004-1c The Cave 18:9 The 7 sleepers of Ephesus

Translation, Commentary & Explanation of Chapter 18 Al-Kahfi.

Translation of Verse 9.
Do you counted that the People of the Cave and the Inscription were wonders among Our signs?

Tafsir Jalalain
Or you consider that the Dwellers of the Cave at a certain hill and the Stone Inscription as one of the wonders of Our signs.

According to Jalalain, the names of the Dwellers of the Cave and their genealogy were inscribed on the Stone Inscription. Once the Prophet were asked about them.

Gramatically, this verse means that, do you think that the People of the Cave are more wondrous than the other signs of God? Verily, no, they are not more wondrous.

Tafsir Muhammad Asad
And since the life of this world is but a test, do you really think that the parable of the Men of the Cave and of their devotion to the scriptures could be deemed more wondrous than any other of our messages?

Popular belief is that those youths were true Christians, who did not want to submit to the persecution of the Roman Emperor Decius of the Third Century, and to the people around them who had began to worship other gods.

Another version is that they were young and pious Jews of the Essen Brotherhood who were committed and dedicated to the writings, studying and preservation of the Holy Scriptures, in a secluded place near the Dead Sea. Jesus was believed to belong to this group. After the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, they became known as the Qumran community.

Tafsir Abdullah Yusuf Ali.
There are 4 lessons to be learned from the wonderful story of the Companions of the Cave.

1) the relativity of time.

2) the unreality of persecutor and persecuted.

3) the truth of final resurrection.

4) the potency of faith and prayer.

Such wonder are not more wondrous, as it happens everyday on God's earth.

The unbelieving Quraish people of Makkah were in the habit of questioning Prophet Muhammad in order to discredit him. The Christian legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus is one of their question.

Prophet Muhammad told them the main story and pointed out the different variations and disputes among the people regarding the seven sleepers, and emphasized that the story is a parable with spiritual lessons of the highest value.

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Moral Lessons

The truth of Religion and God is not judge by magical powers and incidents but by the plain simple message of being sincere and to GOD. As in the case of Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea, these seven sleepers are simply one of the sign of the greatness of GOD to make things happen out of the scientific reasoning.

You cannot reason how come the Moses and his followers could cross the Red Sea without a boat or a ship! Thus you cannot reason, how come these 7 syouths can sleep in a cave for 309 years??

Therefore the truth is what the prophets had taught us. Anf for us, The Quran is the sign of the greatness of GOD revealed to Prophet Muhammad.

You only need to read and study the Holy Quran to see The Truth.

I have read many other religious books including The Bible and they are not better than the Holy Quran.