Tafsir

The Length of their Stay in the Cave

Here Allah tells His Messenger the length of time the people of the Cave spent in their cave, from the time when He caused them to sleep until the time when He resurrected them and caused the people of that era to find them. The length of time was three hundred plus nine years in lunar years, which is three hundred years in solar years. The difference between one hundred lunar years and one hundred solar years is three years, which is why after mentioning three hundred, Allah says, `adding nine.'قُلِ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثُواْ(Say: "Allah knows best how long they stayed...") `If you are asked about how long they stayed, and you have no knowledge of that and no revelation from Allah about it, then do not say anything. Rather say something like this:اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثُواْ لَهُ غَيْبُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ(Allah knows best how long they stayed. With Him is (the knowledge of) the Unseen of the heavens and the earth.)" meaning, no one knows about that except Him, and whoever among His creatures He chooses to tell.

What we have said here is the view of more than one of the scholars of Tafsir, such as Mujahid and others among the earlier and later generations.وَلَبِثُواْ فِى كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلاثَ مِئَةٍ سِنِينَ(And they stayed in their cave three hundred years,) Qatadah said, this was the view of the People of the Book, and Allah refuted it by saying:قُلِ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثُواْ(Say: "Allah knows best how long they stayed...") meaning, that Allah knows better than what the people say. This was also the view of Mutarraf bin `Abdullah. However, this view is open to debate, because when the People of the Book said that they stayed in the cave for three hundred years, without the extra nine, they were referring to solar years, and if Allah was merely narrating what they had said, He would not have said,وَازْدَادُواْ تِسْعًا(adding nine.) The apparent meaning of the Ayah is that Allah is stating the facts, not narrating what was said. This is the view of Ibn Jarir (may Allah have mercy on him).

And Allah knows best.أَبْصِرْ بِهِ وَأَسْمِعْ(How clearly He sees, and hears (everything)!) He sees them and hears them. Ibn Jarir said, "The language used is an eloquent expression of praise." The phrase may be understood to mean, how much Allah sees of everything that exists and how much He hears of everything that is to be heard, for nothing is hidden from Him! It was narrated that Qatadah commented on this Ayah:أَبْصِرْ بِهِ وَأَسْمِعْ(How clearly He sees, and hears (everything)!) "No one hears or sees more than Allah."مَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَلِىٍّ وَلاَ يُشْرِكُ فِى حُكْمِهِ أَحَدًا(They have no protector other than Him, and He makes none to share in His decision and His rule.) meaning, He, may He be glorified, is the One Who has the power to create and to command, the One Whose ruling cannot be overturned; He has no adviser, supporter or partner, may He be exalted and hallowed.

Yet another question arises here about the People of Kahf. During their time and then within the blessed period of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، the Jews and Christians had their differences about two things - the number of the People of Kahf and the duration of their sleep in the Cave. The Qur'an does describe both. However, it has done so with a difference. The number was not mentioned explicitly. Rather, only a hint has been given by not refuting the view which was correct. But, the fixed duration was declared in very clear words: وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ مِائَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُوا تِسْعًا (And they stayed in their Cave for three hundred years and added nine -25). The reason is that this very remarkable diction of the Qur'an strongly suggests that this debate on the number of the people of Kahf is virtually useless. No worldly or religious issue relates to or depends on it. Yes, this unusual sleep for such a long period of time, being healthy and fit without food and drink and then sitting up in good shape after such a long time is certainly a working model of Resurrection.

That there is a Day of Judgment and that there is a Hereafter can be argued on this basis. Therefore, the period of sleep was stated very clearly.

People who deny the extraordinary miracles, or people who are in the habit of explaining them away overawed by the objections of modern day Jewish and Christian orientalists, have not spared even the Qur'an. For example, in the case of this verse (25), they have tried to use the explanation of Qatadah as a prop to reject the duration of three hundred nine years as the saying of those very people who were differing among them-selves. But, they have erred. The statement: (for a number of years - 11) which appears in an earlier sentence of the Qur'an cannot be called the saying of anyone other than Allah Ta’ ala! To prove the miraculous nature of the event even this much is sufficient that someone remains asleep for years and years and then rises and sits up all intact, fit and alive. Allah knows best.

وإذا سُئلت -أيها الرسول- عن مدة لبثهم في الكهف، وليس عندك علم في ذلك وتوقيف من الله، فلا تتقدم فيه بشيء، بل قل: الله أعلم بمدة لبثهم، له غيب السموات والأرض، أَبْصِرْ به وأسمع، أي: تعجب من كمال بصره وسمعه وإحاطته بكل شيء. ليس للخلق أحد غيره يتولى أمورهم، وليس له شريك في حكمه وقضائه وتشريعه، سبحانه وتعالى.

وقوله : ( قل الله أعلم بما لبثوا ) أي : إذا سئلت عن لبثهم وليس عندك [ علم ] في ذلك وتوقيف من الله عز وجل فلا تتقدم فيه بشيء ، بل قل في مثل هذا : ( الله أعلم بما لبثوا له غيب السماوات والأرض ) أي : لا يعلم ذلك إلا هو أو من أطلعه الله عليه من خلقه ، وهذا الذي قلناه ، عليه غير واحد من علماء التفسير كمجاهد ، وغير واحد من السلف والخلف .وقال قتادة في قوله : ( ولبثوا في كهفهم ثلاث مائة سنين وازدادوا تسعا ) هذا قول أهل الكتاب ، وقد رده الله تعالى بقوله : ( قل الله أعلم بما لبثوا ) قال : وفي قراءة عبد الله : " وقالوا : ولبثوا " ، يعني أنه قاله الناسوهكذا قال - كما قال قتادة - مطرف بن عبد الله .وفي هذا الذي زعمه قتادة نظر ، فإن الذي بأيدي أهل الكتاب أنهم لبثوا ثلاثمائة سنة من غير تسع ، يعنون بالشمسية ، ولو كان الله قد حكى قولهم لما قال : ( وازدادوا تسعا ) وظاهر من الآية إنما هو إخبار من الله ، لا حكاية عنهم . وهذا اختيار ابن جرير ، رحمه الله .

ورواية قتادة قراءة ابن مسعود منقطعة ، ثم هي شاذة بالنسبة إلى قراءة الجمهور فلا يحتج بها ، والله أعلم .وقوله : ( أبصر به وأسمع ) أي : إنه لبصير بهم سميع لهم .قال ابن جرير : وذلك في معنى المبالغة في المدح ، كأنه قيل : ما أبصره وأسمعه ، وتأويل الكلام : ما أبصر الله لكل موجود ، وأسمعه لكل مسموع ، لا يخفى عليه من ذلك شيء .ثم روي عن قتادة في قوله : ( أبصر به وأسمع ) فلا أحد أبصر من الله ولا أسمع .وقال ابن زيد : ( أبصر به وأسمع ) يرى أعمالهم ، ويسمع ذلك منهم ، سميعا بصيرا .وقوله : ( ما لهم من دونه من ولي ولا يشرك في حكمه أحدا ) أي : أنه تعالى هو الذي له الخلق والأمر ، الذي لا معقب لحكمه ، وليس له وزير ولا نصير ولا شريك ولا مشير ، تعالى وتقدس .