وَكَذٰلِكَ بَعَثناهُم لِيَتَساءَلوا بَينَهُم ۚ قالَ قائِلٌ مِنهُم كَم لَبِثتُم ۖ قالوا لَبِثنا يَومًا أَو بَعضَ يَومٍ ۚ قالوا رَبُّكُم أَعلَمُ بِما لَبِثتُم فَابعَثوا أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُم هٰذِهِ إِلَى المَدينَةِ فَليَنظُر أَيُّها أَزكىٰ طَعامًا فَليَأتِكُم بِرِزقٍ مِنهُ وَليَتَلَطَّف وَلا يُشعِرَنَّ بِكُم أَحَدًا
So it was that We roused them [from sleep] so that they might question one another. One of them said: ‘How long have you stayed [here]?’ They said: ‘We have stayed a day, or part of a day.’ They said: ‘Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed. Send one of you to the city with this money of yours. Let him observe which of them has the purest food, and bring you provisions from there. Let him be attentive, and let him not make anyone aware of you.
EXEGESIS
The expression kadhālika literally means ‘in this way’ and should be referring to how the youths were kept alive in the cave for centuries. In other words, just like God managed to keep them alive for so long, He also roused them from that sleep.
The word baʿatha means to cause something to rise or move (ithārah) or to direct it (tawjīh), or to set into motion that which is immobile. It is used in two different meanings here. The first, baʿathnāhum (We roused them) refers to waking them up from their slumber, and as we noted earlier, it is often used in the Quran when speaking about resurrection. The second, fabʿathū (send) means send someone to perform an intended task, like God sending Muhammad (s) as His Prophet: It is He who sent (baʿatha) to the unlettered [people] an apostle from among themselves (62:2). Both meanings are highly entwined in the symbolism of this verse, which alludes to both the resurrection and to the People of the Cave being a sign sent by God, as shall be discussed below.
Tasāʾalū (question one another) comes from suʾāl meaning to ask. It is the action of people asking each other about something, or discussing a matter, usually something important.
Wariq (money) comes from waraq, which means the leaf on a tree. Wariq is used for dirhams, meaning silver coins.
The word ayyuhā (which of them) actually intends ayyu ahlihā (which of its people, that is, the people of the town) and the word ahl has been omitted, like in the verse, Ask [the people of] the town (12:82).
Azkā (purest): some have said that who has the purest food here means who has best and highest quality food. Others have said it means who has the most ritually and religiously pure food, meaning that food which is permissible. This is because the idolaters used to sacrifice animals to the idols. This latter meaning is more appropriate since as we mentioned in previous verses the emperor had ordered that all must make sacrifice to the Roman gods, and this was probably celebrated in the city as some kind of festival where everyone participated. The reason why the youths fled the city was because they refused to participate in that ritual and sacrifice. At least part of the sacrificial meat must then have made its way to the markets. The concern of the youths then was that they should not buy from this meat as they wanted nothing to do with it and thus instructed the one tasked with buying food to make sure to ask the seller about the origin of the food; You are prohibited carrion, blood, the flesh of swine, and what has been offered to other than Allah (5:3).
In the expression bi-rizqin minhu (provisions from there) the suffix hu should be referring to purest food. So the statement would mean: let him bring you a provision from that purest food which he finds in the city.
Yatalaṭṭaf (let him be attentive) comes from luṭf, which means to be extremely careful in one’s movements and behaviour, here in order that no one in the city should come to know who he is. Other have argued that it means to act with kindness (luṭf) with the people whilst there, so as not to lead to any sort of argument which might bring undue attention to him and cause him to be discovered.
It could also be noted that some have said the fāʾ in yatalaṭṭaf is the exact midpoint of the Quran when counting its characters.
EXPOSITION
The verse describes the first moments and initial conversation of the People of the Cave after they wake. This is related both in order to show that the Prophet had been given detailed knowledge of the story by God, but also because it ties in deeply with the main theme of the surah. In fact, looking at the story overall, we notice that pretty much everything we are told of it relates to one of these two factors.
So it was that We roused them [from sleep] so that they might question one another: we are told here one of the reasons for putting them to sleep. God wished that they should wake and question one another on how long they slept. Of course, once they discovered how long they slept they would realise the power of God and how He had answered their prayer. They would witness first-hand how God would make the truth overcome falsehood. This would increase them in faith and certainty.
Another possibility is that the li in li-yatasāʾalū (so that they might question one another) is lām al-ʿāqibah, meaning that as a result of being roused from their sleep they began to ask each other, like in the verse, that he might be (li-yakūna) to them an enemy and a cause of grief (28:8).
Being woken from sleep is very symbolic. The awakening of the youths was both physical and spiritual. When they awoke their eyes were opened and they understood with clarity the reality of God’s promise. In this way the sleep of death can be an awakening too, as we read in the saying from Imam Ali (a): ‘People are asleep and when they die, they awake.’ By the blessing and guidance of God, the believers come to realise this reality while they can still make use of it and benefit from it.
One of them said: ‘How long have you stayed [here]’: upon waking, one of them must have felt the heaviness of the sleep he just woke from, and could feel that this had been no short nap, so he enquired as to how long they had slept. As we mentioned, this questioning is also very symbolic and brings to mind the questioning of people on the Day of Judgement when they are roused from their slumber and rise from their graves, they too assume that they had only slept a brief while: ‘How many years did you remain on earth?’ They will say: ‘We remained for a day, or part of a day; yet ask those who keep the count’ (23:112-113); They will whisper to one another: ‘You have stayed only for ten [days].’ We know best what they will say, when the best of them in conduct will say: ‘You stayed only a day!’ (20:103-104).
They said: ‘We have stayed a day, or part of a day’: that they thought this suggests that when they awoke the sun was lower in the sky than the time that they had slept, which would have led some of them to guess that they had slept for a part of a day. However, we can imagine that their bodies felt very lethargic and listless, so some of them guessed that their sleep must have been for more than a few hours, and posited that they had slept over the night and well into the next day, thus sleeping for a whole day.
We should also presume that it was approximately the same season as a distinct change in season would have immediately been noticed.
Another indicator that they had slept a long time was that they must have felt very hungry, which led some of them to call for an end to the seemingly pointless discussion and demand that they pay attention to the more pressing matter of food.
They said: ‘Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed’: this was said by some of them that had not given any opinion as to how long they slept, as evidenced by the expression you have stayed instead of ‘we have stayed’. There is also a lesson here; in pointless debates it is best to say that ‘God knows best’ and leave the matter at that. Especially considering they were hungry and they had more pressing matters to attend to than debating how many hours they had slept.
Some have said this statement means that through other indicators or perhaps inspiration (ilhām) they realised that they had slept for a very long time. It is only logical to assume that if the environment around the cave had undergone some changes, such as changes in the surrounding trees and rocks, this would have hinted that something was off, and perhaps a sensation crept over some of them that there had been something abnormal about the length of their sleep, yet no one could have dared guess the specifics. Without a doubt, the following decision to send someone to the city to buy food incognito tells us that they had no certainty about the amount of time that they slept and the assumption was that they were still wanted men in the city. Any thoughts they had about the duration of their sleep was simply a sensation and was overcome by their more practical needs.
In any case, the statement relays a significant lesson about the attitude a believer should have. He should never be boastful of his own knowledge, thinking he has complete knowledge of things. He submits himself, affirming that all knowledge is with his Lord, and that what limited amount he possesses of it is from God: They said: ‘Immaculate are You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us’ (2:32). All this ties in directly to the main theme of the surah. As was discussed earlier, it is heavy in symbolism, and the journey of man from ignorance to knowledge is like that of one who awakes from slumber.
Send one of you: generally the reports mention the name of the young man sent to the city as Iamelichos. The fact that they had taken no provisions and that it was feasible for one of them to make a trip to the city, buy food, and return in time all indicates that the cave they were staying in was not too far from the city. For a discussion on which city they were in, see the commentary on verse 9.
To the city with this money of yours: there is a good reason why this money is mentioned specifically here, as it would play a significant role in their story. The money they had bore the name of the emperor of their time, probably Decius. This would lead to the discovery and realisation that the youths had spent far longer than just a day in the cave. This is discussed further in the next verse.
We may also surmise that they had not taken any money with them and they just found a coin in their pockets to which they referred as this money of yours.
Let him observe which of them has the purest food, and bring you provisions from there: this is another testament to their piety. Despite being extremely hungry when they woke up, they were still concerned with eating pure and permissible food and were not willing to eat just anything. Indeed, there is a lesson here for the modern audience too, who as a rule are concerned with the hygiene of their food, but sometimes forget to make sure it is food that is spiritually pure also: food that is legitimate, permissible, lawfully obtained, and ethically sourced. A person should always make sure their provision is lawful.
Let him be attentive, and let him not make anyone aware of you: the youths did not know that by the time they woke up the Roman Empire had been split and the Byzantines (or the Holy Roman Empire as it was called) had adopted Christianity as their official religion. They assumed that whoever of them went to the city should travel incognito and not make anyone aware of you, since as far as they knew they were wanted men in the city and being caught would have led to dire consequences. Additionally, even though while buying the food he should enquire if it had been sacrificed to the idols, he should do so in a subtle way, so as not to reveal his faith or that he is a Christian.
Another motive to go to the city may have been to gather information to know what the people were saying about them and their actions, whether it had the desired effect, and to then plan their next move based on that information.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Ṭabrisī claims that the city in which they lived was mostly occupied by Magians, but ‘some of them were believers’ who hid their faith, and when they instructed one of them to buy the purest food they meant he should buy it from one of those believers. This claim is contrary to all the other evidence that tells us that the People of the Cave were living in a Roman province and were Christians.
It has been attributed to ʿIkramah that azkā could mean akthar, meaning having the most food. Probably, this is meant to convey that they were very hungry, but it is not a very good usage of the term azkā, especially given the context of the statement, Let him observe which of them has …
As discussed in the commentary on verse 9, some of the Christian sources claim that the door of the cave was sealed and then a shepherd happened upon the cave and removed the rocks sealing the cave to use it for his sheep and the following day the sleepers awoke. This is problematic as the Quranic narrative does not fit with the cave being sealed. Also, the Christian narrative has somewhat of a gap here, as the shepherd who unseals them is not mentioned again in any way and there is no attempt made to explain the situation, as surely he would have been left wondering why a long sealed cave is inhabited by several sleeping people. This is mentioned by some Muslim writers as well. The story is reported from Wahab ibn Munabbih, who would most certainly have been using non-Muslim sources for this account. One of the accounts given by Ṭabarī tries somewhat to reconcile it with the Quranic narrative. It claims that once the shepherd and his helpers removed the rocks and saw the sleepers they fled in fear, and after that the sleepers awoke. The problem with this is that surely if the workers abandoned a partially unsealed cave, the remnants of the dig site, partial walls, and labour activity would have immediately been noticed by the sleepers and they would not have questioned how long they had slept.
It has been attributed to Ibn Abbas that he used this verse as proof that the number of the People of the Cave was at least seven. This is because when the Quran relays their discussion about how long they slept it uses the word qālū twice and qāla once. Qālū is the plural form of the verb ‘said’ and is used for a group of three or more. Qāla is the singular. This would then add up to at least seven. This is fine, but requires the assumption that the one asking the question of how long they slept is not included in the discussion alluded to by the qālū that follows; although that does seem to be the apparent purport. Additionally, many consider the second qālū to be the words of the group’s leader. In this case the term qālū is used even though it is one person doing the talking.
[1] Tibyan, 7/23; Baghawi, 3/184.
[2] Raghib, p. 132.
[3] Qurtubi, 10/374.
[4] See the commentary on verse 12.
[5] Raghib, p. 865.
[6] Tibyan, 7/23.
[7] Zamakhshari, 2/710.
[8] Tibyan, 7/24; Tabari, 15/148; Thalabi, 6/161; Mizan, 13/260.
[9] Tibyan, 7/24; Tabari, 15/148; Thalabi, 6/161; Qurtubi, 10/375.
[10] Tantawi, 8/491; Mizan, 13/260.
[11] Nemuneh, 12/374; Tantawi, 8/491. See also Raghib, p. 740.
[12] Mizan, 13/261.
[13] Ibn Kathir, 1/8.
[14] Zamakhshari, 2/710; Razi, 21/445; Mizan, 13/257. In this came the li is for ghāyah (purpose).
[15] Also known as lām ṣayrūrah.
[16] Like in the verse, that he might be (li-yakūna) to them an enemy and a cause of grief (28:8). Qurtubi, 10/374; Muhit, 7/155.
[17] Sharīf al-Raḍī, Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Aʾimmah, p. 112; Ibn Abi al-Hadid, 1/45; Bihar, 4/43, 6/277; Mizan, 13/257. This has also been attributed to the Prophet, Bihar, 50/134. Similarly, it has been attributed to some other people as well, such as Sufyān al-Thawrī. See Abū Nuʿaym Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ wa Ṭabaqāt al-Aṣfiyāʾ, 7/52. It is likely a saying that has been then attributed to the Infallibles.
[18] Mizan, 13/258.
[19] Mizan, 13/259; Alusi, 8/218.
[20] Zamakhshari, 2/710.
[21] Mudarrisi, 6/382.
[22] Mizan, 13/260.
[23] Mudarrisi, 6/382.
[24] Tabari, 15/144; Thalabi, 6/161; Baghawi, 3/185; Muhit, 7/156.
[25] Tabrisi, 6/706; Tabari, 15/144.
[26] See the commentary on verse 9 for more.
[27] Nemuneh, 12/375.
[28] Tabrisi, 6/706.
[29] Tibyan, 7/24; Tabrisi, 6/706; Tabari, 15/148. It is said this meaning is possible because zakāh (charity in this context) entails in it growth and multiplication (ziyādah).
[30] See also the criticism of Tabari, 15/148.
[31] Such as Tabari, 15/142-144.
[32] Tantawi, 8/490. See also Mizan, 13/260.
[33] Nemuneh, 12/374.