005-2c The Cave 18:16 Reason for hiding in The Cave

Translation, Commentary & Explanation of Chapter 18 The Cave.

Literal Translation of verse 16.
And when you leave them and the things they worship other than The God, look for a hiding place in a cave. Your Lord will shower you with His mercy and will sustain you with your needs.

Commentary by Jalalain.
The word "mirfaqan" at the end of the verse can be read as "marfiqan" and means "daily needs such as lunch and dinner".

Commentary by Dr Taqiuddin & Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan.
The young men said to one another that "when you withdraw from them and what they worship, except Allah, then seek refuge in the cave. Your Lord will open a way for you from His Mercy and will make your affairs easy for you." e.g. provisions and dwelling etc...

Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.
The 7 sleepers were taking counsel among themselves, and one of them said "Do not be afraid of anything. Put your case in the hands of God. At present you are being persecuted. He will solve your difficulties and give you ease and comfort".

========will be contiued with God's will============

Upper Pierce Reservoir

No you are not seeing the planet of the apes. They are monkeys at Upper Pierce Reservoir. They are plying along the main road of the old Upper Thomson Road, waiting for human to throw them nuts etc... But there signs telling us human not to feed them as GOD has provide enough food for them in the big nature reserve forest in the centre of Singapore.

Our food are too much polluted with chemicals which are harmful to them. The same philosophy goes to the birds, cats and dogs. We should only feed them with the special food canned for them. And that should also be limited to pets at home, not for the wild and free animals.

Parents should also refrain from catching small fishes at the reservoir, as they are for the ecology of natural life within the vicinity, such as preventing aedes mosquitoes from multiplying. If we say that our children will be our future leaders, the same too goes with the fishes, the young fish will grow up to eat away the aedes mosquitoes of their time.

Its peace and tranqulity at Upper Pierce Reservoir. Very good place for Naturalists. For Original Juice, I attached here the other versions of the photography tricks, with leafy foreground.

My Syifaa' Zakirah

My first grandchild is Syifaa' Zakirah. She is 1.5 years old now. In Arabic, her name means 'one who cures and remembers'.

Yes her smile, laughter, shrills and wave will surely cure your stress. Try click the arrow to be entertained by my Syifaa'.

005-1c The Cave 18:14 - 15 The 7 Sleepers of Ephesus

Translation, Commentary & Explanation of Chapter 18 The Cave.

Literal Translation of verse 14.

And We strengthened their hearts at the time they were standing and then they said,

"Our Lord is the Lord ofthe heaven and Earth. We will never call upon other than Him, as God. Verily, if we do that, we had said something far from the Truth."

Commentary by Jalalain.

We strengthened their hearts to hold on to the words of Truth, when they were standing

infront of their king who were forcing them to worship idols. Then they said,

"Our Lord is the Lord of the heaven and Earth. We will never call upon other than Allah, as God. Certainly, if we do that, we had said something far from the Truth."

If we call upon God other than Allah then those are extreme words and very sinful

Commentary by Muhammad Asad.

And We endowed their hearts with strength, so that they stood up and said to one another,

"Our Sustainer is the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. Never shall we invoke any deity other than Him. If we did, we should indeed have uttered an enormity".

They stood up to their mis-guided fellowmen and rulerswho persecuted the believers.

Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Given the strength the youths were not afraid to speak out the Truth openly in public against the tyrant Roman Emperor. After that, they fled to the cave.

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Literal Translation of Verse 15

They, our people, had taken other than Him as gods.Why didn't they provide, for what they were doing,a clear proof. Who is more unjust than those who innovate falsehood against God.

Commentary by Jalalain.

They, our people, had made other than Him as gods.Why didn't they justify what they worship. Thereis none more unjust than those who attribute partnersto Allah.

Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali.

Besides the heathen gods, the cult of the Emperorsalso became fashionable in the Roman Empire in thefirst 3 centuries of the Christian Era. The statueof Diana (Artemis) at Ephesus had been one of the wonders of the ancient world. The city was a great sea port and the capital of the Roman Asia. The heathen cults had flourished there. St Paul spent 3 years preaching there, but was mobbed, assaultedand compelled to leave (Acts 19:1-41).

In the book "Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire" Edward Gibbon, wrote that due to the persecutionsby a Roman Emperor Decius in 249 to 251 AD, 7 Christianyouths of Ephesus left the town and hid in a cave, where they fell asleep. When they woke up, one of them went back to the town to buy provisions. He found out that Christianity had became the State religion and not persecuted anymore, and that the current Roman Emperor was Theodosius II (who reign from 408 to 450 AD).

Ephesus was a famous city on the West Coast of Asia Minorabout 50 miles south of Smyrna, now probably a coastaltown of Lebanon or Turkey. Caliph Wathiq in 842 to 846 ADsent an expedition to examine and identify the locality.

=========will be continued with the will of God=========