The Companions of the Cave

Stories, parables & myths have always played an important part in human history and they play a prominent role in the Qur'an. They they can give us insights & perspectives in a way that can be easily understood and related to. They attract our attention by amusing or surprising us and they act as a common factor for reference and binding our identity and shared human experience. One such story is the "Companions of the Cave" which is the subject of today's Khutbah.

While I was looking up the story I was reminded that the Kharijites hated such stories and for example wanted to remove the whole of Sura Yusuf claiming it was frivolous and unworthy to be the Word of God. It is striking how similar they were to our present day fanatics such as ISIS. The Kharijites were a literalist, puritanical sect who turned Islam into a harsh set of strict rules and labelled anyone who did not fit their very narrow definition an apostate and went about murdering and assassinating other Muslims.

This included the then Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib who they assassinated as he led prayers in the mosque in Kufa. Like today's fanatics they sought to destroy anything they considered to be idolatrous and corrupt. Ibn Kathir said of them:

“If the Kharijites ever gained power, they would corrupt the entire land from Iraq to Syria. They would not leave a boy or a girl or a man or a woman, for in their view the people have become so corrupt that they cannot be reformed except by mass killing.”

That could almost be a description of ISIS today. Such people claim to have the strongest faith in God, yet in fact their faith is so shallow they cannot see how such stories act as a vehicle to convey deeper lessons and meanings.

The story of the "Companions of the Cave" is a good example. It is related in Suratul-Kahf which is a Sura that contains several interesting stories. It is sunnah to recite Surah Al Kahf every Friday. The stories in it includes are; the Companions of the Cave. The parable of the two men who each have a garden. The story of Adam is briefly alluded to and Iblis is described as "one of the Jinn" - differing from the view of Christianity as a fallen angel. Then the story of Musa and Khidr, and finally the story of Thul Qarnayn - the one with "Two horns."

The Sura then ends with two beautiful verses I learnt by heart as a young man and I still find them incredibly enchanting and moving. The translation is:

"Say: If the ocean were ink (wherewith to write out) the words of my Lord, sooner would the ocean be exhausted than would the words of my Lord, even if we added another ocean like it, for its aid." Say: "I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the inspiration has come to me, that your God is one God: whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord, admit no one as partner."

If we look at the story of the Companions of the Cave, itself, we see that this story can be found in pre-Islamic Christian sources. There they treat the sleepers as Christians living under Roman persecution. However it is likely the story predates Christianity and may derive from an earlier Greek source. Hadith appears to suggests the story was being preserved by the Jews, in which case it would seem unlikely they were Christians. The occasion of the revelation of this story is related in Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasul Allah":

“…they sent him and ʿUqba b. Abu Muʿayt to the Jewish rabbis in Medina and said to them, ‘Ask them about Muhammad; describe him to them and tell them what he says, for they are the first people of the scriptures and have knowledge which we do not possess about the prophets.’ They carried out their instructions, and said to the rabbis, ‘You are the people of the Taurat, and we have come to you so that you can tell us how to deal with this tribesman of ours.’ The rabbis said, ‘Ask him about three things of which we will instruct you; if he gives you the right answer then he is an authentic prophet, but if he does not, then the man is a rogue, so form your own opinion about him. Ask him what happened to the young men who disappeared in ancient days, for they have a marvellous story. Ask him about the mighty traveller who reached the confines of both East and West. Ask him what the spirit is. If he can give you the answer, then follow him, for he is a prophet. If he cannot, then he is a forger and treat him as you will.’ The two men returned to Quraysh at Mecca and told them that they had a decisive way of dealing with Muhammad, and 121 they told them about the three questions. They came to the apostle and called upon him to answer these questions. He said to them, ‘I will give you your answer tomorrow,’ but he did not say, ‘if God will.’ So they went away; and the apostle, so they say, waited for fifteen days without a revelation from God on the matter, nor did Gabriel come to him, so that the people of Mecca began to spread evil reports, saying, ‘Muhammad promised us an answer on the morrow, and today is the fifteenth day we have remained without an answer.’ This delay caused the apostle great sorrow, until Gabriel brought him the Chapter of The Cave, in which he reproaches him for his sadness, and told him the answers of their questions, the youths, the mighty traveller, and the spirit.”

The story became very popular and was well-known in the area at the time the Qur'an was revealed. The Qur'anic version differs in some ways - and generally avoids giving details which is the usual style of the Qur'an to refer to past stories as parables and lessons. These are the verses as they appear in the Qur'an:

Or, do you think that the Companions of the Cave and the Inscription were of Our wonderful signs?

When the youths sought refuge in the cave, they said: Our Lord! grant us mercy from Thee, and provide for us a right course of action in our affair.

So We draw (a veil) over their ears, for a number of years, in the Cave

Then We roused them, in order We might know which of the two parties would best calculate the time that they had tarried.

We relate to you their story with the truth; surely they were youths who believed in their Lord and We increased them in guidance.

And We strengthened their hearts with patience, when they stood up and said: Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth; never shall we call upon any god other than Him: if we did, we should indeed have uttered a terrible thing!

"These our people have taken gods for worship other than Him: why do they not bring forward an authority clear (and convincing) for what they do? Who doth more wrong than such as invent a falsehood against Allah?

So when ye withdraw from them and that which they worship other than Allah, then seek refuge in the Cave; your Lord will spread for you of His mercy and will prepare for you comfort in your plight.

Thou wouldst have seen the sun, when it rose, declining to the right from their Cave, and when it set, turning away from them to the left, while they lay in the open space in the midst of the Cave. Such are among the Signs of Allah: He whom Allah, guides is rightly guided; but he whom Allah leaves to stray,- for him wilt thou find no protector to lead him to the Right Way.

You would have thought they were awake, whilst they were asleep, and We turned them on their right and on their left sides: their dog stretching forth his two fore-legs on the threshold: if thou hadst come up on to them, thou wouldst have certainly turned back from them in flight, and wouldst certainly have been filled with terror of them.

And thus did We rouse them that they might question each other. A speaker among them said: How long have you tarried? They said: We have tarried for a day or a part of a day. (Others) said: Your Lord knows best how long you have tarried. Now send one of you with this silver (coin) of yours to the city, then let him see which of them has purest food, so let him bring you provision from it, and let him behave with gentleness, and by no means make your case known to any one:

"For if they should come upon you, they would stone you or force you to return to their cult, and in that case ye would never attain prosperity."

Thus did We disclosed them (to the people of the city) that they might know that the promise of Allah is true, and that, as for the Hour, there is no doubt concerning it. When (the people of the city) disputed of their case among themselves, they said: Build over them a building; their Lord knoweth best concerning them. Those who won their point said: We verily shall build a place of worship over them.

(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being the sixth,- doubtfully guessing at the unknown; (yet others) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth. Say thou: "My Lord knoweth best their number; It is but few that know their (real case)." Enter not, therefore, into controversies concerning them, except on a matter that is clear, nor consult any of them about (the affair of) the Sleepers.

Nor say of anything, "I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow"-

Without adding, "if Allah wills it!" and call thy Lord to mind when thou forgettest, and say, "I hope that my Lord will guide me ever closer (even) than this to the right road."

So they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, and (some) add nine (more)

Say: "Allah knows best how long they stayed: with Him is (the knowledge of) the secrets of the heavens and the earth: how clearly He sees, how finely He hears (everything)! They have no protector other than Him; nor does He share His Command with any person whatsoever.

What are the lessons we can derive from this story?

The first lesson we can derive from this story is standing up for what you believe in. Opposing and standing up to oppression. Though how the youths dealt with the oppression they faced is interesting. They didn't give in to the king, but neither did they confront the king violently or seek to become martyrs for their cause. Instead they withdrew from the town, they kept themselves away so they would not be forced to act against their will.

Another lesson we learn from this story is that a situation that seems impossible can sometimes change dramatically. Never lose hope. Never despair. You never know what is around the corner.

It also shows us our actions may seem small and hopeless but they can have an enormous impact later on - perhaps when we are no longer around to see the fruits of what we have done. How many great figures throughout history died unrecognised or as paupers yet their deeds eventually had a huge impact on later generations and helped change the course of history.

We should't expect instant results but do good actions for the sake of them being good and right. That others may or may not benefit is not in our hands.

As Mahatma Gandhi said:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

and

"Nothing you do matters - but it matters that you do it."

No-one has to see you remove the obstacle from the road - as the hadith urges us to do. That someone may be saved from having an accident is enough. The right thing should be done not because of fear of punishment nor hope of reward, but because you believe it to be the right thing. We must aspire to be motivated by higher ideals than a stick and a carrot.

This story also reminds me of the hadith:

"Man is asleep and when he dies he awakens"

Just like in our dreams we experience many things that seem to be happening over a long period of time, yet time as we know it doesn't really exist in your dreams - it is an illusion - and in fact takes place in a fraction of a second as you come to consciousness. Likewise the sleepers understanding of time was an illusion they thought they had only slept for a day or part of a day when they had been asleep for 300 years according to time as we experience it in our present reality on earth.

This story also reminds that we should not judge according to the outward appearance but remember that there maybe an inner reality that is hidden from view. The precise details of what particular outward beliefs they professed is not important. The particular faith of the Companions of the Cave is never mentioned in the Qur'an. They are just "believers". It is what is in the heart that matters - not outward appearances and labels.