Surah Al-Kahf | Part 5 Ayahs 17-22 | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | Weekly Tafsir

Respected listeners, dear brothers and sisters, wa salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make this gathering — like any other gathering of knowledge and dhikr in the house of His — to be a very blessed one. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He allows every one of us to remain sincere in our coming here, and allow us to receive every single answer that we are looking for in our life through the barakah of the Qur'an. May Allah azza wa jall allow us, through the barakah of this gathering, to build a stronger relationship with the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May He allow us to contemplate over its meanings. May He allow us to trust that the Qur'an has solutions to all of our difficulties. And may He make you and I amongst those who are blessed to be reciting it abundantly every single day. And may our lips always be moist in His remembrance — sometimes through salawat, sometimes through Qur'an, sometimes through some other dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So, like we always mention at the beginning of every dars — our niyyah should be: Allah, allow me to practice whatever I hear, allow me to propagate whatever I hear, and allow me to get the solutions to what I'm looking for in my life. There are a few brothers that reached out before Isha for some specific issues. I told them, come to the tafsir, and insha'Allah, if you are sincere in what you're looking for, you'll get the answer. Whatever issue you're dealing with, insha'Allah Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will allow it to come about throughout tonight's discourse.

Also, alhamdulillah, there is a lot of effort being done here in making a very detailed description of each tafsir. So those of you who are listening online, and those of you listening here — you can go back home and listen afterwards. Under the description of each tafsir, you will see timestamps that are meticulously being done by one of our students here. May Allah reward him for that and put barakah in his knowledge and his amal. It is very meticulously done so that any time you want to get a gist of what was covered, you can easily go and the entire 1 hour 15 minutes or so is divided based on the topics that were covered, and you can with the press of one link immediately go to that section. Every single tafsir of Surah Al-Kahf so far, alhamdulillah, we have it detailed like this. So please do benefit from this and share it with others.

Ayahs 17–22: The Recitation

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ، بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

The Miracle of the Sun — Protection of the People of the Cave

Allah azza wa jall mentions in these verses, from 17 to 22, the miracle of the protection of these individuals. He says, وَتَرَى — are you seeing? Obviously we are not there. Allah azza wa jall wants us to imagine as though we are there, and we can witness that scene. What do you see? You have these people lying inside this cave, and you are seeing the atmospheric conditions changing.

You would have seen the sun as it rose, inclining away from their cave towards their right, and as it set, declining away from them towards the left, while they were asleep in a deep hollow within. What's happening here: the sun when it rose from the east and set in the west — although they were lying in an open part of this large cave in which the sunlight would have been directly hitting them — Allah azza wa jall made the sun change its pattern specifically for these individuals, so that direct rays of sunlight would not touch them, would not get to them inside the cave. Even though it was an open area where, had it not been for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala making the sun deviate from this path, it would most definitely have hit their body. And similarly when the sun would be setting, Allah azza wa jall instructed the sun to change its path and deviate to a certain degree, just enough so that they would not be afflicted, or would not receive any direct sunlight inside.

And then Allah azza wa jall said:

This is of the miraculous signs of Allah. Whomever Allah guides, then he is truly guided. But whomsoever He leaves to stray — notice the translation here — He lets him stray. Not that He is actively leading him astray, but rather He lets him go astray. Then you shall never find for him any rightly guiding patron.

Three Means of Divine Protection

First: Eyes Wide Open

Moreover, you would have thought them awake, even though they were actually sleeping — meaning their eyes may have remained open. This was one of the methods of protecting them from any intruders. It's like a scarecrow. So these are actual humans, they're sleeping, but their eyes are wide open. Someone who is intending to come inside — when he sees them, five or seven people staring at him — he will be intimidated and walk away. So Allah azza wa jall, although they were sleeping, had their eyes wide open, or somehow made it seem that they were awake.

Second: Turning from Side to Side

Another thing that made a person possibly trying to intrude upon them feel that they were awake is that they would be turning sideways, from one side to the other. They would be turning from right to left. Now it's not that they were doing it themselves:

We turn them on their right sides and then on their left. Because they cannot do it themselves. Allah azza wa jall says, "We are the ones who turn them." So someone seeing them thinks that most definitely these people are awake, or at least they are not very deeply asleep. Some ulema of tafsir also explain that this was to protect them from bed sores — to keep the circulation going — since they would be in one position for an extended time.

Third: The Guard Dog

Another amazing and third means of protection:

Their dog, stretching forth his forelegs at the threshold. You have a guard dog right at the entrance of the cave.

Were you to have come upon them in this state while they were in the cave, most certainly you would have frantically turned away from them in flight, and would have been filled with horror at the sight of them. This was the means of protecting them.

They Awaken: Their Conversation and the Mission for Food

And so it was that at last We awakened them. Thus they began to question one another. One of them said to the others, "How long have you remained asleep?" Some said, "We have only remained so for a day, or maybe a portion of a day." While others said, "Your Lord knows best." Meaning — let's not get into this discussion. What's the point of discussing how long we slept? We really don't know exactly. Your Lord knows best how long you have remained asleep. Now let's get to business. We are hungry.

So send one of you forth now with these silver coins of yours to the city. And let him look as to where he might find the most wholesome food — go search for halal food — then let him bring back to you some provision from it. But let him proceed gently, stealthily. And let no one take undue notice of you.

Make sure you cover yourself up. Do not try to attract unnecessary attention to yourself. Why so?

For indeed if they come to know about you, one of two things will happen: either they will stone you to death, or they may force you to become apostates, to come back to their religion. And never again would you succeed in obtaining salvation.

They were not running away from martyrdom. The Prophet ﷺ said, the best individual is the one who has a long life and abundant good deeds — مَنْ طَالَ عُمُرُهُ وَحَسُنَ عَمَلُهُ. We want to live — we're young. We want to live a long, successful life. We want to be able to guide people towards the deen. So they were not running away from martyrdom. The issue is: why not have a lengthier life if possible? So if you make a foolish mistake, they may end up stoning you to death right then and there. Something even worse than that would be if they forced you back into their religion. If you end up becoming a mushrik, وَلَن تُفْلِحُوا إِذًا أَبَدًا — never again would you succeed in obtaining salvation.

They Are Discovered: Allah's Promise Is True

So it was that We caused them to be discovered. They were forced to wake up, forced to become hungry, forced to go find food. And then this whole secret came out. It wasn't coincidental — it was meant to happen. Allah wanted it to happen. أَعْثَرْنَا — We caused them to be discovered. Why? So that the people of that town might know and bear witness that indeed Allah's promise to raise the dead is true, and that Allah's promise to help those who want to remain on the deen is true. And that the coming of the Hour of Doom — there is no doubt at all therein.

Behold, their people had quarreled amongst themselves regarding the affair of these youths after they had passed away. Some of them said, "Let's build a perimeter wall around them in the cave to seal off their remains, so that no one comes and tries to take away anything, or desecrate the bodies. Let's seal off that area and let them alone. For their Lord knows best about what is to become of such people." But those who prevailed in this argument and debate said, "We shall raise a house of worship over them — we'll build a masjid on top." So that people who come to witness this story will be able to make some ibadah over here.

How Many Were They? The Debate Over Their Number

Some of the people of the scripture — the Jews and Christians — have a difference of opinion regarding how many people were in the cave. Some say there were three, the fourth of them being their dog. Others say there were five, the sixth of them being their dog. They are but casting about in the unseen. رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ — rajm is to throw. So they are casting their ideas and viewpoints in the dark. They have no clear proof. Yet others say there were seven, and the eighth of them was their dog. O Muhammad ﷺ, say: رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِمْ — My Lord knows best their number. None but a few truly knows of them and their actual number. So do not argue about them except with the sure argument given to you by the Qur'an. Nor make inquiry concerning them from anyone amongst the people of the scripture.

The Laws of Nature Are Subject to Allah's Will

This is what we are covering with ibn Ta'ala today. Allah azza wa jall speaks about the miracle of the sun. We talk about laws of nature, laws of physics, laws that we understand from studying nature. These laws, although they remain consistent usually — and for us they appear to be laws that cannot be changed — for Allah azza wa jall, they are absolutely changeable, editable, nullifiable. There is no such thing as "this is the set way and it can only happen this way." There is usually a sunnah of Allah — a customary way of how He goes about doing things — but then the qudra of Allah outdoes that. The qudra of Allah means the power of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that is not committed, not locked down to any specific way of doing things.

For example, usually a man and woman come together and you have a child. But then you have the story of Maryam, where without a husband, Allah azza wa jall blessed her with a child. You have the story of Adam and Hawa — without any of this, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed them. So these are examples of what is called خَرْقُ الْعَادَة. Kharq means to tear; 'adah means habit, or a normal means and method of doing things. These are incidents in which the habit is thrown out, the usual method is thrown out, and something new comes about.

If this خَرْقُ الْعَادَة is done by a prophet, it is called a mu'jizah — a miracle. Because mu'jizah means that a prophet is making anyone besides him 'ajiz — incapable of bringing anything similar to that. So Nabi Saleh brings out a camel from the mountain. This is a mu'jizah, because no one else besides Nabi Saleh can do that with the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Nabi Musa throws his staff and it turns into a snake, eating up all the rest of the magic and the false snakes. He throws that staff, and 12 springs gush out from a rock. He throws that same staff, and the sea parts — water becomes land. And then that same staff ends up turning into a snake and eating all the rest, because his was real and theirs was fake. This is a perfect example of what we are speaking about.

The staff, in reality, is not simply a staff. The staff is what Allah wants it to be. This is, I think, the crux of Surah Al-Kahf. The ability to believe that what you see is not merely what you're seeing — what you are interacting with is not what it seems to be, but rather what Allah wants it to be.

If we can just understand this point — that anything you see in life is not what it seems, but rather it is what Allah wants it to be — hence, that friend you think is going to give his life for you, he will, if Allah wills it. But he could also be the actual one who stabs you in the back. That enemy you think will destroy your life — it can happen — but if Allah wants, He will use that very same enemy to save your life.

I remember one person told me about a gas station his father used to run. A regular customer would come every day, swear at his father, say all kinds of harsh things, and walk away. One day the son sat with that man and spoke to him for three hours, all the way past when the store was supposed to be closed — all the way till midnight. That conversation ended in a very beautiful way. Many of this man's doubts were clarified. Two days later, there was an armed robbery in that same store. And this man happened to be there. SubhanAllah — he was the one who tackled that armed robber to the ground, and saved the life of the owner of that gas station.

You would never have thought that this person — who seemed like an enemy — would be the one to save your life. This is why Ali radiyallahu anhu has this famous and beautiful statement:

(Attributed to Sayyiduna Ali ibn Abi Talib رضي الله عنه)

"Ensure that you love your friend to a degree that is not too much — love your friend to a degree that is acceptable and normal. Do not go beyond the bounds in your love for anyone, lest one day he becomes your enemy, and now he is equipped with your darkest secrets. And make sure if you hold animosity against someone, you hold that animosity to a moderate level. Don't hate someone to a degree that if one day he becomes your friend, all your previous hurtful statements keep ringing in his ear. Don't ever burn your bridges."

What an amazing, beautiful piece of advice from Ali radiyallahu anhu — that in our relationships, we take the middle ground and stick with moderation in everything we do. SubhanAllah.

We also see this with the example of Musa alayhi salaam's nation, when they said:

"We are caught. We have the ocean in front of us. We have Fir'aun behind us. We are done." Musa alayhi salaam tried to tell them:

"Nay! Indeed, with me is my Lord. He shall guide us out of this."

And the Prophet ﷺ was with Abu Bakr Siddiq radiyallahu anhu in the cave on the night of Hijrah. The kuffar were just above them — five or six feet above. If they simply looked down, they would have seen two men hiding inside. Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu was not grieving out of fear for himself, but out of fear for Rasulullah ﷺ: What will happen to the deen? What will happen to our Prophet ﷺ if he is found? And Nabi ﷺ said:

"Do not grieve. Indeed, Allah is with us." He didn't say "with me." He said "with us." And the ulema say this is not exclusive to Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu alone — although this ayah is definitely about his honor, and his honor is clearly understood from it. This is the virtue of the people of this ummah: that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will assist them the way He assisted the prophets of the past.

We are not here just to do ibadah. We didn't come here just to pray Isha and leave. We have to change the world. We have to bring khair and goodness to the world. We have to bring nur and end the darkness. We have to bring light to every home. That is our job, and we do not rest until it is done. So when you are doing the work of the prophets, when you are giving da'wah to Muslims and non-Muslims, you are definitely going to face opposition. You are definitely going to find people who will try to put obstacles on your path. What do you have to do at that time? You have to know that Allah is with you and Allah will help you.

"If you help the deen of Allah, Allah will help you and make your feet firm."

People are always afraid of what's going to happen. You know why that fear is there? Because you are not feeling Allah's help with you. And why are you not feeling Allah's help? Ask yourself: when was the last time you did something for the deen? When was the last time you did something not for yourself — not your prayer, your zakat, your fasting, your hajj, your sadaqah — but for the general Muslim ummah? When was the last time you made a sacrifice for them? If we are not thinking along those lines, we cannot expect Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's help with us. And when you don't have Allah's help, then at the smallest chirping of a cricket you'll get scared.

Why are people so scared to wear a kufi, to wear an amama? SubhanAllah. This is all an inferiority complex we are suffering from ourselves. Why? Because we're not doing anything for the deen. If you do something for the deen, Allah will assist you. And Allah says, يُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ — Allah will make your feet firm. You won't be scared. You won't be worried.

That type of fervor of deen will come when we start getting out of our comfort zone. Today our comfort zone is salah, zakat, fasting, and hajj. "Brother, I'm doing the basics — why do you need to do more?" That comfort zone is not going to allow you to progress. Allah forbid, when things get difficult and challenging, you may lose your ground, because you have not exceeded and done what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created this ummah for — when Nabi ﷺ passed on this lantern to us, Sirajan Munira, of becoming inviters towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala:

"Say, this is my path — I invite towards Allah with farsightedness, with wisdom. I do this, and so does whoever follows me."

The Two Arabic Words: تَزَاوَرُ and تَقْرِضُهُمْ

Let's look at two important Arabic words in this verse. One word is تَزَاوَرُ عَن كَهْفِهِمْ and the other is تَقْرِضُهُمْ.

تَزَاوَرُ comes from the word زُورٌ. If you know the phrase شَهَادَةُ زُورٍ — false testimony — زُورٌ gives the Arabic meaning of الْمَيْلُ, which means to turn away. So تَزَاوَرُ عَن كَهْفِهِمْ means that the sun was turning away from the cave.

The next word is تَقْرِضُهُمْ. Where does the word قَرْضٌ come from? What does it mean? قَرْضٌ means to give a loan — to fulfill someone's need. There is a saying: الْقَرْضُ مِقْرَاضُ الْمَحَبَّةِ — a loan is the scissors of love, meaning it cuts through love. If you want to ruin a relationship, ask someone for a loan. So تَقْرِضُهُمْ — the Qur'an uses the word qard for the sun — that the sun was giving them a loan. They didn't deserve the sun to be moving away from them, but the sun, out of Allah's command, said, "I'm going to deviate from this path just for you all." It gave qard. It gave a loan to these people.

Mu'jizah, Karamah, and the Crux of Surah Al-Kahf

I repeat — this is the crux of the entire surah. To recognize the mu'jizat that happened with the prophets, and the karamat that happen with the awliya. And there are other degrees and other words for supernatural events that happen at the hands of a disbeliever, a magician, or a fasiq — they are all different words. اسْتِدْرَاجٌ is there, إِرْهَاصٌ is there, and others. For example, Dajjal is going to be doing miracle upon miracle upon miracle. You are not going to call that a mu'jizah. You are not going to call that a karamah. This is istidraj — a way to mislead people.

Magic is also different. The Qur'an says:

"It was made to appear to him through their magic that they were moving." Magic is تَخْيِيلٌ — it is made to appear. It is not قَلْبُ الْمَاهِيَّة — not an actual change in reality. When Musa alayhi salaam's mu'jizah was not takhyil — it wasn't made to appear like a snake. It actually turned into a snake. And that is why his snake ended up eating the rest of the fake snakes — his was real, and theirs was fake. That is the difference between mu'jizah or karamah on the one hand, and magic on the other. In black magic, something is made to appear when it is not there through the help of jinns. In karamah and mu'jizah, Allah azza wa jall actually changes the whole nature of something.

So this ayah is telling us that كَرَامَاتُ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ حَقٌّ — the miracles of the awliya are true. We have to believe that. We have to believe the miracles of the pious people are true. Not so that we do something with that as bid'ah — no. The reason we need to understand this is because we need miracles in the future and now. In order to have your children on iman, in order to die with iman in such a difficult time — you need miracles to be able to survive. So you'd better get ready to become a wali.

What's a wali? Not someone who flies on a broom or on a prayer mat. A wali is someone whose life is in accordance with the sunnah, all the time. He is a wali of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that wali, Allah azza wa jall will allow him at times to show karamat — miracles — for his own protection or to bring people closer to the deen.

Dajjal is going to be coming with some of his crazy magic. In order to survive that magic, you will need karamat. You will need miracles. And those miracles will come through awliya, if you are awliya. So we have no option but to become a wali of Allah. And the wilayah comes through nothing other than the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. Hence — the karamat of every wali is in reality a mu'jizah of the Prophet. Why? Because that wali would not have been able to do a karamah unless and until he had made his life in accordance to the sunnah of the Nabi. So every miracle that any wali does, it all goes back to Rasulullah ﷺ.

And what is one of the greatest karamat? One of the greatest karamat that you and I can have in our life is istiqamah — steadfastness. There is a very famous saying:

("Steadfastness is more virtuous than a thousand miracles." — A well-known saying attributed to the scholars of tasawwuf)

Steadfastness is more virtuous than one thousand miracles. People get excited about various miracles — those are nice. But the biggest miracle that we all need in our lives, and I pray that Allah gives it to you and me and our loved ones, is steadfastness. Whatever you are doing, take one action and do not give it up. Whatever happens, just do not give it up.

When a person understands what these people went through — they went to sleep for 300 plus years — that's a karamah. The fact that their bodies turned on their own, that's a karamah. The fact that their eyes remained open, that's a karamah. The fact that they did not die of hunger, that's a karamah. The fact that the sun evaded them, that's a karamah. This story is about karamahs. And it is telling us to stop becoming skeptical of karamahs.

People have an allergic reaction if you give a khutbah about karamah. You mention that a shaykh saw a dream, and you see people walking out. This is a problem. If you cannot stand to listen to a story about a dream, what is going to happen when you or your children face Dajjal? Your mind needs to become accustomed to this. And the shaykh in that case is not doing it because he is God — he is doing it because he is following the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, and it is Allah's qudra in that water, in that money, in whatever the case may be. He put his hand on someone and Allah gave him shifa. These are karamahs that are happening because a person is obedient to Allah and His Rasul.

What is he inviting you towards? If he is inviting towards himself, then definitely there is something wrong. We do not follow such people. But if he is inviting towards Allah and His Rasul ﷺ, then you and I should not be allergic to karamah. Believing in a miracle is part of our deen. It is in the Qur'an right here. No one says these people of the cave were prophets — they were just young men. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed a beautiful miracle to happen through them. Like Maryam, who was not a prophet:

When Zakariya went to her, he found out-of-season fruits — a karamah, even though she was not a prophet. So we learn from these stories that believing in a miracle is part of our deen.

Hidayah: Two Types of Guidance

Some ulema have said that the ayah مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ is giving Rasulullah ﷺ some comfort — like the early verses of the surah that mentioned لَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ — that you may end up killing yourself over the sorrow that they are not believing. The Qur'an is telling us here that their belief and guidance, their misguidance, is in the hands of Allah. You don't need to worry. You tried your best. If they are misguided, don't beat yourself over it. Allah knows best.

Number two: مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ is actually praising the people of the cave — that these are people who were rightly guided, and mashaAllah they were able to find the right path. And number three: مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ is speaking about all of us — that whoever reflects on the signs that happen in his life, it is because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed him to reflect. The ability to connect the dots in your life is from Allah.

I remember one person who came sharing his very sad story about how his life had fallen apart. He told me himself: "I deserve this. Everything that happened to me, I deserve it, and I willingly accept it. Because I have hurt my parents immensely, and I know what goes around comes around. Allah azza wa jall is making me cry now. But I'd rather face the retribution in this world than face it in the hereafter." SubhanAllah — you should feel very blessed that Allah allowed you to recognize that. How many people do not recognize these things and continue on the path of disobedience, bringing the wrath of Allah upon themselves without even realizing it?

Now, does Allah forcefully misguide someone? No. Whoever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala leaves to stray — He leaves him. He does not hold him. He does not hold his hand. He leaves him going astray. Someone may say, "The Qur'an says Allah misleads people — that is why I am not coming for tafsir, not following halal, because Allah chose to mislead me." What is the answer? How come you only look at that part of the ayah? Look at the first portion: Allah guides whoever He wants to guide. Why can't you say, "I'm going to be guided"? You yourself are choosing disobedience, and then blaming it upon Allah. You have the full right right now to say, "I'm going to come to Isha, come to Fajr, recite Qur'an, stay away from haram." Go ahead and do it.

Hidayah is of two types. One is called hidayatul dalalah — the hidayah of showing the path, what we call إِرَاءَةُ الطَّرِيقِ. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala shows the path to believers and disbelievers both. The masjid is here. Every person passing by sees it every day — that is hidayatul dalalah. The second level of hidayah is called hidayatul ma'unah, or إِيصَالٌ إِلَى الْمَطْلُوبِ — which means you hold someone's hand and take him to the final destination. That happens only for those who truly want it, who show some talab, some effort.

The Qur'an says:

"Do you expect us to force iman down your throat while you do not want it?" You have to show talab. What does the Qur'an say?

"Allah pulls towards Himself whoever He wishes, and guides whoever turns to Him." So we must turn to Allah to get guidance. When you make the first step towards Allah, then Allah azza wa jall will definitely welcome you.

"We shall ease his way towards ease." Those who choose to come towards Allah, Allah azza wa jall will pave the path towards ease. But we have to make the effort.

There is a brother who met me two days ago. He said he had met me five years ago when he saw the construction of the seminary about to start. I apparently told him, "Why don't you just move? If you are really interested, come one day." He said, subhanAllah, that was five years ago. He moved here a year ago, and now he has been blessed to be a regular musalli and a volunteer, and his kids are connected. And he cannot be more thankful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. How did that happen? He made niyyah five years ago, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put everything into place.

The Dog at the Threshold: Lessons from Companionship

The ulema say that this dog was one that was in the desert and followed along with them — not necessarily a pet they had at home, but a stray dog that followed them for food. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions this dog in the Qur'an, and this is the Qur'an — it is not complete without the mention of this dog. You learn from this: do not name your child by simply opening up the Qur'an blindly and placing your finger on any word. The word for dog — كَلْبٌ — is a word in the Qur'an, but that does not make it a suitable name.

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made mention of this dog here. Even though a dog is najis, and for exceptional reasons only should one keep a dog. No one questions the loyalty a dog has. But when it comes to how we keep a dog, we follow the deen — it should be kept outside, not in the same room or house.

The Qur'an mentions this dog because of the barakah and blessing of sohbah — companionship. The fact that this dog was tagging along with them got its name mentioned honorably in the Qur'an. A dog can be honored by companionship. Imagine a Muslim like you and I — if we choose the right companions, why will Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not raise us with such people?

"A man will be with the one whom he loves."

(Famous verse attributed to Imam Abu Hanifah رحمه الله)

"I love the pious, although I am not from amongst them. I am hopeful that Allah will grant me piety."

Loving the pious people is part of our deen. Trying to find their companionship, and having our sons and daughters have good, pious, righteous companions, is one of the most integral parts of safety in this day and age. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4833; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2378)

"A person follows the deen of his friend, so be careful who you befriend."

This is the lesson from the dog. Additionally, whatever miraculous condition came upon the young men of the cave, came upon the dog as well. Through the barakah of sohbah, not only was his name mentioned, but he was also kept alive for 300 plus years. When we are with pious, righteous people, we will enjoy the blessings that they have.

Some scholars have mentioned in the books of tafsir that the dog is mentioned as بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعَيْهِ — stretching his forelegs — and there is no mention of the dog turning from side to side, unlike the humans. A physician studying this ayah noted that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created the dog differently from the human being in many ways — one being that a dog in one position for a long time does not develop the same type of sores a human would. And this led to the Islam of certain people who were simply studying this ayah. The Qur'an is a guidance for everyone. There are people who take guidance from its superficial meaning, and there are people who dive deep and find one point that leads them to Islam. There are many incidents of people with backgrounds in science or biology who read one verse of the Qur'an, studied it through a lens we would never have considered, and said: "This cannot be the statement of a human being. This has to be the statement of the Lord of the worlds."

The Story of Uzair and Two Dimensions of Time

When the young men woke up, they began to ask one another, "How long did you stay?" Two groups: some said half a day or a day, some said much longer. Compare this with the story of Uzair alayhi salaam mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah. The Qur'an says:

"He was asked, 'How long have you tarried?' He said, 'I have tarried a day or part of a day.' He was told, 'Nay, you have tarried a hundred years. Now look at your food and drink — they have not spoiled. And look at your donkey.'"

He looked at his donkey, and all its bones had disintegrated. So now you have two opposite things: look at the food — has it gone bad? It has not. That tells you one day. Look at the donkey — it tells you a hundred years. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala literally brought two dimensions of time together. That is the qudra of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — in one instance He can bring two opposite things together.

Now you will understand: how will the Day of Judgment be as long as 50,000 years for some people, and for others no longer than the time between Asr and Maghrib? That is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala who controls the way you experience time. Time is a makhluq of Allah. Allah can adjust it to each person individually.

Their Discussion: Focus on the Deen, Not Useless Details

One group said: "Leave it. Allah knows best how long you stayed." Meaning, stop discussing useless things. Focus on the crux of deen. Don't discuss things that are not relevant. Although this is exactly what shaytan makes enjoyable for us — things that have no relevancy in our life, that we will not be asked about in the grave. The Qur'an is telling us here about the concept of ilmun la yanfa' — knowledge which is of no benefit. We have actually been taught to seek refuge in Allah from useless knowledge:

"And I seek refuge in You from knowledge that does not benefit." (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2722)

He didn't just say, "Give me beneficial knowledge." We've been taught to ask Allah for protection from useless knowledge. Think about what we post on WhatsApp. Is the message you're sharing of any benefit to the recipient? Your time is amanah. If you post something to a hundred people and it takes five minutes to read — that is five hundred minutes. And then if each person forwards it to ten more people — that's five thousand minutes. You will be answerable to Allah azza wa jall for that. Was it worth it? So before you forward an article or a message, ask yourself: what is the benefit to the recipient?

Seeking Halal Food: Wisdom and Gentleness

Then Allah azza wa jall says they sent one of them with their money to go find the most wholesome food. Notice — as soon as they came out of their sleep, what happened? They became their normal selves. When you are your normal self, you become hungry. The special protection is over. Now you need your food. When they went for food, the first thing was not "what is most delicious?" but rather "what is halal, pure?" What is the point? We ran away from all of this. If we are going to eat haram, what's the point?

That is why when you go for Umrah and Hajj, be careful where you eat. Do not have a blanket statement that everything there is 100% halal — that is foolish. Be careful about everything, including what you eat, and do not be naive about it.

Then comes وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ. There is no fa after that word. Why? Because the gentleness needs to be present in all three stages — not just when picking up the food, but the entire journey outside the cave and back must be done stealthily.

There are two explanations of يَتَلَطَّفُ. Latif means soft. One explanation is: when you buy and sell, be easy and kind. The Prophet ﷺ made dua for the person who is kind and easy-going when he buys and when he sells:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2076)

"May Allah have mercy on a man who is easy-going when he sells, when he buys, and when he settles a debt." Don't be harsh on the customer, don't be harsh on the seller. Let it go five cents, ten cents, a dollar, two dollars — don't make a big deal. This is how you get the mercy of Allah by being easy-going in buying and selling. The more famous explanation of وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ is: do not expose yourself, do it gently so that you are not known.

وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا — "And let no one take undue notice of you." Very important point. Our youth need to understand: practice your deen, but do it with wisdom. Don't do things that will unnecessarily attract unwanted attention. Imam Ghazali writes in Bidayatul Hidayah that Shaytan sometimes will make you say the most wrong things at the most wrong time, thinking that you are speaking the haqq. If you have to correct someone, do it at the right time and place, with the right person — not in a way that causes fitnah. Some of the best things in life are kept hidden.

One statement of Mawlana Ilyas and Mawlana Yusuf rahimahumullah, subhanAllah — such vision they had. They said:

(Attributed to Mawlana Muhammad Ilyas and Mawlana Muhammad Yusuf al-Kandahlawi رحمهما الله)

"The work you do should be a hundred years ahead, and the fame, the noise about it, should be a hundred years behind." Meaning — like when the Concorde jet breaks the sound barrier, it runs in front of you, and five or fifteen seconds later you hear the sound. That is how the work of deen is supposed to be. We don't always have to announce everything and make a big deal. Quietly build relationships, work one-on-one. You don't have to have a big-bang event all the time. Later on, people will remember a hundred years later — "This whole town was changed because of him."

They Are Discovered: لِيَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ

Allah azza wa jall says, then We made the people of that time come across them. And then, what was the reason Allah made this miracle happen? Very important point — I want you to highlight this:

"So that they might know that Allah's promise is always true, and that the Hour of Judgment — there is no doubt at all therein."

My beloved brothers and sisters, Allah will never ever lie to you and I. Allah will never let us down. Allah will never forsake us. What does the Qur'an say?

"It is obligatory upon Us to help the believers." What an ayah. Allah azza wa jall says, if you help Allah's deen, Allah will help you. Allah says:

"What a great protector, and what a great helper."

"Allah is the caretaker and the friend of the believers." So we need to know that Allah is making this promise: if you follow the deen, follow the sunnah, He will not forsake you, even though it may seem difficult. Trust in Allah's promise more than you trust anyone else.

What to Build Over Them: A Masjid

Now they started arguing amongst themselves after this whole incident. They passed away — everyone accepted Islam, the show was over. Some of them said, "Let's build a building over it so that no one can come in, mess around with their bodies. Let's let this place be known in history so people can come and take a lesson from it." Others said, "Let's build a masjid here." These were the believers who said: if people are coming here, let them actually pray salah over here. They can come and reflect — this is where this incident happened. But we are not going to make sajdah to the dead people. We are going to make sajdah to Allah. If you are amazed at the story of the cave, make your sujood — to Allah. So that is why they said, let us build a masjid around this area.

Why Details Are Left Ambiguous: A Timeless Lesson

Notice that the discussion of where exactly the city is, what the names of the people were, how many there were, what era it was — all of this has been left ambiguous. Because the lesson is timeless. It should not be that someone says, "That was a different era. Those were different people. We cannot have these miracles now." No — it is timeless. This is the principle: if you care about the deen, whether young or old, whether sincere and ready to make a commitment and take a shelter for the sake of Allah and make hijrah, Allah will protect you and preserve your progeny and generations. But do not give excuses.

I came across a brother, a PhD in chemistry who started his own pharmaceutical company, became president and CEO of it. Then he retired in his late 60s and said, "I retired to the Qur'an." Over a period of 9 years, alhamdulillah, he memorized the entire Qur'an. I was told of another brother who memorized the Qur'an in 7 years and completed the Alim program in 12 years — while working full time. So meaning, whenever you decide to get ahead of the line, you can. As soon as you make niyyah that you want to go ahead and do something great, go ahead, do it.

Do Not Argue About Them Except with Clear Proof

Allah azza wa jall says: رَبُّهُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows their numbers best. Majority of the people do not know their numbers.

"Do not argue about them except with the sure argument." Be easy-going with the non-Muslims when you discuss this issue. Because the non-Muslims — Christians and Jews — had different versions of it. The Qur'an is saying they are رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ — they have no clear proof, they are just casting their ideas in the dark. Another explanation is that مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا means a superficial argument — talk for one or two minutes, and if they don't listen, don't worry about it.

That is why in discussions with non-Muslims regarding hijab, slavery, women's rights, and so on — brother, Islam is not just about those topics. If you have an issue with capital punishment, okay, leave it aside. Why don't we speak about Tawheed? Let's speak about Tawheed, Risalah, and Akhirah. We will never end these discussions if we keep going on those tangents. Let's focus on the most important aspects: the Oneness of Allah, Prophethood, and the Day of Judgment — the themes of the Qur'an.

And then number two — also do not try to get your knowledge about the Qur'an and your deen from the people of the book. Umar radiyallahu anhu's famous story — he was sitting reading the Torah while Rasulullah ﷺ was present. Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu saw Rasulullah ﷺ's face turning red out of anger. Immediately he alerted Umar. As soon as Umar radiyallahu anhu saw that, he went on his knees and began to say:

"I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad ﷺ as my Prophet and Messenger." And Nabi ﷺ said: "You are reading the book of Musa. Let me tell you one thing — if Musa himself were alive, he would not be able to get salvation until he followed me. You are reading his book when he is not even around. If he himself were here, he would have to follow me. Why are you reading his book and being amazed about it in front of me?" (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 14736)

This is another issue: people are amazed by New York Times bestseller books, when those very topics, wallahi, have already been written a thousand years ago by Muslim authors. But we did not look there. We did not read there. If you actually were to go look, you would find the most amazing knowledge written a thousand, fifteen hundred years ago by our own scholars. SubhanAllah.

Closing Du'a and Announcements

We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us the understanding of today's dars. May He allow us to have the true belief in miracles. And may He make us people of wilayah — of His friendship. May He allow us to believe that nothing can harm or benefit us without the will of Allah. Everything's harm and benefit is subject to Allah's will. And nothing in this world can do anything without Allah first giving permission. So Dajjal, whatever he does, will be with Allah's permission. We will not be fazed by what Dajjal does, insha'Allah, in the Dajjali era. But instead we will say, this is all happening because Allah willed it. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that He grants us the ability to focus on beneficial knowledge, to spend time searching for that beneficial knowledge. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for us to find good company, and allow our children to find good company as well.

Alhamdulillah, as a community we have reached about 4.8 million salawat, and our goal is 7 million. We have until Saturday night, when the Seerah Conference ends. You can share the goals at masjiddias.org/salawat, or visit our website. Take a card on your way out and try to do 10,000 salawat. Yesterday we met a beautiful youngster, Zaid, mashaAllah, who went into his basement and did 10,000 himself — a 7-year-old. If a 7-year-old can do it, all of us together in one family can easily do 10,000. Some brothers are doing 25,000 a day. And if you are having a very tough time right now — depression, issues at home, domestic issues — I implore you: between now and Saturday, do 100,000 salawat. Say, "Ya Allah, I'm doing this for You, with this firm resolve and intention and expectation — through the barakah of this 100,000 salawat, Your mercy will pour down upon my situation." I am telling you with conviction: whatever issue you make niyyah of, you push yourself in front of Allah, and that salawat is going to bring such mercy you have never felt before. You are standing under Niagara Falls — why will you not be washed clean from all the issues you are going through? That is the blessing of salawat.

The Seerah Conference will begin Friday after Isha. The detailed schedule will be released tomorrow, with parallel programs for kids under 5, 5 to 7, 7 to 9, adolescents, college students, and high school students. We have mashaAllah experts, scholars, and professionals coming to address the youth. This year's theme is building a Muslim community — how did Rasulullah ﷺ build the Madani community, so that we can build one here. Please make sure everyone comes Friday at Isha at 7:30 PM, and comes back Saturday at 1:30 PM and spends the entire day with us. Say insha'Allah.

I need all of you to make this niyyah now: you are going to invite at least 20 families — out of state or local — and you are going to continue doing your salawat as well.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward you all for your patience, and accept it from all of us.

Oh Allah, we ask You to accept this gathering. Oh Allah, enable us to practice on whatever good was shared. Oh Allah, enable us to propagate whatever good was shared. Oh Allah, if mistakes were made, I seek Your forgiveness for that. Oh Allah, we ask You to allow us to establish a proper connection with the Qur'an, a proper connection with the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. Oh Allah, fill our hearts with Your love, with the love of Rasulullah, with the love of the Sahaba, with the love of the family of Rasulullah, with the love of the pious of the past and the pious of today. Oh Allah, we ask You to grant us the love of the masjid. Allow us to remain pegs of the masjid. Oh Allah, allow our families, our sons and daughters and our spouses to be connected with the deen. Oh Allah, we ask You to bring muhabbah and love between the spouses, between the parents and the children. Oh Allah, bring sunnah within our homes. Remove discord, infighting, and all sorts of misunderstandings from within our homes. Oh Allah, bring deen into our homes.

Oh Allah, whatever permissible desire and need all the brothers and sisters here or listening online may have — Oh Allah, we ask You to fulfill all their permissible desires and needs. Allow this gathering to become a means of the fulfillment of our needs of this world and the next. Allow this gathering to become a means of us getting closer to You, O Allah. Oh Allah, make this gathering and every Tuesday's gathering immensely accepted and maqbool in Your sight. Allow it to be attended by millions and millions of angels. Oh Allah, grant us all istiqamah and steadfastness. Allow the masjid to be filled every day. Allow the gatherings of knowledge and dhikr to take place in all the masajid and all the madaris and all of our Islamic institutions — and let them all be protected from the evil eye, from sihr, from hasad, from nazar, from infighting, from external and internal issues.

Oh Allah, allow this upcoming Seerah Conference to become extremely beneficial for the entire community and the entire globe. Allow the nur from this place to emanate throughout the entire world. Allow it to become a means of removing darkness from wherever it may be. Oh Allah, allow the collective millions of salawat and millions of istighfar and adhkar and duas of all the brothers and sisters from across the globe — those who are doing it here and those who are doing it from their homes — to become a powerful force of good in this world. Allow it to become a means of the establishment of deen in this land, and a means of protection of this institution, its staff, its students, its patrons, its well-wishers, its musallis, and its attendees. Oh Allah, protection from the evil eye, from hasad, from sihr, from all sorts of physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional difficulties. Oh Allah, we ask You to grant us all siha and 'afiya.

Oh Allah, grant shifa to all those who have requested dua, and those who are sick from our communities. Grant them all shifa — shifa'an kamilan. Those who have surgeries, those who have various issues going on, those who are suffering terminal illnesses and critical illnesses — Oh Allah, we ask You to grant them all shifa. Oh Allah, those who have passed away from the ummah and from our families, grant them maghfirah and the highest levels of Jannah.

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.