# Sura  18 - The Cave

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-20 — 1 clipping.*

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> SURA XVIII (18) - THE CAVE   (Mecca - 110 Verses)              (LXIX - 180)     
>  
>        In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
>  
>        Praise be to God, who hath sent down the Book to his servant, and hath
> not made it tortuous
>  
>        But direct; that it may warn of a grievous woe from him, and announce to
> the faithful who do the things that are right, that a goodly reward, wherein
> they shall abide for ever, awaiteth them;
>  
>        And that it may warn those who day, "God hath begotten a Son."
>  
>        No knowledge of this have either they or their fathers!  A grievous
> saying to come out of their mouths!  They speak no other than a lie!
>  
>        And haply, if they believe not in this new revelation, thou wilt slay
> thyself, on their very footsteps, out of vexation.
>  
>        Verily, we have made all that is on earth as its adornment, that we
> might make trial who among mankind would excel in works:
>  
>        But we are surely about to reduce all that is thereon to dust!
>  
>        Hast thou reflected that the Inmates of The Cave and of Al Rakim were
> one of our wondrous signs?
>  
>        When the youths betook them to the cave they said, "O our Lord! grant us
> mercy from before thee, and order for us our affair aright."
>  
> 18:10  Then struck we upon their ears with deafness in the cave for many a
> year:
>  
>        Then we awaked them that we might know which of the two parties could
> best reckon the space of their abiding.
>  
>        We will relate to thee their tale with truth.,  They were youths who had
> believed in their Lord, and in guidance had we increased them;
>  
>        And we had made them stout of heart, when they stood up and said, 'Our
> Lord is Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth:  we will call on no other God
> than Him; for in that case we had said a thing outrageous.
>  
>        These our people have taken other gods beside Him, though they bring no
> clear proof for them; but, who m ore iniquitous than he who forgeth a lie of
> God?
>  
>        So when ye shall have separated you from them and from that which they
> worship beside God, then betake you to the cave:  Your Lord will unfold his
> mercy to you, and will order your affairs for you for the best."
>  
>        And thou mightest have seen the sun when it arose, pass on the right of
> their cave, and when it set, leave them on the left, while they were in its
> spacious chamber.  This is one of the signs of God.  Guided indeed is he whom
> God guideth; but for him whom He misleadeth, thou shalt by no means find a
> patron, director.
>  
>        And thou wouldst have deemed them awake, though they were sleeping:  and
> we turned them to the right and to the left.  And in the entry lay their dog
> with paws outstretched.  Hadst thou come suddenly upon them, thou wouldst
> surely have turned thy back on them in flight, and have been filled with fear
> at them.
>  
>        So we awaked them that they might question one another.  Said one of
> them, "How long have ye tarried here?" They said, "We have tarried a day or
> part of a day." They said, "Your Lord knoweth best how long ye have tarried:
> Send now one of you with this your coin into the city, and let him mark who
> therein hath purest food, and from him let him bring you a supply:  and let him
> be courteous, and not discover you to any one.
>  
>        For they, if they find you out, will stone you or turn you back to their
> faith, and in that case it will fare ill with you for ever."
>  
> 18:20  And thus made we their adventure known to their fellow citizens, that
> they might learn that the promise of God is true, and that as to "the Hour"
> there is no doubt of its coming.  When they disputed among themselves
> concerning what had befallen them, some said, "Build a building over them;
> their Lord knoweth best about them." Those who prevailed in the matter said, "A
> place of worship will we surely raise over them."
>  
>        Some say, "They were three; their dog the fourth:" others say, "Five;
> their dog the sixth," guessing at the secret:  others say "Seven; and their
> dog the eighth."  Say:  My Lord best knoweth the number:  none, save a few,
> shall know them.
>  
>        Therefore be clear in thy discussions about them, and ask not any
> Christian concerning them.
>  
>        Say not thou of a thing, "I will surely do it to-morrow;" without, "If
> God will." And when thou has forgotten, call thy Lord to mind; and say, "Haply
> my Lord will guide me, that I may come near to the truth of this story with
> correctness."
>  
>        And they tarried in their cave 300 years, and 9 years over.
>  
>        Say:  God best knoweth how long they tarried:  With Him are the secrets
> of the Heavens and of the Earth:  Look thou and hearken unto Him alone.  Man
> hath no guardian but Him, and none may bear part in his judgments:  -
>  
>        And publish what hath been revealed to thee of the Book of thy Lord -
> none may change his words, - and thou shalt find no refuge beside Him.
>  
>        Be patient with those who call upon their Lord at morn and even, seeking
> his face:  and let not thine eyes be turned away from them in quest of the pomp
> of this life; neither obey him whose heart we have made careless of the
> remembrance of Us, and who followeth his own lusts, and whose ways are
> unbridled.
>  
>        And say:  the truth is from your Lord:  let him then who will, believe;
> and let him who will, be an infidel.  But for the offenders we have got ready
> the fire whose smoke shall enwrap them:  and if they implore help, helped shall
> they be with water like molten brass which shall scald their faces.  Wretched
> the drink! and an unhappy couch!
>  
>        But as to those who have believed and done the things that are right, -
> Verily we will not suffer the reward of him whose works were good, to perish!
>  
> 18:30  For them, the gardens of Eden, under whose shades shall river flow:
> decked shall they be therein with bracelets of gold, and green robes of silk
> and rich brocade shall they wear, reclining them therein on thrones.  Blissful
> the reward! and a pleasant couch!
>  
>        And set forth to them as a parable two men; on one of whom we bestowed
> two gardens of grape vines, and surrounded both with palm trees, and placed
> corn fields between them:  Each of the gardens did yield its fruit, and failed
> not thereof at all:
>  
>        And we caused a river to flow in their midst:  And this man received his
> fruit, and said, disputing with him, to his companion, "More have I than thou
> of wealth, and my family is mightier."
>  
>        And he went into his garden - to his own soul unjust.  He said, "I do
> not think that this will ever perish:
>  
>        And I do not think that 'the Hour' will come:  and even if I be taken
> back to my Lord, I shall surely find a better than it in exchange."
>  
>        His fellow said to him, disputing with him, "What! hast thou no belief
> in him who created thee of the dust, then of the germs of life, then fashioned
> thee a perfect man?
>  
>        But God is my Lord; and no other being will I associate with my Lord.
>  
>        And why didst thou not say when thou enteredst thy garden, 'What God
> willeth!  there is no power but in God.'  Though thou seest that I have less
> than thou of wealth and children,
>  
>        Yet haply my Lord may bestow upon me better than thy garden, and may
> send his bolts upon it out of Heaven, so that the next dawn shall find it
> barren dust;
>  
>        Or its water become deep sunk, so that thou art unable to find it."
>  
> 18:40  And his fruits were encompassed by destruction.  Then began he to turn
> down the palms of his hands at what he had spent on it; for its vines were
> falling down on their trellises, and he said, "Oh that I had not joined any
> other god to my Lord!"
>  
>        And he had no host to help him instead of God, neither was he able to
> help himself.
>  
>        Protection in such a case is of God - the Truth:  He is the best
> rewarder, and He bringeth to the best issue.
>  
>        And set before them a similitude of the present life.  It is as water
> which we send down from Heaven, and the herb of the Earth is mingled with it,
> and on the morrow it becometh dry stubble which the winds scatter:  for God
> hath power over all things.
>  
>        Wealth and children are the adornment of this present life:  but good
> works, which are lasting, are better in the sight of thy Lord as to recompense,
> and better as to hope.
>  
>        And call to mind the day when we will cause the mountains to pass away,
> and thou shalt see the earth a levelled plain, and we will gather mankind
> together, and not leave of them any one.
>  
>        And they shall be set before thy Lord in ranks:  - "Now are ye come unto
> us as we created you at first:  but ye thought that we should not make good to
> you the promise."
>  
>        And each shall have his book put into his hand:  and thou shalt see the
> wicked in alarm at that which is therein:  and they shall say, "O woe to us!
> what meaneth this Book?  It leaveth neither small nor great unnoted down!"  And
> they shall find all that they have wrought present to them, and thy Lord will
> not deal unjustly with any one.
>  
>        When we said to the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam," they all
> prostrated them save Eblis, who was of the Djinn, and revolted from his Lord's
> behest. - What! will ye then take him and his offspring as patrons rather than
> Me? and they your enemies?  Sad exchange for the ungodly!
>  
>        I made them not witnesses of the creation of the Heavens and of the
> Earth, nor of their own creation, neither did I take seducers as my helpers.
>  
> 18:50  On a certain day, God shall say, "Call ye on the companions ye joined
> with me, deeming them to be gods:" and they shall call on them, but they shall
> not answer them:  then will we place a valley of perdition between them:
>  
>        And the wicked shall see the fire, and shall have a foreboding that they
> shall be flung into it, and they shall find no escape from it.
>  
>        And now in this Koran we have presented to man similitudes of every
> kind:  but, at most things is man a caviller.
>  
>        And what, now that guidance is come to them, letteth men from believing
> and from asking forgiveness of their Lord - unless they wait till that the doom
> of the ancients overtake them, or the chastisement come upon them in the sight
> of the universe?
>  
>        We send not our Sent Ones but to announce and to warn:  but the infidels
> cavil with vain words in order to refute the truth; and they treat my signs and
> their own warnings with scorn.
>  
>        But who is worse than he who when told of the signs of his Lord turneth
> him away and forgetteth what in time past his hands have wrought?  Truly we
> have thrown veils over their hearts lest they should understand this Koran,
> and into their ears a heaviness:
>  
>        And if thou bid them to "the guidance" yet will they not even then be
> guided ever.
>  
>        The gracious one, full of compassion, is thy Lord! if he would have
> chastised them for their demerits he would have hastened their chastisement.
> But they have a time fixed for the accomplishment of our menaces:  and beside
> God they shall find no refuge.
>  
>        And those cities did we destroy when they became impious; and of their
> coming destruction we gave them warning.
>  
>        Remember when Moses said to his servant, "I will not stop till I reach
> the confluence of the two seas, or for years will I journey on."
>  
> 18:60  But when they reached their confluence, they forgot their fish, and it
> took its way in the sea at will.
>  
>        And when they had passed on, said Moses to his servant, "Bring us our
> morning meal; for now have we incurred weariness from this journey."
>  
>        He said, "What thinkest thou?  When we repaired to the rock for rest I
> forgot the fish; and none but Satan made me forget it, so as not to mention it;
> and it hath taken its way in the sea in a wondrous sort."
>  
>        He said, "It is this we were in quest of."  And they both went back
> retracing their footsteps.
>  
>        Then found they one of our servants to whom we had vouchsafed our mercy,
> and whom we had instructed with our knowledge.
>  
>        And Moses said to him, "Shall I follow thee that thou teach me, for
> guidance, of that which thou too hast been taught?"
>  
>        He said, "Verily, thou canst not have patience with me;
>  
>        How canst thou be patient in matters whose meaning thou comprehendest
> not?"
>  
>        He said, "Thou shalt find me patient if God please, nor will I disobey
> thy bidding."
>  
>        He said, "Then, if thou follow me, ask me not of aught until I have
> given thee an account thereof."
>  
> 18:70  So they both went on, till they embarked in a ship, and he - the
> unknown - staved it in.  "What!" said moses, "hast thou staved it in that thou
> mayest drown its crew?  a strange thing now hast thou done!"
>  
>        He said, "Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience with
> me?"
>  
>        He said, "Chide me not that I forgat, nor lay on me a hard command."
>  
>        Then went they on till they met a youth, and he slew him.  Said Moses,
> "Hast thou slain him who is free from guilt of blood?  Now hast thou wrought a
> grievous thing!"
>  
>        He said, "Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not have patience with
> me?"
>  
>        Moses said, "If after this I ask thee aught, then let me be thy comrade
> no longer; but now hast thou my excuse."
>  
>        They went on till they came to the people of a city.  Of this people
> they asked food, but they refused them for guests.  And they found in it a wall
> that was about to fall, and he set it upright.  Said Moses, "If thou hadst
> wished, for this thou mightest have obtained pay."
>  
>        He said, "This is the parting point between me adn thee.  But I will
> first tell thee the meaning of that which thou couldst not await with patience.
>  
>        "As to the vessel, it belonged to poor men who toiled upon the sea, and
> I was minded to damage it, for in their rear was a king who seized every ship
> by force.
>  
>        As to the youth, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he
> should trouble them by error and infidelity.
>  
> 18:80  And we desired that their Lord might give them in his place a child,
> better than he in virtue, and near to filial piety.
>  
>        As to the wall, it belonged to two orphan youths in the city, and
> beneath it was their treasure:  and their father was a righteous man:  and thy
> Lord desired that they should reach the age of strength, and take force their
> treasure through the mercy of thy Lord.  And not of mine own will have I done
> this.  This is the interpretation of that which thou couldst not bear with
> patience."
>  
>        They will ask thee of Dhoulkarnain [the two-horned].  Say:  I will
> recite to you an account of him.
>  
>        We stablished his power upon the earth, and made for him a way to
> everything.  And a route his followed,
>  
>        Until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it to set in a
> miry fount; and hard by he found a people.
>  
>        We said, "O Dhoulkarnain! either chastise or treat them generously."
> 
>  
>        "The impious," said he, "will we surely chastise;" then shall he be
> taken back to his Lord, and he will chastise him with a grievous chastisement.
>  
>        But as to him to believeth and doeth that which is right, he shall have
> a generous recompense, and we will lay on them our easy behests.
>  
>        Then followed he a route,
>  
>        Until when he reached the rising of the sun he found it to rise on a
> people to whom we had given no shelter from it.
>  
> 18:90  Thus it was.  And we had full knowledge of the forces that were with
> him.
>  
>        Then followed he a route
>  
>        Until he came between the two mountains, beneath which he found a people
> who scarce understood a language.
>  
>        They said, "O Dhoulkarnain! verily, God and Magog waste this land:
> shall we then pay thee tribute, so thou build a rampart between us and them?"
>  
>        He said, "Better than your tribute is the might wherewith my Lord had
> strengthened me; but help me strenuously, and I will set a barrier between you
> and them.
>  
>        Bring me blocks of iron," - until when it filled the space between the
> mountain sides - "Ply," said he, "your bellows," - until when he had made it
> red with heat (fire), he said, - "Bring me molten brass that I may pour upon
> it."
>  
>        And God and Magog were not able to scale it, neither were they able to
> dig through it.
>  
>        "This," said he, "is a mercy from my Lord:
>  
>        But when the promise of my Lord shall come to pass, he will turn it to
> dust; and the promise of my Lord is true."
>  
>        On that day we will let them dash like billows one over another; and
> there shall be a blast on the trumpet, and we will gather them together in a
> body.
>  
> 18:100 And we will set Hell on that day close before the infidels,
>  
>        Whose eyes were veiled from my warning, and who had no power to hear.
>  
>        What! do the infidels think that they can take my servants as their
> patrons, beside Me?  Verily, we have got Hell ready as the abode of the
> infidels.
>  
>        Say:  Shall we tell you who they are that have lost their labour most?
>  
>        Whose aim in the present life hath been mistaken, and who deem that what
> they do is right?
>  
>        They are those who believe not in the signs of the Lord, or that they
> shall ever meet him.  Vain, therefore, are their works; and no weight will we
> allow them on the day of resurrection.
>  
>        This shall be their reward - Hell.  Because they were unbelievers, and
> treated my signs and my Apostles with scorn.
>  
>        But as for those who believe and do the things that are right, they
> shall have the gardens of Paradise for their abode:
>  
>        They shall remain therein for ever:  they shall wish for no change from
> it.
>  
>        Say:  Should the sea become ink, to write the words of my Lord, the sea
> would surely fail ere the words of my Lord would fail, though we brought its
> like in aid.
>  
> 18:110 Say:  In sooth I am only a man like you.  It hath been revealed to me
> that your God is one only God:  let him then who hopeth to meet his Lord work a
> righteous work:  nor let him give any other creature a share in the worship of
> his Lord.
>
> — *Sura  18 - The Cave*