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1 Al Beidâwi, Jallalo'ddin, &c. 2 In Martyrol. ad 27 Julii.
3 In Alcor. p. 425. et in Prodr. part. 4, p. 103.
4 Hotting. Hist. Orient. p. 40. 5 Vide Greg. Turon. et Simeon.
Metaphrast. 6 Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. p. 189.
7 Al Beidâwi, ex trad Noomân Ebn Bashir. 8 Idem.

And thou mightest have seen the sun, when it had risen, to decline from
their cave towards the right hand, and when it went down, to leave them on the
left hand:x and they were in the spacious part of the cave.y This was one of
the signs of GOD. Whomsoever GOD shall direct, he shall be rightly directed:
and whomsoever he shall cause to err, thou shalt not find any to defend, or to
direct.
And thou wouldest have judged them to have been awake,z while they were
sleeping; and we caused them to turn themselves to the right hand, and to the
left.a And their dogb stretched forth his forelegs in the mouth of the cave:
if thou hadst come suddenly upon them, verily thou wouldest have turned thy
back and fled from them, and thou wouldest have been filled with fear at the
sight of them.c
And so we awaked them from their sleep, that they might ask questions of
one another. One of them spake and said, How long have ye tarried here? They
answered, We have tarried a day, or part of a day. The others said, Your LORD
best knoweth the time ye have tarried:d and now send one of you with this your
money into the city;e and let him see which of its inhabitants hath the best
and cheapest food, and let him bring you provision from him; and let him
behave circumspectly, and not discover you to any one.
Verily if they come up against you, they will stone you, or force you to
return to their religion; and then shall ye not prosper forever.

x Lest it should be offensive to them, the cave opening towards the
south.1
y i.e., In the midst of it, where they were incommoded neither by the
heat of the sun nor the closeness of the cave.2
z Because of their having their eyes open, or their frequent turning
themselves from one side to the other.3
a Lest their lying so long on the ground should consume their flesh.4
b This dog had followed them as they passed by him when they fled to
the cave, and they drove him away; whereupon GOD caused him to speak, and he
said, I love those who are dear unto God; go to sleep therefore, and I will
guard you. But some say, it was a dog belonging to a shepherd who followed
them, and that the dog followed the shepherd; which opinion is supported by
reading, as some do, câlebohom, their dog's master instead of calbohom, their
dog.5 Jallalo'ddin adds, that the dog behaved as his masters did, in turning
himself, in sleeping, and in waking.
The Mohammedans have a great respect for this dog, and allow him a place
in paradise with some other favourite brutes; and they have a sort of proverb
which they use in speaking of a covetous person, that he would not throw a
bone to the dog of the seven sleepers; nay, it is said that they have the
superstition to write his name, which they suppose to be Katmîr (though some,
as is observed above, think he was called al Rakîm), on their letters which go
far, or which pass the sea, as a protection, or kind of talisman, to preserve
them from miscarriage.6
c For that GOD had given them terrible countenances; or else because of
the largeness of their bodies, or the horror of the place.
It is related that the Khalif Moâwiyah, in an expedition he made against
Natolia, passed by the cave of the seven sleepers, and would needs send
somebody into it, notwithstanding Ebn Abbâs remonstrated to him the danger of
it, saying, That a better man than him (meaning the prophet) had been
forbidden to enter it, and repeated this verse; but the men the Khaliff sent
in had no sooner entered the cave, than they were struck dead by a burning
wind.7
d As they entered the cave in the morning, and waked about noon, they
at first imagined they had slept half a day, or a day and a half at most; but
when they found their nails and hair grown very long, they used these words.8
e Which some commentators suppose was Tarsus.

1 Idem. 2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 Idem,
Jallalo'ddin. 5 Idem. 6 La Roque, Voy. de l'Arabie Heur.
p. 74. Vide D'Herbel. ubi sup. 7 Al Beidâwi. 8 Idem.

20 And so we made their people acquainted with what had happened to them;
that they might know that the promise of GOD is true, and that there is no
doubt of the last hour;f when they disputed among themselves concerning their
matter.g And they said, Erect a building over them: their LORD best knoweth
their condition. Those who prevailed in their affair answered, We will surely
build a chapel over them.h
Some say, The sleepers were three; and their dog was the fourth;i and
others say, They were five; and their dog was the sixth;j guessing at a secret
matter: and others say, They were seven; and their dog was the eighth.k Say,
My LORD best knoweth their number: none shall know them, except a few.
Wherefore dispute not concerning them, except with a clear disputation,
according to what hath been revealed unto thee: and ask not any of the
Christians concerning them.
Say not of any matter, I will surely do this to-morrow; unless thou add,
If GOD please.l And remember thy LORD, when thou forgettest,m and say, My
LORD is able to direct me with ease, that I may draw near unto the truth of
this matter rightly.
And they remained in their cave three hundred years, and nine years
over.n
Say, GOD best knoweth how long they continued there: unto him are the
secrets of heaven and earth known; do thou make him to see and to hear.o The
inhabitants thereof have no protector besides him; neither doth he suffer any
one to have a share in the establishment or knowledge of his decree.

f The long sleep of these young men, and their waking after so many
years, being a representation of the state of those who die, and are
afterwards raised to life.
g i.e., Concerning the resurrection; some saying that the souls only
should be raised, others, that they should be raised with the body; or,
concerning the sleepers, after they were really dead; one saying, that they
were dead, and another, they were only asleep: or else concerning the erecting
a building over them, as it follows in the next words; some advising a
dwelling-house to be built there, and others a temple.1
h When the young man who was sent into the city, went to pay for the
provision he had bought, his money was so old, being the coin of Decianus,
that they imagined he had found a treasure, and carried him before the prince,
who was a Christian, and having heard his story, sent some with him to the
cave, who saw and spoke to the others: after which they fell asleep again and
died; and the prince ordered them to be buried in the same place, and built a
chapel over them.
i This was the opinion of al Seyid, a Jacobite Christian of Najrân.
j Which was the opinion of certain Christians, and particularly of a
Nestorian prelate.
k And this is the true opinion.2
l It is said, that when the Koreish, by the direction of the Jews, put
the three questions above mentioned to Mohammed, he bid them come to him the
next day, and he would give them an answer, but added not, if it please God;
for which reason he had the mortification to wait above ten days before any
revelation was vouchsafed him concerning those matters, so that the Koreish
triumphed, and bitterly reproached him as a liar: but at length Gabriel
brought him directions what he should say; with this admonition, however, that
he should not be so confident for the future.3
m i.e., Give the glory to him, and ask pardon for thy omission, in case
thou forget to say, If it please God.
n Jallalo'ddin supposes the whole space was three hundred solar years,
and that the odd nine are added to reduce them to lunar years.
Some think these words are introduced as spoken by the Christians, who
differed among themselves about the time; one saying it was three hundred
years, and another, three hundred and nine years.4 The interval between the
reign of Decius, and that of Theodosius the younger, in whose time the
sleepers are said to have awaked, will not allow them to have slept quite two
hundred years; though Mohammed is somewhat excusable, since the number
assigned by Simeon Metaphrastes5 is three hundred and seventy-two years.
o This is an ironical expression, intimating the folly and madness of
man's presuming to instruct GOD.6

1 Idem. 2 Idem, Jallalo'ddin. 3 Al Beidâwi.
4 Idem. 5 Ubi sup.
6 Al Beidâwi. Jallalo'ddin

Read that which hath been revealed unto thee, of the book of thy LORD,
without presuming to make any change therein:p there is none who hath power to
change his words; and thou shalt not find any to fly to, besides him, if thou
attempt it.
Behave thyself with constancy towards those who call upon their LORD
morning and evening, and who seek his favor; and let not thine eyes be turned
away from them, seeking the pomp of this life;q neither obey him whose heart
we have caused to neglect the remembrance of us,r and who followeth his lusts,
and leaveth the truth behind him.
And say, The truth is from your LORD; wherefore let him who will,
believe, and let him who will, be incredulous. We have surely prepared for
the unjust hell fire, the flame and smoke whereof shall surround him like a
pavilion: and if they beg relief, they shall be relieved with water like
molten brass, which shall scald their faces: O how miserable a potion, and how
unhappy a couch!
As to those who believe, and do good works, we will not suffer the reward
of him who shall work righteousness to perish;
30 for them are prepared gardens of eternal abode,s which shall be watered
by rivers; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and they
shall be clothed in green garments of fine silk and brocades, reposing
themselves therein on thrones. O how happy a reward, and how easy a couch!
And propound unto them as a parable two men:t on the one of whom we had
bestowed two vineyards, and had surrounded them with palm-trees, and had
caused corn to grow between them. Each of the gardens brought forth its fruit
every season, and failed not at all;
and we caused a river to flow in the midst thereof: and he had great
abundance. And he said unto his companion by way of debate, I am superior to
thee in wealth, and have a more powerful family.
And he went into his garden,u being guilty of injustice against his own
soul, and said, I do not think that this garden will decay forever;
neither do I think that the last hour will come: and although I should
return unto my LORD, verily I shall find a better garden than this in
exchange.u
And his companion said unto him, by way of debate, Dost thou not believe
in him who created thee of the dust, and afterwards of seed; and then
fashioned thee into a perfect man?
But as for me, GOD is my LORD; and I will not associate any other deity
with my LORD.

p As the unbelievers would persuade thee to do.1
q That is, Despise not the poor believers because of their meanness,
nor honour the rich because of their wealth and grandeur.
r The person more particularly intended here, it is said, was Ommeya
Ebn Khalf, who desired Mohammed to discard his indigent companions, out of
respect to the Koreish. See chapter 6 p. 93.
s Literally of Eden. See chapter 9, p. 142, 143.
t Though these seem to be general characters only, designed to
represent the different end of the wicked, and of the good; yet it is
supposed, by some, that two particular persons are here meant. One says they
were two Israelites and brothers, who had a considerable sum left them by
their father, which they divided between them; and that one of them, being an
unbeliever, bought large fields and possessions with his portion, while the
other, who was a true believer, disposed of his to pious uses; but that in the
end, the former was ruined, and the latter prospered. Another thinks they
were two men of the tribe of Makhzûm: the one named al Aswad Ebn Abd'al
Ashadd, an infidel; and the other Abu Salma Ebn Abd'allah, the husband of Omm
Salma (whom the prophet married after his death), and a true believer.2
u Carrying his companion with him, out of ostentation, and to mortify
him with the view of his large possessions.3
x Vainly imagining that his prosperity was not so much the free gift of
GOD, as due to his merit.4

1 Iidem. 2 Al Beidâwi. 3 Idem. 4
Idem

And when thou enterest thy garden, wilt thou not say, What GOD pleaseth
shall come to pass; there is no power but in GOD alone? Although thou seest
me to be inferior to thee in wealth and number of children,
my LORD is well able to bestow on me a better gift than thy garden, and
to shoot his arrows against the same from heaven, so that it shall become
barren dust;
or its water may sink deep into the earth, that thou canst not draw
thereof.
40 And his possessions were encompassed with destruction, as his companion
had forewarned him; wherefore he began to turn down the palms of his hands out
of sorrow and regret for that which he had expended thereon; for the vines
thereof were fallen down on their trails: and he said, Would to GOD that I had
not associated any other deity with my LORD!
And he had no party to assist him besides GOD, neither was he able to
defend himself against his vengeance.
In such case protection belongeth of right unto GOD alone; he is the best
rewarder, and the best giver of success.
And propound to them a similitude of the present life. It is like water
which we send down from heaven; and the herb of the earth is mixed therewith,
and after it hath been green and flourishing, in the morning it becometh dry
stubble, which the winds scatter abroad: and GOD is able to do all things.
Wealth and children are the ornament of this present life: but good
works, which are permanent, are better in the sight of thy LORD, with respect
to the reward, and better with respect to hope.
50 On a certain day we will cause the mountains to pass away,y and thou
shalt see the earth appearing plain and even; and we will gather mankind
together, and we will not leave any one of them behind.
And they shall be set before thy LORD in distinct order, and he shall say
unto them, Now are ye come unto us naked, as we created you the first time:
but ye thought that we should not perform our promise unto you.
And the book wherein every one's actions are recorded shall be put into
his hand; and thou shalt see the wicked in great terror, because of that which
is written therein, and they shall say, Alas for us! what meaneth this book?
it omitteth neither a small action nor a great one, but it compriseth the
same; and they shall find that which they have wrought, present before their
eyes: and thy LORD will not deal unjustly with any one.
Remember when we said unto the angels, Worship ye Adam: and they all
worshipped him, except Eblis,z who was one of the genii,a and departed from
the command of his LORD. Will ye therefore take him and his offspring for
your patrons besides me, notwithstanding they are your enemies? Miserable
shall such a change be to the ungodly!
I called not them to be present at the creation of the heavens and of the
earth, nor at the creation of themselves, neither did I take those seducers
for my assistants.

y For being torn up by the roots, they shall fly in the air, and be
reduced to atoms.1
z See chapter 2, p. 5, and chapter 7, p. 105, &c.
a Hence some imagine the genii are a species of angels: others suppose
the devil to have been originally a genius, which was the occasion of his
rebellion, and call him the father of the genii, whom he begat after his
fall;2 it being a constant opinion among the Mohammedans, that the angels are
impeccable, and do not propagate their species.3

1 Idem. See Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 64. 2 Jallalo'ddin,
&c. 3 See the Prelim. Disc. Sect. IV. p. 56, &c.

On a certain day, God shall say unto the idolaters, Call those whom ye
imagined to be my companions, to protect you: and they shall call them, but
they shall not answer them; and we will place a valley of destruction between
them:b
and the wicked shall see hell fire: and they shall know that they shall
be thrown into the same, and they shall find no way to avoid it.
And now have we variously propounded unto men, in this Koran, a parable
of every kind; but man cavilleth at most things therein.
Yet nothing hindereth men from believing, now a direction is come unto
them, and from asking pardon of their LORD, excepting that they wait until the
punishment of their predecessors come to be inflicted on them, or that the
chastisement of the next life come upon them publicly.
We send not our messengers, but to bear good tidings, and to denounce
threats. Those who believe not dispute with vain arguments, that they may
thereby render the truth of no effect; and they hold my signs, and the
admonitions which have been made them, in derision.
And who is more unjust than he who hath been acquainted with the signs of
his LORD, and retireth afar off from the same, and forgetteth that which his
hands have formerly committed? Verily we have cast veils over their hearts,
lest they should understand the Koran, and into their ears thickness of
hearing:
if thou invite them to the true direction, yet will they not therefore be
directed forever.
Thy LORD is gracious, endued with mercy; if he would have punished them
for that which they have committed, he would doubtless have hastened their
punishment: but a threat hath been denounced against them,c and they shall
find no refuge, besides him.
And those former citiesd did we destroy, when they acted unjustly; and we
gave them previous warning of their destruction.
And remember when Moses said unto his servant Joshua the son of Nun, I
will not cease to go forward, until I come to the place where the two seas
meet; or I will travel for a long space of time.e
60 But when they were arrived at the meeting of the two seas,f they forgot
their fish, which they had taken with them;g and the fish took its way freely
in the sea.h

b i.e., Between the idolaters and their false gods. Some suppose the
meaning is no more than that GOD will set them at variance and division.
c viz., Of their calamity at Bedr (for the Koreish are the infidels
here intended), or their punishment at the resurrection.1
d That is, the towns of the Adites, Thamûdites, Sodomites, &c.
e The original word properly signifies the space of eighty years and
upwards. To explain this long passage the commentators tell the following
story: They say that Moses once preaching to the people, they admired his
knowledge and eloquence so much, that they asked him whether he knew any man
in the world who was wiser than himself; to which he answered in the negative:
whereupon GOD, in a revelation, having reprehended him for his vanity (though
some pretend that Moses asked GOD the question of his own accord), acquainted
him that his servant al Khedr was more knowing than he; and, at Moses' request
told him he might find that person at a certain rock, where the two seas met;
directing him to take a fish with him in a basket, and that where he missed
the fish, that was the place. Accordingly Moses set out, with his servant
Joshua, in search of al Khedr; which expedition is here described.2
f viz., Those of Persia and Greece. Some fancy that the meeting of
Moses and al Khedr is here intended, as of the two seas of knowledge.3
g Moses forgot to inquire concerning it, and Joshua forgot to tell him
when he missed it. It is said that when they came to the rock, Moses falling
asleep, the fish, which was roasted, leaped out of the basket into the sea;
some add, that Joshua making the ablution at the fountain of life (of which
immediately), some of the water happened to be sprinkled on the fish, which
immediately restored it to life.1
h The word here translated freely, signifying also a pipe or arched
canal for conveyance of water, some have imagined that the water of the sea
was miraculously kept from touching the body of the fish, which passed through
it as under an arch.2

1 Al Beidâwi. 2 Idem, Al Zamakhshari, Al Bokhari, in Sonna,
&c. 3 Idem. 1 Idem.
2 Idem.

And when they had passed beyond that place, Moses said unto his servant,
Bring us our dinner; for now are we fatigued with this our journey.
His servant answered, Dost thou know what has befallen me? When we took
up our lodging at the rock, verily I forgot the fish: and none made me to
forget it, except Satan, that I should not remind thee of it. And the fish
took its way into the sea, in a wonderful manner.
Moses said, This is what we sought after. And they both went back,
returning by the way they came.
And coming to the rock they found one of our servants,i unto whom we had
granted mercy from us, and whom we had taught wisdom from before us.
And Moses said unto him, Shall I follow thee, that thou mayest teach me
part of that which thou hast been taught, for a direction unto me?
He answered, Verily thou canst not bear with me:
for how canst thou patiently suffer those things, the knowledge whereof
thou dost not comprehend?
Moses replied, Thou shalt find me patient, if GOD please; neither will I
be disobedient unto thee in anything.
He said, If thou follow me, therefore, ask me not concerning anything,
until I shall declare the meaning thereof unto thee.
70 So they both went on by the sea-shore, until they went up into a ship;
and he made a hole therein.j And Moses said unto him, Hast thou made a hole
therein, that thou mightest drown those who are on board? now hast thou done a
strange thing.
He answered, Did I not tell thee that thou couldst not bear with me?
Moses said, Rebuke me not, because I did forget; and impose not on me a
difficulty in what I am commanded.
Wherefore they left the ship and proceeded, until they met with a youth;
and he slew him.k Moses said, Hast thou slain an innocent person, without his
having killed another? now hast thou committed an unjust action.
He answered, Did I not tell thee that thou couldest not bear with me?
Moses said, If I ask thee concerning anything hereafter, suffer me not to
accompany thee: now hast thou received an excuse from me.

i This person, according to the general opinion, was the prophet al
Khedr; whom the Mohammedans usually confound with Phineas, Elias, and St.
George, saying that his soul passed by a metempsychosis successively through
all three. Some, however, say his true name was Balya Ebn Malcân, and that he
lived in the time of Afridûn, one of the ancient kings of Persia, and that he
preceded Dhu'lkarnein, and lived to the time of Moses. They suppose al Khedr,
having found out the fountain of life and drunk thereof, became immortal; and
that he had therefore this name from his flourishing and continual youth.3
Part of these fictions they took from the Jews, some of whom also fancy
Phineas was Elias.4
j For al Khedr took an axe, and knocked out two of her planks.5
k By twisting his neck round, or dashing his head against a wall, or
else by throwing him down and cutting his throat.6

3 Idem. Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. Art. Khedher, Septemcastrens.
de Turcar. Moribus. Busbeq. Epist. I, p. 93, &c. Hotting. Hist. Orient. p. 58,
&c., 99, &c., 292, &c. 4 R. Levi Ben Gerson in Append. l. I, Reg. I,
27. 5 Al Beidâwi. 6 Idem

They went forwards, therefore, until they came to the inhabitants of a
certain city:l and they asked food of the inhabitants thereof; but they
refused to receive them. And they found therein a wall, which was ready to
fall down; and he set it upright.m Whereupon Moses said unto him, If thou
wouldest thou mightest doubtless have received a reward for it.
He answered, This shall be a separation between me and thee; but I will
first declare unto thee the signification of that which thou couldest not bear
with patience.
The vessel belonged to certain poor men,n who did their business in the
sea: and I was minded to render it unserviceable, because there was a kingo
behind them, who took every sound ship by force.
As to the youth, his parents were true believers; and we feared, lest he,
being an unbeliever, should oblige them to suffer his perverseness and
ingratitude:
80 wherefore we desired that their LORD might give them a more righteous
child in exchange for him, and one more affectionate towards them.p
And the wall belonged to two orphan youthsq in the city, and under it was
a treasure hidden which belonged to them; and their father was a righteous
man: and thy LORD was pleased that they should attain their full age, and take
forth their treasure, through the mercy of thy LORD, and I did not what thou
hast seen of mine own will, but by God's direction. This is the
interpretation of that which thou couldest not bear with patience.
The Jews will ask thee concerning Dhu'lkarnein.r Answer I will rehearse
unto you an account of him.
We made him powerful in the earth, and we gave him means to accomplish
everything he pleased. And he followed his way,