(He hath made it) Straight (and Clear) in order that He may warn (the godless) of a terrible Punishment
from Him, and that He may give Glad Tidings to the Believers who work righteous deeds, that they shall
have a goodly Reward,
No knowledge have they of such a thing, nor had their fathers. It is a grievous thing that issues from
their mouths as a saying what they say is nothing but falsehood!
Behold, the youths betook themselves to the Cave: they said, "Our Lord! bestow on us Mercy from Thyself,
and dispose of our affair for us in the right way!"
We gave strength to their hearts: Behold, they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens
and of the earth: never shall we call upon any god other than Him: if we did, we should indeed have
uttered an enormity!
"These our people have taken for worship gods 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?
"When ye turn away from them and the things they worship other than Allah, betake yourselves to the
Cave: Your Lord will shower His mercies on you and disposes of your affair towards comfort and ease."
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.
Thou wouldst have deemed them 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.
Such (being their state), we raised them up (from sleep), that they might question each other. Said one
of them, "How long have ye stayed (here)?" They said, "We have stayed (perhaps) a day, or part of a
day." (At length) they (all) said, "Allah (alone) knows best how long ye have stayed here.... Now send
ye then one of you with this money of yours to the town: let him find out which is the best food (to be
had) and bring some to you, that (ye may) satisfy your hunger therewith: And let him behave with care
and courtesy, and let him not inform any one about you.
Thus did We make their case known to the people, that they might know that the promise of Allah is true,
and that there can be no doubt about the Hour of Judgment. Behold, they dispute among themselves as to
their affair. (Some) said, "Construct a building over them": Their Lord knows best about them: those who
prevailed over their affair said, "Let us surely 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.
Without adding, "So please Allah!" 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."
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.
And keep thy soul content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face; and
let not thine eyes pass beyond them, seeking the pomp and glitter of this Life; no obey any whose heart
We have permitted to neglect the remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone
beyond all bounds.
Say, "The truth is from your Lord": Let him who will believe, and let him who will, reject (it): for the
wrong-doers We have prepared a Fire whose (smoke and flames), like the walls and roof of a tent, will
hem them in: if they implore relief they will be granted water like melted brass, that will scald their
faces, how dreadful the drink! How uncomfortable a couch to recline on!
For them will be Gardens of Eternity; beneath them rivers will flow; they will be adorned therein with
bracelets of gold, and they will wear green garments of fine silk and heavy brocade: They will recline
therein on raised thrones. How good the recompense! How beautiful a couch to recline on!
Set forth to them the parable of two men: for one of them We provided two gardens of grape-vines and
surrounded them with date palms; in between the two We placed corn-fields.
(Abundant) was the produce this man had : he said to his companion, in the course of a mutual argument:
"more wealth have I than you, and more honour and power in (my following of) men."
"Nor do I deem that the Hour (of Judgment) will (ever) come: Even if I am brought back to my Lord, I
shall surely find (there) something better in exchange."
His companion said to him, in the course of the argument with him: "Dost thou deny Him Who created thee
out of dust, then out of a sperm-drop, then fashioned thee into a man?
"Why didst thou not, as thou wentest into thy garden, say: ‘Allah’s will (be done)! There is
no power but with Allah!’ If thou dost see me less than thee in wealth and sons,
"It may be that my Lord will give me something better than thy garden, and that He will send on thy
garden thunderbolts (by way of reckoning) from heaven, making it (but) slippery sand!-
So his fruits (and enjoyment) were encompassed (with ruin), and he remained twisting and turning his
hands over what he had spent on his property, which had (now) tumbled to pieces to its very foundations,
and he could only say, "Woe is me! Would I had never ascribed partners to my Lord and Cherisher!"
Set forth to them the similitude of the life of this world: It is like the rain which we send down from
the skies: the earth’s vegetation absorbs it, but soon it becomes dry stubble, which the winds do
scatter: it is (only) Allah who prevails over all things.
Wealth and sons are allurements of the life of this world: But the things that endure, good deeds, are
best in the sight of thy Lord, as rewards, and best as (the foundation for) hopes.
One Day We shall remove the mountains, and thou wilt see the earth as a level stretch, and We shall
gather them, all together, nor shall We leave out any one of them.
And they will be marshalled before thy Lord in ranks, (with the announcement), "Now have ye come to Us
(bare) as We created you first: aye, ye thought We shall not fulfil the appointment made to you to meet
(Us)!":
And the Book (of Deeds) will be placed (before you); and thou wilt see the sinful in great terror
because of what is (recorded) therein; they will say, "Ah! woe to us! what a Book is this! It leaves out
nothing small or great, but takes account thereof!" They will find all that they did, placed before
them: And not one will thy Lord treat with injustice.
Behold! We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam": They bowed down except Iblis. He was one of the
Jinns, and he broke the Command of his Lord. Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather
than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrong-doers!
One Day He will say, "Call on those whom ye thought to be My partners," and they will call on them, but
they will not listen to them; and We shall make for them a place of common perdition.
And what is there to keep back men from believing, now that Guidance has come to them, nor from praying
for forgiveness from their Lord, but that (they ask that) the ways of the ancients be repeated with
them, or the Wrath be brought to them face to face?
We only send the apostles to give Glad Tidings and to give warnings: But the unbelievers dispute with
vain argument, in order therewith to weaken the truth, and they treat My Signs as a jest, as also the
fact that they are warned!
But your Lord is Most forgiving, full of Mercy. If He were to call them (at once) to account for what
they have earned, then surely He would have earned, then surely He would have hastened their punishment:
but they have their appointed time, beyond which they will find no refuge.
He replied: "Sawest thou (what happened) when we betook ourselves to the rock? I did indeed forget
(about) the Fish: none but Satan made me forget to tell (you) about it: it took its course through the
sea in a marvellous way!"
Then they proceeded: until, when they came to the inhabitants of a town, they asked them for food, but
they refused them hospitality. They found there a wall on the point of falling down, but he set it up
straight. (Moses) said: "If thou hadst wished, surely thou couldst have exacted some recompense for it!"
He answered: "This is the parting between me and thee: now will I tell thee the interpretation of (those
things) over which thou wast unable to hold patience.
"As for the boat, it belonged to certain men in dire want: they plied on the water: I but wished to
render it unserviceable, for there was after them a certain king who seized on every boat by force.
"As for the youth, his parents were people of Faith, and we feared that he would grieve them by
obstinate rebellion and ingratitude (to Allah and man).
"As for the wall, it belonged to two youths, orphans, in the Town; there was, beneath it, a buried
treasure, to which they were entitled: their father had been a righteous man: So thy Lord desired that
they should attain their age of full strength and get out their treasure - a mercy (and favour) from thy
Lord. I did it not of my own accord. Such is the interpretation of (those things) over which thou wast
unable to hold patience."
Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: Near it he
found a People: We said: "O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them
with kindness."
He said: "Whoever doth wrong, him shall we punish; then shall he be sent back to his Lord; and He will
punish him with a punishment unheard-of (before).
They said: "O Zul-qarnain! the Gog and Magog (People) do great mischief on earth: shall we then render
thee tribute in order that thou mightest erect a barrier between us and them?
He said: "(The power) in which my Lord has established me is better (than tribute): Help me therefore
with strength (and labour): I will erect a strong barrier between you and them:
"Bring me blocks of iron." At length, when he had filled up the space between the two steep
mountain-sides, He said, "Blow (with your bellows)" Then, when he had made it (red) as fire, he said:
"Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten lead."
Do the Unbelievers think that they can take My servants as protectors besides Me? Verily We have
prepared Hell for the Unbelievers for (their) entertainment.
They are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the
Hereafter): vain will be their works, nor shall We, on the Day of Judgment, give them any weight.
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 Allah is one
Allah: whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work righteousness, and, in the worship of his Lord,
admit no one as partner."