The Youth of the Cave - From Surah Kahf (18)

This is a story related in Surah Kahf (18), Al Qur'an. About 400 years after Prophet Isa (Jesus) (alayhis salam), there was a ruler who was very cruel. His name was Decius the Emperor, and he ruled the vast Roman Empire which stretched from Spain to the Persian Gulf. He was an Idol worshipper, and the people who lived in this empire were forced to believe and in many gods and goddesses, and offer sacrifices to them. There was the god of war, the goddess of love, the sun-god, the god of the oceans, and many others. Some of these gods were symbolized by statues and the people were forced to pay special tribute to them or face the possibility of losing their lives. The people included many good Christians, who had believed in the one true God, Allah and in Isa (alayhis salam) as His messenger. The Emperor did not want the people to follow the religion of Allah as was revealed to Prophet Isa (alayhis salam). Within the Roman Empire there was a city called Ephesus located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was a bustling city with a great seaport where merchants from all over the Empire came to buy and sell their goods. In the heart of this city lived a few youths (about 7) that all believed in the one true God, Allah. They formed a small group and prayed to Allah for guidance in this land of oppression and injustice. They did not want to worship these idols that Decius the Emperor was forcing everyone to worship. Allah heard their prayers and gave strength to their hearts so that they would not be afraid to proclaim their belief to the people of Ephesus. One day these youths went to the bazaar where many people gathered to do their shopping. The youths stood up on a platform so that all the people in the bazaar could see and hear them. They said, "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We shall never call upon any god other than Him because if we did, it would surely be a lie!" The crowd suddenly stopped what they were doing and looked up at the youths that had so boldly proclaimed their faith. There were people in the crowd who agreed with the youths but were too afraid to say it. Whenever someone talked about the one true God, Allah, they were tortured and executed. Other people in the crowd shouted at the youths on the platform. The youths were not afraid and continued, "If our people worship other gods besides Allah, why don't they bring forward an authority clear and convincing for what they do? Who does more harm than the person who invents a lie about Allah?" [18:14-15] When Emperor Decius heard about the change of their faith by seven youth, he called them and questioned them about their faith. They told him that they worshipped only one Allah and made no partners with Him. The king turned furious, and gave them three days to come back to their old faith. He said that if they did not return to becoming Idol worshippers, then he would kill them. The youths ran away to a cave high up on a mountainside a few miles away outside of the city. On the way, a dog also followed them. They did their best to scare it away, but it would not leave them. The dog sat at the entrance. When the youth sought refuge in the cave they prayed, Rabbana atina mil-ladunka Rahma, wa hayya lana min amrina rashada  "Lord, grant us mercy and help us to get out of this trouble in a righteous way" [18:10]. After reaching safety in the cave, the youths were tired from running and decided to sleep there for a few hours. In order to protect these brave youths, Allah performed a miracle and kept them asleep for more than three hundred years. One would think them (the youths) awake while, in fact, they were sleeping. We turned their bodies from right to left and their dog stretched its front legs on the ground. [18:18] When they awoke they thought they were only asleep for a couple hours. One of them said, "How long do you think we have stayed here?" "A day or part of a day," they replied. "Your Lord knows better how long we have stayed here. Let us send one of us with this money to the city to get some pure food so that we might eat. He should be careful so that no one will know about us." [18:19] The youths were hungry so one of them went down to the city to buy some food. Before he left the cave, his friends warned him not to tell the pagans where they were. So the youth went down to the city of Ephesus with some money in his pocket. When he approached the city, he noticed something strange. He didn't recognize any of the people! Also, all of the clothes the people wore were different from his own. The surroundings, the dresses, the language they spoke and the lifestyle, everything had changed. He couldn't believe the city had changed so much in just a few hours. He went to the bazaar and found a shopkeeper selling food. When the youth brought out his money the shopkeeper looked at it very closely. "Where did you get this from?" he asked, peering out the corner of his eye. Remember that the youths had been asleep for over 300 years! "I saved it from my earnings, sir," said the youth. "This money has been out of date for 300 years!!," exclaimed the shopkeeper. The youth was shocked and the people of the bazaar began to gather around him. He now realized that Allah had saved him and his friends from the persecution of the pagans by making them sleep for a long, long time. When he explained his story to the people that had gathered around him, they were overjoyed. The whole city of Ephesus had changed. He informed the youth that he was now living at a time when he will no longer be persecuted. The whole city of Ephesus had changed. The wicked ruler of the Roman Empire, Decius, had died long ago and now a new tolerant Emperor reigned over the land. The whole city came out of their houses and marched toward the cave where the other youths were. Meanwhile, some officers of the king Theodosius (who was now the ruler) also arrived. When they were told that the stranger in the bazzar was one among the seven youths who had fled during the reign of Decius to escape death, he and a crowd followed him to the cave. Allah then caused the youths of the cave to pass away, just as Allah had caused the youth to sleep for 309 years [18:25], and king Theodosius ordered a monument to be built over the cave. Their story became famous throughout the Roman Empire as one of the true and beautiful miracles of Allah mentioned in the Glorious Qur'an.