Three Questions

“First, ask him about those young men who went away somewhere in ancient times. That is, ask him about the story of the Companions of the Cave and what happened to them. Their story is extremely extraordinary. Apart from our ancient books, there is no mention of this event anywhere else.

If he is a Prophet, then he will be able to tell you about them after receiving information from Allah Almighty. Otherwise, he will not be able to tell you.

Then ask him who Alexander, Dhul-Qarnayn, was and what his story was.

Then ask him about the soul—what exactly is it?

If he answers the first two questions and tells you their stories, and also answers the third question about the soul, then understand that he is a true Prophet. In that case, follow him.”

These people returned to Makkah with these three questions and said to the Quraysh:

“We have brought something with which a decision can be made between us and Muhammad.”

After this, they told everyone the details.

The polytheists then came to the Noble Prophet ﷺ and said:

“O Muhammad! If you are truly the Messenger of Allah, then give us the answers to our three questions.

Our first question is: Who were the Companions of the Cave?

The second question is: Who was Dhul-Qarnayn?

And the third question is: What is the soul?”

After hearing their questions, the Prophet ﷺ said:

“I will give you the answers to these questions tomorrow.”

The Prophet ﷺ did not say “Insha’Allah” with these words. That is, he did not say, “Insha’Allah, I will give you the answers tomorrow.”

The Quraysh heard his answer and went back.

The Noble Prophet ﷺ began waiting for revelation, but revelation did not come.

The next day, those people came, but the Prophet ﷺ could not give them any answer.

They began talking about him and even said:

“Muhammad’s Lord has abandoned him.”

Among those people was Abu Lahab’s wife, Umm Jamil. She also said:

“I can see that your Lord has abandoned you and has become displeased with you.”

The words of the Quraysh caused the Noble Prophet ﷺ great distress. He became very worried and saddened.

Allah Almighty instructed the Prophet ﷺ:

“And never say about anything, ‘I will certainly do this tomorrow,’ except by adding, ‘If Allah wills.’ And remember your Lord if you forget, and say, ‘I hope my Lord will guide me to what is nearer to right guidance than this.’”
(Surah Al-Kahf)

The meaning was that whenever you say that you will do something at a particular time in the future, you should always say “Insha’Allah” along with it.

If you forget to say “Insha’Allah” at the time you make your statement and remember it later, then say “Insha’Allah” when you remember it.

This is because saying “Insha’Allah” after remembering it following forgetfulness is also like saying it together with the original statement.

On this occasion, the delay in revelation occurred because the Prophet ﷺ had not said “Insha’Allah.”

When Jibril عليه السلام came with Surah Al-Kahf, the Prophet ﷺ asked him:

“Jibril! You remained away from coming to me for such a long time that I began to feel concerned.”

In response, Jibril عليه السلام said:

“We cannot move from one period of time to another, nor can we move from one place to another, except by the command of your Lord.

We only carry out His command.

And as for what the disbelievers are saying—that your Lord has abandoned you—your Lord has certainly not abandoned you. Rather, all of this has happened according to His wisdom.”

Then Jibril عليه السلام told the Prophet ﷺ about the Companions of the Cave.

He told him about Dhul-Qarnayn and then explained about the soul.

According to Tafsir Ibn Kathir, the details of the Companions of the Cave are as follows:

“They were a group of young men who became inclined toward the true religion and came onto the path of guidance.

These young men were righteous and pious. They accepted their Lord as the One worthy of worship, meaning that they believed in the Oneness of Allah.

Their faith continued to increase day by day.

They were followers of the religion of Hazrat ‘Isa عليه السلام.

However, some narrations also indicate that this incident occurred before Hazrat ‘Isa عليه السلام, because these questions were asked by the Jews, which means that this event was mentioned in their books.

This establishes that the incident occurred before Hazrat ‘Isa عليه السلام.

Their people opposed them, but they remained patient.

The name of the king of that time was Daqyanus.

He was a polytheist and had forced everyone to practice polytheism. He was also extremely oppressive and compelled people to worship idols.

An annual festival used to be held there.

These young men went to the festival with their parents.

There, they saw people worshipping idols.

They became disgusted with it and left the festival. All of them gathered beneath a tree.

Before this, they had been separate from one another and did not know each other.

When they began talking among themselves, they discovered that all of them had left the festival because they were disgusted with idol worship.

They then became close to one another.

They designated a place where they could worship Allah.

Gradually, the polytheistic people learned about them.

They seized the young men and took them before the king.

The king questioned them.

They courageously declared that they had nothing to do with polytheism.

They also invited the king and his courtiers toward belief in the Oneness of Allah.

They clearly declared:

‘Our Lord is the One who created the heavens and the earth, and it is impossible for us to worship anyone besides Him.’

The king became furious at their clear declaration.

He threatened and intimidated them and said that if they did not stop, he would subject them to severe punishment.

When they heard the king’s command, they did not become weak in the slightest.

Instead, their hearts became even stronger.

At the same time, they realized that if they remained there, they would not be able to remain steadfast in their religion.

Therefore, they decided to leave that place, abandoning everything behind in order to protect their faith.

When these people became ready to make sacrifices for the sake of protecting their religion, the mercy of Allah Almighty descended upon them.

They were instructed:

‘Go and seek refuge in a cave. Your Lord will shower His mercy upon you and will make your affairs easy and provide you with comfort.’

Thus, when they found an opportunity, they fled from there and hid in a cave in a mountain.

Their people searched for them everywhere, but they could not find them.

Allah Almighty made them incapable of seeing the young men.

A similar incident occurred with the Noble Prophet ﷺ when he sought refuge in the Cave of Thawr with Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq رضي الله عنه.

Although the polytheists came right up to the entrance of the cave, they could not see the Prophet ﷺ.

According to some narrations concerning this incident as well, the king’s men pursued the young men and reached the cave, but they could not see them inside it.

The Qur’an declares that sunlight would pass over the cave in the morning and evening.

Exactly which city and which mountain contains this cave is not certainly known to anyone.

Then Allah Almighty caused them to fall asleep.

Allah Almighty continued turning them from side to side.

Their dog was also with them inside the cave.

Just as Allah Almighty, through His perfect power, had caused them to sleep, He also awakened them.

They had remained asleep for three hundred and nine years.

When they awoke after three hundred and nine years, they were exactly as they had been when they went to sleep—as though they had only gone to sleep the previous day.