَبَت تَقرِضُهُم ذاتَ الشِّمالِ وَهُم في فَجوَةٍ مِنهُ ۚ ذٰلِكَ مِن آياتِ اللَّهِ ۗ مَن يَهدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ المُهتَدِ ۖ وَمَن يُضلِل فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُرشِدًا
You [may] see the sun, when it rises, slanting toward the right of their cave, and, when it sets, cut across them towards the left, while they are in a cavern within it. That is one of Allah’s signs. Whomever Allah guides is rightly guided, and whomever He leads astray, you will never find for him any guardian or guide.
EXEGESIS
Tazāwaru (slanting) means to incline (tamīlu) towards something. From this comes the usage of false (zūr) testimony (25:72), as it is the act of inclining away from truth to falsehood. It can also have the meaning of crookedness (ʿawaj) and obstacle (ṣadd), in both cases the outcome is that it is not shining directly on them.
In the expression dhāt al-yamīn (toward the right), the word dhāt is feminine (as opposed to the masculine dhū), because it is standing in place of jihah (direction), that is ‘the right direction’, or toward the right.
Taqriḍu (cut across) can have the meaning of cut – such as miqrāḍ, which is used for scissors – so in this sense it moves past them, cutting across. This meaning is quite appropriate for the description of the setting sun, as its light then cuts off once it sets.
It can also come from the meaning of qarḍ al-darāhim (borrowing dirhams), that is, it shines on them briefly, then takes away what it has given.
Both of the abovementioned could be thought of as having the meaning of leaving (taraka), so that it shines on them and then leaves them.
The sum of all of this is that the sun did not shine too brightly on them, scorching them in the cave, while of course at the same time telling us that they were not completely in the dark.
Fajwah (cavern) is an expansive piece of land. A portion of an expansive cave is called a fajwah when one standing at the entrance will not be able to see that portion.
Murshid (guide) comes from rushd, which, as we mentioned in verse 10, means to achieve the desired and intended path. As such, rushd is the opposite of ghayy, and means guidance. Murshid is the one who guides to rushd.
EXPOSITION
This verse and the next describe the state of the cave and the sleepers therein. There is an omission in the story here, as God does not mention how they travelled to the cave and fell asleep, but rather immediately transitions to these descriptions (although them falling asleep was mentioned previously in verse 11, and is mentioned again in verse 25).
You [may] see the sun, when it rises, slanting toward the right of their cave, and, when it sets, cut across them towards the left: You … see here means that if you were there you would have been able to see. This could be construed as meaning that the descriptions of the movement of the sun are related from the vantage of one looking into the cave from the outside (and thus the cave should be facing south), but this is not conclusive.
It also bears to keep in mind that whilst the address You … see should be to Prophet Muhammad (s), it is not addressed to him in his capacity as a prophet, but simply due to him being one who listens to the verses, and thus the address encompasses all the readers of the Quran.
The description of the sun wishes to convey that they were not exposed to direct sunlight, so that it would scorch their skin or destroy their clothing. Others have argued that if the sun did not shine on them at all the air in the cave would have gotten dank and unhygienic. That is, when it rises it shines on them briefly before rising to its zenith, at which point its rays no longer shine on them, and as it gradually sets, it once again shines on them. All of this also conveys that the mouth of the cave was neither facing east nor west, as it shone on them at both sunset and sunrise.
There is also a reminder here of the balanced harmony which God has placed in nature, which allows man to benefit from His creation. Too much sunlight is harmful for man, as is a deficient amount of it.
Finally, and perhaps the most important reason why this is mentioned, is that it is part of God giving the ‘true account’ of the story of the People of the Cave. According to the Christian narratives, the People of the Cave were sealed up in their place of dwelling by the orders of the emperor, whilst here God declares that sunshine reaches within the cave, meaning that they were not sealed up as some thought. This is further clarified in the next verse. In this way God is demonstrating that His Prophet not only has the knowledge of the story that he was being asked about, but that his knowledge is more accurate, correct, and true, because God has sent down the book to His servant and it is thus free from all crookedness (verse 1).
It should be noted that some have understood this description to be before the cave was sealed up, but this is highly unlikely because of the expression You … see, as well as the descriptions of the next verse, which all clarify that it was possible to stumble upon that cave and see the sleepers.
For some discussion on the symbolism of the sun and its movements see the commentary on verse 91.
While they are in a cavern within it: we understand from this that the cave was expansive enough to include a portion on which the sun would not shine directly, and that is the portion in which the youths slept. It also means that they were not cramped or uncomfortable in there, and that the cave was not miniscule. It also means that they would not have been visible to someone who was merely going by or up to the entrance of the cave.
That is one of Allah’s signs: it bears remembering that when they went to the cave, they had no idea they would remain in it for three centuries. As such, all these considerations about the nature of the cave were not things which they would have planned for and taken into account. However, God had a plan and had taken all of that into account. The fact that God ordained such a condition for them – with the sun shining on them indirectly, and them being situated in a sheltered section of the cave – is one of His signs, that He has a plan for everything and cares for all His servants, and is capable of all things.
Another way of looking at this statement is through the lens of the surah’s main theme, the ‘true account’. The word āyāt (signs) can be understood as verses of the Quran. God is declaring that what was said regarding the shining of the sun on the People of the Cave was His word and the ultimate truth of the matter, like in the verse, That is Jesus, son of Mary, the true word about which they are in doubt (19:34) – it is worth noting that this statement follows the story of Prophet Jesus (a), which – like this verse in Sūrat al-Kahf – contradicts the Christian narrative, who do not accept that Jesus (a) could speak as a newborn, and who similarly mistakenly believed the People of the Cave were sealed inside it.
Whomever Allah guides is rightly guided, and whomever He leads astray, you will never find for him any guardian or guide: this may refer to Prophet Muhammad (s) whom God guided towards the ‘true account’ of the story of the People of the Cave, whilst others did not have any guide on that matter and thus presented baseless claims.
If it is understood as a general statement, then it is a nod to what was discussed earlier, in verses 6-7, and an explicit reminder that guidance and misguidance are – like all things – under the command of God. How shall Allah guide a people who have disbelieved after their faith (3:86), and Allah does not guide the wrongdoing lot (9:19), and other such verses clarify that God guides those who deserve to be guided, that is, those who wish to be guided and desire righteousness. As stated in the beginning of the surah, the Quran itself is the qayyim, the upright warning that guides the pious and God-wary, not the profligate and wicked.
As always, these kinds of verses should not be understood as denying man’s free will and choice, but rather as emphasising that all things are dependent on God, including guidance.
The People of the Cave were a sign from God, one amongst His many signs. The signs of God are there to guide a person to the right path, and they were understood by the youths who chose to follow God’s path. That is the power of the ‘true account’ and its intended manifestation; to hear the true word and then to accept it is to be rightly guided. To turn away from it is to choose wilful ignorance and misguidance.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
The import of the description of the sun’s movement has caused disagreement amongst the scholars, with some understanding it to mean that the mouth of the cave faced towards the Plough (Big Dipper), or simply north. This understanding is correct if we assume the description to be from the perspective of one looking out from inside the cave. In this case, when the sun rises it would be to the east and on their right.
Obviously if we assume the description to be of one looking into the cave from the outside, then this would be reversed and the cave should be facing south, and Tabatabai and some others have argued that this is the direction the cave faced.
Ibn Kathīr, a Damascene, argues that the cave cannot be facing towards the qibla (south from where he is located) because then no sun would enter into it, neither at sunrise or sunset. This is not entirely true, and particularly in winter a south-facing cave would get more sunlight, which only gets truer the higher we move up in latitude.
Another opinion states that the description of the sun’s rays in the verse is actually of another miracle, and that God turned away the rays in a miraculous fashion. The proponents of this view have argued that the statement That is one of Allah’s signs is evidence of this.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Consider the work of God: Who is able to make straight what He has made crooked?
[1] Tibyan, 7/20; Tabari, 15/139; Baghawi, 6/159; Mizan, 13/254; Alusi, 8/212.
[2] Tantawi, 8/485.
[3] Tabari, 15/139.
[4] Razi, 21/443.
[5] Tibyan, 7/20; Tabari, 15/140; Mizan, 13/254.
[6] Nemuneh, 12/368.
[7] Tibyan, 7/20; Muhit, 7/152. Abū Ḥayyān criticises this opinion, saying it should be tuqriḍu for this meaning to be valid.
[8] Tibyan, 7/20; Tabari, 15/140; Baghawi, 6/159.
[9] Tibyan, 7/20.
[10] Qurtubi, 10/369; Shawkani, 3/326; Mizan, 13/254.
[11] Tibyan, 7/20.
[12] Alusi, 8/202.
[13] Raghib, p. 354; Mizan, 13/247.
[14] Tabrisi, 6/703.
[15] Mizan, 13/254.
[16] Tabrisi, 6/703; Tabari, 15/139-140; Nemuneh, 12/368.
[17] Muhit, 7/152.
[18] Mudarrisi, 6/378.
[19] See the commentary on verse 9.
[20] Ibn Kathir, 5/129.
[21] See the Introduction.
[22] Alusi, 8/213.
[23] Mizan, 13/255.
[24] Tabari, 15/140-141.
[25] Fadlallah, 14/291-292.
[26] Qurtubi, 10/369; Muhit, 7/152.
[27] Tabrisi, 6/703; Razi, 21/443; Ibn Kathir, 5/129; Nemuneh, 12/368.
[28] Mizan, 13/255; Furqan, 18/38.
[29] Ibn Kathir, 18/17.
[30] Razi, 21/443; Tantawi, 8/486-487.
[31] Ecclesiastes 7:13.