Even so We roused them that they may question one another. One of them asked: "How long have you stayed here?" They said: "A day or less than a day." "Your Lord knows best," they said, "how long you have stayed. So send one of you to the town with this money of yours to look for wholesome food and bring it for you; but he should be careful not to let your presence known.
And similarly We awakened them so that they may enquire about each other; a speaker among them said, “How long have you stayed here?” Some among them said, “We have stayed a day or part of a day”; the others said, “Your Lord well knows how long you have stayed; therefore send one of you to the city with this silver coin – he may then check which food available there is purer, in order to bring some of it for you to eat – and he must be courteous and not inform anyone about you.”
And even so We raised them up again that they might question one another. One of them said, 'How long have you tarried?' They said, 'We have tarried a day, or part of a day.' They said, 'Your Lord knows very well how long you have tarried. Now send one of you forth with this silver to the city, and let him look for which of them has purest food, and bring you provision thereof; let him be courteous, and apprise no man of you.
And so, [in the course of time,] We awakened them; and they began to ask one another [as to what had happened to them]. One of them asked: "How long have you remained thus?" [The others] answered: "We have remained thus a day, or part of a day." Said they [who were endowed with deeper insight]: "Your Sustainer knows best how long you have thus remained. Let, then, one of you go with these silver coins to the town, and let him find out what food is purest there, and bring you thereof [some] provisions. But let him behave with great care and by no means make anyone aware of you:
And likewise we raised them up that they might question among themselves; there spake a speaker from amongst them: how long have ye tarried? They said we have tarried a day or part of a day. They said, your Lord knoweth best how long ye have tarried; now send one of you with this your money unto the city and let him see which food is purest there, and let him bring you a provision thereof, and let him be circumspect, and let him by no means discover you to anycne.
Likewise, We awakened them (from their long deep sleep) that they might question one another. A speaker from among them said: "How long have you stayed (here)?" They said: "We have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day." They said: "Your Lord (Alone) knows best how long you have stayed (here). So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town, and let him find out which is the good lawful food, and bring some of that to you. And let him be careful and let no man know of you.
Even so, We awakened them, so that they may ask one another. A speaker among them said, “How long have you stayed?” They said, “We have stayed a day, or part of a day.” They said, “Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed.” “Send one of you to the city, with this money of yours, and let him see which food is most suitable, and let him bring you some provision thereof. And let him be gentle, and let no one become aware of you.”
Likewise, We roused them in a miraculous way that they might question one another. One of them asked: "How long did you remain (in this state)?" The others said: "We remained so for a day or part of a day." Then they said: "Your Lord knows better how long we remained in this state. Now send one of you to the city with this coin of yours and let him see who has the best food, and let him buy some provisions from there. Let him be cautious and not inform anyone of our whereabouts.
Likewise, We woke them that they might question one another. A speaker among them said: "How long have you stayed (here)" They said: "We have stayed a day or part of a day." They said: "Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed (here). So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town, and let him find out which is the Azka food, and bring some of that to you. And let him be careful and let no man know of you."
And in like manner We awakened them that they might question one another. A speaker from among them said: How long have ye tarried? They said: We have tarried a day or some part of a day, (Others) said: Your Lord best knoweth what ye have tarried. Now send one of you with this your silver coin unto the city, and let him see what food is purest there and bring you a supply thereof. Let him be courteous and let no man know of you.
So it was that We aroused them [from sleep] so that they might question one another. One of them said, ‘How long have you stayed [here]?’ They said, ‘We have stayed a day, or part of a day.’ They said, ‘Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed. Send one of you to the city with this money. Let him observe which of them has the purest food, and bring you provisions from there. Let him be attentive, and let him not make anyone aware of you.
As such We revived them so that they might question one another. 'How long have you stayed here' asked one of them. 'We have been here a day, or part of it' they replied. They said: 'Your Lord knows best how long we have stayed here. Let one of you go to the city with this silver (coin) and let him search for one who has the purest food and bring provision from it. Let him be courteous, but let no one sense it is you.
And similarly, We awakened them that they might question one another. Said a speaker from among them, "How long have you remained [here]?" They said, "We have remained a day or part of a day." They said, "Your Lord is most knowing of how long you remained. So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the city and let him look to which is the best of food and bring you provision from it and let him be cautious. And let no one be aware of you.
We roused them from their sleep so that they would question each other about their stay in the cave. One of them said, "How long do you think we have stayed here?" They replied, "A day or part of a day." They added, " Your Lord knows better how long we have stayed here. Let us send one of us with this money to the city to get some pure food so that we might eat. He should be careful so that no one will know about us. If they were to recognize us,
And thus did We rouse them that they might question each other. A speaker among them said: How long have you tarried? They said: We have tarried for a day or a part of a day. (Others) said: Your Lord knows best how long you have tarried. Now send one of you with this silver (coin) of yours to the city, then let him see which of them has purest food, so let him bring you provision from it, and let him behave with gentleness, and by no means make your case known to any one:
Waka<u>tha</u>lika baAAathn<u>a</u>hum liyatas<u>a</u>aloo baynahum q<u>a</u>la q<u>a</u>ilun minhum kam labithtum q<u>a</u>loo labithn<u>a</u> yawman aw baAA<u>d</u>a yawmin q<u>a</u>loo rabbukum aAAlamu bim<u>a</u> labithtum fa<b>i</b>bAAathoo a<u>h</u>adakum biwariqikum h<u>ath</u>ihi il<u>a</u> almadeenati falyan<i><u>th</u></i>ur ayyuh<u>a</u> azk<u>a</u> <u>t</u>aAA<u>a</u>man falyatikum birizqin minhu walyatala<u>tt</u>af wal<u>a</u> yushAAiranna bikum a<u>h</u>ad<u>a</u><b>n</b>
In the course of time, We raised them up again so that they might question one another. One of them asked, "How long have you stayed [here]?" They said, "We have stayed a day, or part of a day." But others said, "Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed here. Let one of you go then with these silver coins to the town, and let him find out what food is purest there, and bring you back a supply of it. Let him conduct himself with caution and not disclose your whereabouts to anyone:
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.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ بَعَثْنَٰهُمْ لِيَتَسَآءَلُوا۟ بَيْنَهُمْ قَالَ قَآئِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ قَالُوا۟ لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالُوا۟ رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ فَٱبْعَثُوٓا۟ أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَٰذِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ فَلْيَنظُرْ أَيُّهَآ أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُم بِرِزْقٍ مِّنْهُ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا
Just as I did to them the wondrous acts that I have mentioned, I awakened them after a long period of time and they began to ask one another about the period that they had spent asleep. One of them responded: I remained asleep for one day or part of one day. One of them, to whom it was not clear how long they had spent asleep, responded: Your Lord knows best about the period you had remained asleep, so entrust the knowledge of that to Him and get busy with what concerns you. Send one of you with these silver coins to the city we know and let him see which of the inhabitants of that city are most pure in their food and earnings. He should proceed with caution when entering and leaving and when dealing. He must also be tactful and not let anyone find out where you are, because that will result in great harm.
Just as I did to them the wondrous acts that I have mentioned, I awakened them after a long period of time and they began to ask one another about the period that they had spent asleep. One of them responded: I remained asleep for one day or part of one day. One of them, to whom it was not clear how long they had spent asleep, responded: Your Lord knows best about the period you had remained asleep, so entrust the knowledge of that to Him and get busy with what concerns you. Send one of you with these silver coins to the city we know and let him see which of the inhabitants of that city are most pure in their food and earnings. He should proceed with caution when entering and leaving and when dealing. He must also be tactful and not let anyone find out where you are, because that will result in great harm.
<p>Commentary</p><p>The word: کَذٰلِک (kadhalik) in the first sentence is for comparison. The purpose at this place is to describe the mutual likeness of two events. One of these is the event of the long sleep of the People of Kahf for an equally long period of time mentioned in the beginning of the story under the verse: فَضَرَ‌بْنَا عَلَىٰ آذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا : "So, We veiled their hearing (putting them to sleep) in the Cave for a number of years - 11." The second event relates to the rising of these people from that long drawn sleep - intact, healthy and fit despite the absence of any energy-giving intake - and becoming wide awake. Both are alike in being signs of the power of Allah Ta` ala. For this reason, when 'raising them up' was mentioned in this verse, the word: کَذٰلِک (kadhalik: 'And similarly' ) was used to indicate that the way their sleep was not like the habitual sleep of common people, very similarly, their rising too was distinct from natural habit. Then, as for the next statement after that: لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا ، meaning 'so that they ask each other [ as to how long the sleep was ],' it is not the reason of 'raising them up.' Instead, it is a mention of a usual phenomenon. Therefore, the particle: لام (lam) in: لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا (liyatasa'alu: so that they ask) has been identified as the lam of ` aqibah (consequence) or sairurah (result) meaning that which naturally follows as a sequel. (Abu Hayyan, al-Qurtubi)</p><p>In short, their long sleep was a Divine sign. Similarly, sitting up all awake after hundreds of years - fit and healthy without usual nourishment - was also another perfect Divine sign. And it was also Divinely in-tended that they too should come to know that they have been sleeping through hundreds of years, therefore, it began with questions asked between each other and ended at the incident mentioned in the next verse: وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَعْثَرْ‌نَا (And in this way We made them known - 21). It means that the people of the city knew their secret and, despite the difference in determining the period of their stay, everyone believed that they had been sleeping in the Cave for a long period of time.</p><p>Given in: قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ (One of them said - 19) is the detail of what was said briefly at the beginning of the story (12) - that they differed about the period of their stay in the Cave and that one of them did say the right thing. According to this detail, one person from among the People of the Cave ventured to pose the question as to how long did they sleep. Then, came the response from some that said, 'a day, or part of a day' - because, these people had entered the Cave in the morning and when they woke up, it was evening. Therefore, they thought, that was the day they had entered the Cave and the duration of their sleep was just about a day. But, some from among these very people realized that, perhaps, this was not the day they had entered the Cave. If so, who knows how many days have gone by? Therefore, they decided to let this particular knowledge about the event rest with Allah. By saying: قَالُوا رَ‌بُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ (Your Lord knows best how long you stayed - 19), they dismissed this debate as unnecessary and turned their attention to the need of the hour, that is, to send a man to the city to bring some food from there.</p><p>The word: الْمَدِينَةِ (al-madinah) in the phrase: إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ (ila al-madinah: to the city) proves at least this much that there used to be a big city close to the Cave where they had stayed. In his Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, Abu Hayyan has said that the name of the city at the time the People of Kahf left was Ifsus and now, the name was Tarsus. Al-Qurtubi has said in his Tafsir that during the time idol-worship and ignorance prevailed in this city, its name was Ifsus. But, when the believers of that time, that is, the followers of Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) overtook it, they renamed it as Tarsus.</p><p>The word: بِوَرِ‌قِكُمْ with this silver [ coin ] of yours - 19) tells us that these good men had also brought some money with them when they came to the Cave. From here we know that the procurement and management of essential expenditures in life is not contrary to the norms of Zuhd (abstention from worldly desires) and Tawakkul (trust in Allah). (Al-Bahr al-Muhit)</p><p>The word: أَزْكَىٰ (azka) in: أَيُّهَا أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًا (which are the purest - 19) means what is clean and pure. According to the Tafsir of Ibn Jubayr, it denotes Halal food. They were alert to the need for such precaution because at the time they had left the city, people used to slaughter animals in the name of idols and that was what they sold in the market. Therefore, they stressed upon the man going out to bring food only after making sure that it was Halal.</p><p>Ruling</p><p>This tells us that eating food in any city, bazaar or hotel, where most of the food available is حرام Haram, is not permissible without prior investigation.</p>
CommentaryThe word: کَذٰلِک (kadhalik) in the first sentence is for comparison. The purpose at this place is to describe the mutual likeness of two events. One of these is the event of the long sleep of the People of Kahf for an equally long period of time mentioned in the beginning of the story under the verse: فَضَرَ‌بْنَا عَلَىٰ آذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا : "So, We veiled their hearing (putting them to sleep) in the Cave for a number of years - 11." The second event relates to the rising of these people from that long drawn sleep - intact, healthy and fit despite the absence of any energy-giving intake - and becoming wide awake. Both are alike in being signs of the power of Allah Ta` ala. For this reason, when 'raising them up' was mentioned in this verse, the word: کَذٰلِک (kadhalik: 'And similarly' ) was used to indicate that the way their sleep was not like the habitual sleep of common people, very similarly, their rising too was distinct from natural habit. Then, as for the next statement after that: لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا ، meaning 'so that they ask each other [ as to how long the sleep was ],' it is not the reason of 'raising them up.' Instead, it is a mention of a usual phenomenon. Therefore, the particle: لام (lam) in: لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا (liyatasa'alu: so that they ask) has been identified as the lam of ` aqibah (consequence) or sairurah (result) meaning that which naturally follows as a sequel. (Abu Hayyan, al-Qurtubi)In short, their long sleep was a Divine sign. Similarly, sitting up all awake after hundreds of years - fit and healthy without usual nourishment - was also another perfect Divine sign. And it was also Divinely in-tended that they too should come to know that they have been sleeping through hundreds of years, therefore, it began with questions asked between each other and ended at the incident mentioned in the next verse: وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَعْثَرْ‌نَا (And in this way We made them known - 21). It means that the people of the city knew their secret and, despite the difference in determining the period of their stay, everyone believed that they had been sleeping in the Cave for a long period of time.Given in: قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ (One of them said - 19) is the detail of what was said briefly at the beginning of the story (12) - that they differed about the period of their stay in the Cave and that one of them did say the right thing. According to this detail, one person from among the People of the Cave ventured to pose the question as to how long did they sleep. Then, came the response from some that said, 'a day, or part of a day' - because, these people had entered the Cave in the morning and when they woke up, it was evening. Therefore, they thought, that was the day they had entered the Cave and the duration of their sleep was just about a day. But, some from among these very people realized that, perhaps, this was not the day they had entered the Cave. If so, who knows how many days have gone by? Therefore, they decided to let this particular knowledge about the event rest with Allah. By saying: قَالُوا رَ‌بُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ (Your Lord knows best how long you stayed - 19), they dismissed this debate as unnecessary and turned their attention to the need of the hour, that is, to send a man to the city to bring some food from there.The word: الْمَدِينَةِ (al-madinah) in the phrase: إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ (ila al-madinah: to the city) proves at least this much that there used to be a big city close to the Cave where they had stayed. In his Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, Abu Hayyan has said that the name of the city at the time the People of Kahf left was Ifsus and now, the name was Tarsus. Al-Qurtubi has said in his Tafsir that during the time idol-worship and ignorance prevailed in this city, its name was Ifsus. But, when the believers of that time, that is, the followers of Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) overtook it, they renamed it as Tarsus.The word: بِوَرِ‌قِكُمْ with this silver [ coin ] of yours - 19) tells us that these good men had also brought some money with them when they came to the Cave. From here we know that the procurement and management of essential expenditures in life is not contrary to the norms of Zuhd (abstention from worldly desires) and Tawakkul (trust in Allah). (Al-Bahr al-Muhit)The word: أَزْكَىٰ (azka) in: أَيُّهَا أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًا (which are the purest - 19) means what is clean and pure. According to the Tafsir of Ibn Jubayr, it denotes Halal food. They were alert to the need for such precaution because at the time they had left the city, people used to slaughter animals in the name of idols and that was what they sold in the market. Therefore, they stressed upon the man going out to bring food only after making sure that it was Halal.RulingThis tells us that eating food in any city, bazaar or hotel, where most of the food available is حرام Haram, is not permissible without prior investigation.
<h2 class="title">Their awakening and sending One of Themselves to buy Food Allah says: `just as We caused them to ...</h2><div class="text_uthmani arabic">كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ</div><p>(How long have you stayed (here)) meaning, `how long have you slept'</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">قَالُواْ لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ</div><p>(They said: "We have stayed a day or part of a day.") because they entered the cave at the beginning of the day, and they woke up at the end of the day, which is why they then said,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالُواْ رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ</div><p>("...or a part of a day." They said: "Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed...") meaning, `Allah knows best about your situation.' It seems that they were not sure about how long they had slept, and Allah knows best. Then they turned their attention to more pressing matters, like their need for food and drink, so they said:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَابْعَثُواْ أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ</div><p>(So send one of you with this silver coin of yours) They had brought with them some Dirhams (silver coins) from their homes, to buy whatever they might need, and they had given some in charity and kept some, so they said:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَابْعَثُواْ أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَـذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ</div><p>(So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town,) meaning to their city, which they had left. The definite article indicates that they were referring to a known city.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَيُّهَآ أَزْكَى طَعَامًا</div><p>(and let him find out which is the Azka food.) Azka means "purest", as Allah says elsewhere,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَلَوْلاَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَى مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَداً</div><p>(And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure Zaka from sins) 24:21 and</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّى </div><p>(Indeed whosoever purifies himself Tazakka shall achieve success.) 87:14 From the same root also comes the word Zakah, which makes one's wealth good and purifies it.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ</div><p>(And let him be careful) meaning when he goes out buying food and coming back. They were telling him to conceal himself as much as he could,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَلاَ يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًاإِنَّهُمْ إِن يَظْهَرُواْ عَلَيْكُمْ يَرْجُمُوكُمْ</div><p>(and let no man know of you. For, if they come to know of you, they will stone you) means, `if they find out where you are,'</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">يَرْجُمُوكُمْ أَوْ يُعِيدُوكُمْ فِى مِلَّتِهِمْ</div><p>(they will stone you or turn you back to their religion;) They were referring to the followers of Decianus, who they were afraid might find out where they were, and punish them with all kinds of torture until they made them go back to their former religion, or until they died, for if they agreed to go back to their (old) religion, they would never attain success in this world or the Hereafter. So they said:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَلَن تُفْلِحُواْ إِذًا أَبَدًا</div><p>(and in that case you will never be successful.)</p>
Their awakening and sending One of Themselves to buy Food Allah says: `just as We caused them to ...كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ(How long have you stayed (here)) meaning, `how long have you slept'قَالُواْ لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ(They said: "We have stayed a day or part of a day.") because they entered the cave at the beginning of the day, and they woke up at the end of the day, which is why they then said,أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالُواْ رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ("...or a part of a day." They said: "Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed...") meaning, `Allah knows best about your situation.' It seems that they were not sure about how long they had slept, and Allah knows best. Then they turned their attention to more pressing matters, like their need for food and drink, so they said:فَابْعَثُواْ أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ(So send one of you with this silver coin of yours) They had brought with them some Dirhams (silver coins) from their homes, to buy whatever they might need, and they had given some in charity and kept some, so they said:فَابْعَثُواْ أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَـذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ(So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town,) meaning to their city, which they had left. The definite article indicates that they were referring to a known city.فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَيُّهَآ أَزْكَى طَعَامًا(and let him find out which is the Azka food.) Azka means "purest", as Allah says elsewhere,وَلَوْلاَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَى مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَداً(And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure Zaka from sins) 24:21 andقَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّى (Indeed whosoever purifies himself Tazakka shall achieve success.) 87:14 From the same root also comes the word Zakah, which makes one's wealth good and purifies it.وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ(And let him be careful) meaning when he goes out buying food and coming back. They were telling him to conceal himself as much as he could,وَلاَ يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًاإِنَّهُمْ إِن يَظْهَرُواْ عَلَيْكُمْ يَرْجُمُوكُمْ(and let no man know of you. For, if they come to know of you, they will stone you) means, `if they find out where you are,'يَرْجُمُوكُمْ أَوْ يُعِيدُوكُمْ فِى مِلَّتِهِمْ(they will stone you or turn you back to their religion;) They were referring to the followers of Decianus, who they were afraid might find out where they were, and punish them with all kinds of torture until they made them go back to their former religion, or until they died, for if they agreed to go back to their (old) religion, they would never attain success in this world or the Hereafter. So they said:وَلَن تُفْلِحُواْ إِذًا أَبَدًا(and in that case you will never be successful.)