The Sleepers of the Cave

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉, 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒗𝒆.𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔." [18:16]

Aloof from their people the youth sat beneath a tree; like-minded souls they made a pact, becoming brothers in belief. They chose a place  to worship Allah but, their secret soon discovered they fled with their dog from the people who’d do them great harm. To the safety of a cave did they retreat, where Allah(swt) soon put them to sleep. When they woke 300 and some years later with their bodies, hair and skin all intact, it felt like they had only slept for but a day or half.

Feeling hungry, one of them braved the town for food, but fearful of his people, he disguised himself still. To his amazement he found himself amongst a completely different people – believers akin. Equally amazed they stared back at him; from his old-fashioned clothes to the ancient silver coins he brought with him. 

This story shows how Allah(swt) protects the righteous who believe in Him, no matter how hard their situation. He can pull us out of the most dire of places, in ways we could never imagine or comprehend. It also shows how Allah(swt) controls our destinies to our resurrection - He can raise the dead as he wills on the Day of Judgment - not bound by the natural laws; He can change them and do as He pleases.

There’s still yet another subtle lesson to take. Their guard dog, who came with them, lay at the mouth of the cave with its forelegs outstretched. Ibn Kathir said, “The dog was included in their blessing, so he slept as they slept in that condition. This is the benefit of keeping company with righteous people, so this dog was mentioned along with them and was given status as well.” Al Qurtubi said, “The dog followed them and became attached to them. This holds good tidings for those whose deeds are less than their companions, for by being in the company of the righteous, they obtain the same blessings; and the Prophetﷺ informed us that (in the hereafter), “A person will be with those whom he loves.”

 [Al-Bukhari]

So choose your friendships wisely and let your bond be that for the love and obedience to Allah(swt). To love, protect and be a shield to one another and do not forsake or mislead one another over envy and worldly gains.🌙

𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 of 𝗦.𝗡.𝗝𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗹𝗶 ✍🏼 ( 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗯𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 - Islamic fiction for 𝙏𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙉𝙨 & 𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉𝙨 ) 

𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀  📚