Surah 18. Al-Kahf

ALL PRAISE is due to God who has bestowed this divine writ from on high upon His servant, and has not allowed any deviousness to obscure its meaning¹ :

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and has not given it any deviousness". The term 'iwaj signifies "crookedness", "tortuousness" or "deviation" (e.g., from a path), as well as "distortion" or "deviousness" in the abstract sense of these words. The above phrase is meant to establish the direct, unambiguous character of the Qur’an and to stress its freedom from all obscurities and internal contradictions: cf. 4:82 - "Had it issued from any but God, they would surely have found in it many an inner contradiction!"

Praise be to Allah Who has revealed the Book to His servant and did not make it complicated.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

All praise is for Allah Who has revealed the Book to His servant,¹ allowing no crookedness in it,

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Muḥammad (ﷺ).

Praise be to Allah Who hath revealed the Scripture unto His slave, and hath not placed therein any crookedness,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Praise be to Allah Who hath sent to His Servant the Book and hath allowed therein no Crookedness: ^{2325 2326}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

See n. 2324 to xvii. 111. The theme of the last Sura, that Allah is good and worthy of all praise from His creatures, to whom He has granted a clear revelation, is continued in this Sura. The spirit of man makes gradual progress upwards, through the grace and mercy of Allah.

Some people's idea of a Sacred Book is that it should be full of mysteries-dark corners, ambiguous expressions, words so far removed from human speech that they cover anything or nothing. Pagan oracles were couched in language which suggested one meaning to the hearer and claimed to have the very opposite meaning in the light of events which actually happened subsequently. They were distinctly crooked, not straight. In the next verse the word "Straight" (qaiyim) is used to characterize the Qur-an, in contrast to this word "crooked" ('iwaj). See also xix. 36 n. 2488.

[a divine writ] unerringly straight, mean to warn [the godless] of a severe punishment from Him, and to give unto the believers who do good works the glad tiding that theirs shall be a goodly reward -

  - Mohammad Asad

It is straightforward so that He may warn about the terrible punishment for the unbelievers from Him and give good news to the believers who do good deeds that they shall have a goodly reward,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'making it' perfectly upright, to warn 'the disbelievers' of a severe torment from Him; to give good news to the believers- who do good- that they will have a fine reward,

  - Mustafa Khattab

(But hath made it) straight, to give warning of stern punishment from Him, and to bring unto the believers who do good works the news that theirs will be a fair reward,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

(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. ²³²⁷

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Qaiyim: straight, that which has no bends and no corners to mystify people, that which speaks clearly and unambiguously, that which guides to the right path. Cf. ix. 36, where the adjective is used for a straight usage, in contrast to usages, which tend to mystify and deceive people. The Qur-an is above all things straight, clear, and perspicuous. Its directions are plain for everyone to understand. Any book that deals with the highest mysteries of spiritual life must necessarily have portions whose full meaning is clearer to some minds than to others not so well prepared. But here there is nowhere any mystification, any desire to wrap up things in dark sayings repugnant to human reason. Allah's purpose is to give clear warning of spiritual dangers and lead up to the highest bliss.

[a state of bliss] in which they shall dwell beyond the count of time.

  - Mohammad Asad

which they will enjoy forever.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

in which they will remain forever;

  - Mustafa Khattab

Wherein they will abide for ever;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Wherein they shall remain forever: ²³²⁸

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. iv. 122, xliii. 71, lxv. 11, xcviii. 8.

Furthermore, [this divine writ is meant] to warn all those who assert, "God has taken unto Himself a son."

  - Mohammad Asad

Further to warn those who say "Allah has begotten a son."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

and to warn those who claim, 'Allah has offspring.'¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 i.e., Jesus in Christianity and the angels in Arab pagan tradition.

And to warn those who say: Allah hath chosen a son,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Further that He may warn those (also) who say "Allah hath begotten a son": ²³²⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The warning is not only needed for those who deny Allah or deny His Message, but also for those whose false ideas of Allah degrade religion in supposing that Allah begot a son, for Allah is One and is High above any ideas of physical reproduction.

No knowledge whatever have they of Him,² and neither had their forefathers: dreadful is this saying that comes out of their mouths, [and] nothing but falsehood do they utter!

  - Mohammad Asad

Most of the classical commentators (and, as far as I am aware, all the earlier translators of the Qur'an) relate the pronoun in bihi to the assertion that "God has taken unto Himself a son", and hence take the phrase to mean, "They have no knowledge of it", i.e., no knowledge of such a happening. However, this interpretation is weak inasmuch as absence of knowledge does not necessarily imply an objective negation of the fact to which it relates. It is, therefore, obvious that bihi cannot signify "of it": it signifies "of Him", and relates to God. Hence, the phrase must be rendered as above - meaning that they who make such a preposterous claim have no real knowledge of Him, since they attribute to the Supreme Being something that is attributable only to created, imperfect beings. This interpretation is supported, in an unequivocal manner, by Tabari and, as an alternative, by Baydawi.

They have no knowledge about it, nor do their forefathers, this is a monstrous word that comes from their mouths. They speak nothing but a lie.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They have no knowledge of this, nor did their forefathers. What a terrible claim that comes out of their mouths! They say nothing but lies.

  - Mustafa Khattab

(A thing) whereof they have no knowledge, nor (had) thee fathers. Dreadful is the word that cometh out of their mouths. They speak naught but a lie.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

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! ²³³⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The attribution of a son "begotten" to Allah has no basis in fact or in reason. It is only a "word" or "saying" that issues out of their mouths. It is not even a dogma that is reasoned out or can be explained in any way that is consistent with the sublime attributes of Allah.

But wouldst thou, perhaps,³ torment thyself to death with grief over them if they are not willing to believe in this message?⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "it may well be that thou wilt...", etc. However, the particle la'alla does not, in this context, indicate a possibility but, rather, a rhetorical question implying a reproach for the attitude referred to (Maraghi XIII, 116).

This rhetorical question is addressed, in the first instance, to the Prophet, who was deeply distressed by the hostility which his message aroused among the pagan Meccans, and suffered agonies of apprehension regarding their spiritual fate. Beyond that, however, it applies to everyone who, having become convinced of the truth of an ethical proposition, is dismayed at the indifference with which his social environment reacts to it.

O Muhammad! You probably will kill yourself in grief over them, if they do not believe in this Message (The Qur'an).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Now, perhaps you 'O Prophet' will grieve yourself to death over their denial, if they 'continue to' disbelieve in this message.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Yet it may be, if they believe not in this statement, that thou (Muhammad) wilt torment thy soul with grief over their footsteps.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Thou wouldst only perchance fret thyself to death following after them in grief if they believe not in this Message. ²³³¹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

In a reasonable world the preaching of a reasonable Faith like that of Islam would win universal acceptance. But the world is not altogether reasonable. It caused great distress to the unselfish Preacher of Islam that his Message met with so much opposition. He wanted to point the way to salvation. He only got, in the Makkans period, abuse from the chiefs of the Makkans-abuse and persecution, not only for himself but for the Truth which he was preaching. A heart less stout than his might have been appalled at what seemed the hopeless task of reclaiming the world from falsehood, superstition, selfishness, wrong, and oppression. He is here consoled, and told that he was not to fret himself to death: he was nobly doing his duty, and, as after-events showed, the seed of Truth was already germinating, although this was not visible at the time. Besides, these "chiefs" and "leaders" were only strutting in false plumes: their glory was soon to fade for ever.

Behold, We have willed that all beauty on earth be a means by which We put men to a test,⁵ [showing] which of them are best in conduct;

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "We have made all that exists on earth as its adornment in order that We might put them [i.e., all human beings] to a test": meaning that God lets them reveal their real characters in their respective attitudes - moral or immoral - towards the material goods and benefits which the world offers them. In further analysis, this passage implies that the real motive underlying men's refusal to believe in God's spiritual message (see preceding verse) is almost always their excessive, blind attachment to the good of this world, combined with a false pride in what they regard as their own achievements (cf. 16:22 and the corresponding note [15]).

We have decked the earth with all kinds of ornaments to test the people and to see which of them do the best deeds.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We have indeed made whatever is on earth as an adornment for it, in order to test which of them is best in deeds.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Lo! We have placed all that is in the earth as an ornament thereof that we may try them: which of them is best in conduct.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

That which is on earth We have made but as a glittering show for the earth in order that We may test them as to which of them are best in conduct. ²³³²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This world's goods-,worldly power, glory, wealth, position, and all that men scramble for,-are but a fleeting show. The possession or want of them does not betoken a man's real value or position in the coming world, the world which is to endure. Yet they have their uses. They test a man's sterling quality. He who becomes their slave loses rank in the next world. He who uses them if he gets them, and does not fall into despair if he does not get them, shows his true mettle and quality. His conduct proclaims him.

and, verily, [in time] We shall reduce all that is on it to barren dust!

  - Mohammad Asad

In the end We shall reduce all that is on it to a barren wasteland.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We will certainly reduce whatever is on it to barren ground.

  - Mustafa Khattab

And lo! We shall make all that is therein a barren mound.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Verily what is on earth We shall make but as dust and dry soil (without growth or herbage). ²³³³

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The fairest sights on the earth will become as dust and waste when this earth vanishes, and true spiritual values are restored.

[AND SINCE the life of this world is but a test,]⁶ dost thou [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?⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

This interpolation establishes the elliptically implied connection between the long passage that follows and the preceding two verses.

Lit., "that the Men of the Cave... were more wondrous...", etc. - the implication being that the allegory or parable based on this story is entirely in tune with the ethical doctrine propounded in the Qur'an as a whole, and therefore not "more wondrous" than any other of its statements. - As regards the story of the Men of the Cave as such, most of the commentators incline to the view that it relates to a phase in early Christian history - namely, the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Decius in the third century. Legend has it that some young Christians of Ephesus, accompanied by their dog, withdrew into a secluded cave in order to be able to live in accordance with their faith, and remained there, miraculously asleep for a great length of time (according to some accounts, referred to in verse 25 of this surah, for about three centuries). When they finally awoke - unaware of the long time during which they had lain asleep - they sent one of their company to the town to purchase some food. In the meantime the situation had changed entirely: Christianity was no longer persecuted and had even become the official religion of the Roman Empire. The ancient coin (dating from the reign of Decius) with which the young man wanted to pay for his purchases immediately aroused curiosity; people began to question the stranger, and the story of the Men of the Cave and their miraculous sleep came to light. As already mentioned, the majority of the classical commentators rely on this Christian legend in their endeavour to interpret the Qur'anic reference (in verses {9-26}) to the Men of the Cave. It seems, however, that the Christian formulation of this theme is a later development of a much older oral tradition - a tradition which, in fact, goes back to pre-Christian, Jewish sources. This is evident from several well-authenticated ahadith (mentioned by all the classical commentators), according to which it was the Jewish rabbis (ahbar) of Medina who induced the Meccan opponents of Muhammad to "test his veracity" by asking him to explain, among other problems, the story of the Men of the Cave. Referring to these ahadith, Ibn Kathir remarks in his commentary on verse {13} of this surah: "It has been said that they were followers of Jesus the son of Mary, but God knows it better: it is obvious that they lived much earlier than the Christian period - for, had they been Christians, why should the Jewish rabbis have been intent on preserving their story, seeing that the Jews had cut themselves off from all friendly communion with them [i.e., the Christians]?" We may, therefore, safely assume that the legend of the Men of the Cave - stripped of its Christian garb and the superimposed Christian background - is, substantially, of Jewish origin. If we discard the later syncretic additions and reduce the story to its fundamentals - voluntary withdrawal from the world, agelong "sleep" in a secluded cave and a miraculous "awakening" after an indeterminate period of time - we have before us a striking allegory relating to a movement which played an important role in Jewish religious history during the centuries immediately preceding and following the advent of Jesus: namely, the ascetic Essene Brotherhood (to which, as I have pointed out in note [42] on 3:52, Jesus himself may have belonged), and particularly that of its branches which lived in self-imposed solitude in the vicinity of the Dead Sea and has recently, after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, come to be known as the "Qumran community". The expression ar-raqim occurring in the above Qur'an-verse (and rendered by me as "scriptures") lends strong support to this theory. As recorded by Tabari, some of the earliest authorities - and particularly Ibn 'Abbas - regarded this expression as synonymous with marqum ("something that is written") and hence with kitab ("a writ" or "a scripture"); and Razi adds that "all rhetoricians and Arabic philologists assert that ar-raqim signifies [the same as] al-kitab". Since it is historically established that the members of the Qumran community - the strictest group among the Essenes - devoted themselves entirely to the study, the copying and the preservation of the sacred scriptures, and since they lived in complete seclusion from the rest of the world and were highly admired for their piety and moral purity, it is more than probable that their mode of life made so strong an impression on the imagination of their more worldly co-religionists that it became gradually allegorized in the story of the Men of the Cave who "slept" – that is, were cut off from the outside world - for countless years, destined to be "awakened" after their spiritual task was done. But whatever the source of this legend, and irrespective of whether it is of Jewish or Christian origin, the fact remains that it is used in the Qur'an in a purely parabolic sense: namely, as an illustration of God's power to bring about death (or "sleep") and resurrection (or "awakening'); and, secondly, as an allegory of the piety that induces men to abandon a wicked or frivolous world in order to keep their faith unsullied, and of God's recognition of that faith by His bestowal of a spiritual awakening which transcends time and death.

Do you think that the Companions of the Cave and of Ar-Raqeem (this may refer to the name of their dog, or the tablet on which their names are inscribed or the mountain in which the cave is situated) were among Our wonderful signs?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Have you 'O Prophet' thought that the people of the cave and the plaque¹ were 'the only' wonders of Our signs?

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Ar-Raqîm is the plaque that was placed at the entrance of the cave with the names and story of the People of the Cave. This is the story of a group of Christian youths who hid inside a cave outside the city of Ephesus around 250 C.E., to escape persecution at the hands of pagans during the reign of the Roman emperor Decius. The Quran does not give an exact number of the youths, although many scholars believe there were seven in addition to a dog. The youths slept for 300 years, plus nine (300 solar years equal 309 lunar years).

Or deemest thou that the People of the Cave and the Inscription are a wonder among Our portents?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Or dost thou reflect that the Companions of the Cave and of the Inscription were wonders among Our Signs? ^{2334 2335 2336}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

A wonderful story or allegory is now referred to. Its lessons are: (1) the relativity of Time, (2) the unreality of the position of oppressor and oppressed, persecutor and presecuted, on this earth, (3) the truth of the final Resurrection, when true values will be restored, and (4) the potency of Faith and Prayer to lead to the Right.

The unbelieving Quraish were in the habit of putting posers to the holy Prophet-questions which they got from Christians and Jews, which they thought the Prophet would be unable to answer. In this way they hoped to discredit him. One of these questions was about the floating Christian story of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. The Prophet not only told them the main story but pointed out the variations that were current, and rebuked men for disputing about such details (xviii. 22). Most important of all, he treated the story (under inspiration) as a parable, pointing to lessons of the highest value. This is Revelation in the highest sense of the term. The story is recapitulated in n. 2337 below.

Raqim = Inscription. So interpreted by the Jalalain, and the majority of Commentators agree. See n. 2337, below. Others think it was the name of the dog: see xviii. 18, and n. 2350 below.

When those youths took refuge in the cave, they prayed: "O our Sustainer! Bestow on us grace from Thyself, and endow us, whatever our [outward] condition, with consciousness of what is right!"⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "and provide for us, out of our condition (min amrina), consciousness of what is right" - which latter phrase gives the meaning of the term rushd in this context. This passage is a kind of introduction to the allegory of the Men of the Cave, giving a broad outline of what is expounded more fully in verses {13} ff.

When those young men took refuge in the cave, they said "Our Rabb! Have mercy on us from Yourself and guide us out of our ordeal."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'Remember' when those youths took refuge in the cave, and said, 'Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Yourself and guide us rightly through our ordeal.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

When the young men fled for refuge to the Cave and said: Our Lord! Give us mercy from Thy presence and shape for us right conduct in our plight.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

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! ^{2337 2338}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The bare Christian story (without the spiritual lessons taught in the Qur-an) is told in Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (end of chapter 33). In the reign of a Roman Emperor who persecuted the Christians, seven Christian youths of Ephesus left the town and hid themselves in a cave in a mountain near by. They fell asleep, and remained asleep for some generations or centuries. When the wall which sealed up the cave was being demolished, the youths awoke. They still thought of the world in which they had previously lived. They had no idea of the duration of time. But when one of them went to the town to purchase provisions, he found that the whole world had changed. The Christian religion, instead of being persecuted was fashionable: in fact it was now the State religion. His dress and speech, and the money which he brought, seemed to belong to another world. This attracted attention. The great ones of the land visited the Cave, and verified the tale by questioning the man's Companions. When the story became very popular and circulated throughout the Roman Empire, we may well suppose that an Inscription was put up at the mouth of the Cave. See verse 9 and n. 2336. This inscription was probably to be seen for many years afterwards, as Ephesus was a famous city on the west coast of Asia Minor, about forty to fifty miles south of Smyrna. Later on, the Khalifa Wathiq (842-846 A.D.) sent an expedition to examine and identify the locality, as he did about the Zul-Qarnain barrier in Central Asia. A popular story circulating from mouth to mouth would necessarily be vague as to dates and vary very much in details. Somewhere about the 6th century A.D. a Syriac writer reduced it to writing. He suggested that the youths were seven in number; that they went to sleep in the reign of the Emperor Decius (who reigned from 249 to 251 A.D., and who was a violent persecutor of Christianity); and that they awoke in the reign of Theodosius 11, who reigned from 408 to 450 A.D. In our literature Decius is known as Daqyanus (from the adjectival Latin from Decianus), and the name stands as a symbol of injustice and oppression, and also of things old fashioned and out-of-date, as res Decianae must have been two or three centuries after Decius.

The youths hid in the cave, but they trusted in Allah, and made over their whole case to Him in prayer. Then they apparently fell asleep, and knew nothing of what was happening in the world outside.

And thereupon We veiled their ears in the cave⁹ for many a year,

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., God caused them to remain cut off - physically or metaphorically - from the sounds and the bustle of the outside world. The classical commentators take the above phrase to mean that God "veiled their ears with sleep".

So We put upon their ears a cover (put them into a deep sleep) for a number of years in the cave,

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So We caused them to fall into a dead sleep¹ in the cave for many years,

  - Mustafa Khattab

 lit., We cast a cover of ˹deep˺ sleep over their ears.

Then We sealed up their hearing in the Cave for a number of years.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then We drew (a veil) over their ears for a number of years in the cave (so that they heard not): ²³³⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Drew (a veil) over their ears: i.e., sealed their ears, so that they heard nothing. As they were in the Cave they saw nothing. So they were completely cut off from the outer world. It was as if they had died, with their knowledge and ideas remaining at the point of time when they had entered the Cave. It is as if a watch stops at the exact moment of some accident, and any one taking it up afterwards can precisely fix the time of the accident.

and then We awakened them:¹⁰ [and We did all this] so that We might mark out [to the world]¹¹ which of the two points of view showed a better comprehension of the time-sup during which they had remained in this state.¹²

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "sent them forth" - which may indicate a return to the active life of this world.

Lit., "so that We might take cognizance of": but since God embraces all past, present and future with His knowledge, His "taking cognizance" of an event denotes His causing it to come into being and, thus, allowing it to become known by His creatures: hence, "marking it out" to the world.

Lit., "which of the two parties" - alluding, metonymically, to the two viewpoints mentioned in verse {19} below - "was better at computing the time-span.. .", etc.: it should, however, be borne in mind that the verb ahsa does not merely signify "he computed" or "reckoned", but also "he understood" or "comprehended" (Taj al~'Arus). Since a "computing" of the time which those seekers after truth had spent in the cave could have no particular bearing on the ethical implications of this parable, ahsa has here obviously the meaning of "better at comprehending" or "showing a better comprehension" - namely, of the spiritual meaning of the time-lapse between their "falling asleep" and their "awakening" (see note [25] below).

and then awakened them to find out which of the two parties (believers and nonbelievers who were arguing about the fact of life after death) could best tell the length of their stay.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

then We raised them so We may show which of the two groups would make a better estimation of the length of their stay.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 The People of the Cave themselves disagreed on how long they had slept in the cave. See 18:19.

And afterward We raised them up that We might know which of the two parties would best calculate the time that they had tarried.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then We roused them in order to test which of the two parties was best at calculating the term of years they had tarried! ^{2340 2341}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Roused them: or raised them up from their sleep or whatever condition they had fallen into (xviii, 18), so that they began to perceive the things around them, but only with the memories of the time at which they had ceased to be in touch with the world.

When they awoke to consciousness, they had lost all count of time. Though they had all entered together, and lain together in the same place for the same length of time, their impressions of the time they had passed were quite different. Time is thus related to our own internal experiences. We have to learn the lesson that men as good as ourselves may yet differ as to their reactions to certain facts, and that in such matters disputes are unseemly. It is best to say, "Allah knows best" (xviii. 19).

[And now] We shall truly relate to thee their story:¹³ Behold, they were young men who had attained to faith in their Sustainer: and [so] We deepened their consciousness of the right way¹⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., without the many legendary embellishments which, in times past, have obscured the purport of this story or parable.

Lit., "We increased [or "advanced"] them in guidance".

Now We tell you their real story. They were young men who believed in their Rabb, and on them We had bestowed Our guidance.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We relate to you 'O Prophet' their story in truth. They were youths who truly believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.

  - Mustafa Khattab

We narrate unto thee their story with truth. Lo! they were young men who believed in their Lord, and We increased them in guidance.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

We relate to thee their story in truth: they were youths who believed in their Lord and We advanced them in guidance: ²³⁴²

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Their Faith carried them higher and higher on the road to Truth. Faith is cumulative. Each step leads higher and higher, by the grace and mercy of Allah.

and endowed their hearts with strength, so that they stood up¹⁵ 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!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "when they stood up" - i.e., stood up to their misguided fellow-men, or to the rulers who persecuted the believers (see note [7]).

We put courage in their hearts when they stood up and declared: "Our Rabb is the Rabb of the heavens and the earth, we shall never appeal to any other deity except Him, for if we do, we shall be saying something improper.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We strengthened their hearts when they stood up and declared, 'Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We will never call upon any god besides Him, or we would truly be uttering an outrageous lie.'

  - Mustafa Khattab

And We made firm their hearts when they stood forth and said: Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We cry unto no god beside Him, for then should we utter an enormity.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

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!" ^{2343 2344}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

So that they were not afraid to speak out openly, and protest the truth of the Unity which they clearly saw in their own minds and hearts.

We may suppose them to have taken their stand and made a public protest before they betook themselves to the Cave (xviii. 16). The story really begins at xviii. 13, and the verses xviii. 9-12 may be considered as introductory. As the emphasis is on spiritual lessons, the facts stated in the introductory part are passed over lightly in the story.

These people of ours have taken to worshipping [other] deities instead of Him, without being able to¹⁶ adduce any reasonable evidence in support of their beliefs;¹⁷ and who could be more wicked than he who invents a lie about God?¹⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "Why do they not.. .", etc., in the form of a rhetorical query introducing a new sentence.

Lit., "any clear evidence [or "authority"] in their support". The adjective bayyin ("clear", "obvious", "manifest") implies an evidence accessible to reason.

I.e., invents imaginary deities and thus gives the lie to the truth of His oneness and uniqueness, or even denies His existence altogether.

These people of ours have taken for worship other gods besides Him; if they are right, why do they not bring forth any convincing proof of their divinity? Who is more wicked than the one who invents a lie about Allah?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'Then they said to one another,' 'These people of ours have taken gods besides Him. Why do they not produce a clear proof of them? Who then does more wrong than those who fabricate lies against Allah?

  - Mustafa Khattab

These, our people, have chosen (other) gods beside Him though they bring no clear warrant (vouchsafed) to them. And who doth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie concerning Allah?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

"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? ²³⁴⁵

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Besides the heathen gods, the cult of the Emperors also became fashionable in the Roman Empire in the first three centuries of the Christian Era. The statue of Diana (Artemis) at Ephesus had been one of the wonders of the ancient world. The city was a great seaport and the capital of Roman Asia. We may therefore imagine how the heathen cults must have flourished there. St. Paul spent three years preaching there, and was mobbed and assaulted, and compelled to leave (Acts, xix. 1-4).