18:17 Al-Kahf (The Cave)

أي: حفظهم الله من الشمس فيسر لهم غارا إذا طلعت الشمس تميل عنه يمينا، وعند غروبها تميل عنه شمالا، فلا ينالهم حرها فتفسد أبدانهم بها، { وَهُمْ فِي فَجْوَةٍ مِنْهُ } أي: من الكهف أي: مكان متسع، وذلك ليطرقهم الهواء والنسيم، ويزول عنهم الوخم والتأذي بالمكان الضيق، خصوصا مع طول المكث، وذلك من آيات الله الدالة على قدرته ورحمته بهم، وإجابة دعائهم وهدايتهم حتى في هذه الأمور، ولهذا قال: { مَنْ يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ } أي: لا سبيل إلى نيل الهداية إلا من الله، فهو الهادي المرشد لمصالح الدارين، { وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُرْشِدًا } أي: لا تجد من يتولاه ويدبره، على ما فيه صلاحه، ولا يرشده إلى الخير والفلاح، لأن الله قد حكم عليه بالضلال، ولا راد لحكمه.

فهذا فيه دليل على أن باب هذا الكهف كان من نحو الشمال لإنه تعالى أخبر أن الشمس إذا دخلته عند طلوعها تزاور عنه " ذات اليمين" أي يتقلص الفيء يمنة كما قال ابن عباس وسعيد بن جبير وقتادة " تزاور " أي تميل وذلك أنها كلما ارتفعت في الأفق تقلص شعاعها بارتفاعها حتى لا يبقى منه شيء عند الزوال في مثل ذلك المكان ولهذا قال " وإذا غربت تقرضهم ذات الشمال " أي تدخل إلى غارهم من شمال بابه وهو من ناحية المشرق فدل على صحة ما قلناه وهذا بين لمن تأمله وكان له علم بمعرفة الهيئة وسير الشمس والقمر والكواكب وبيانه أنه لو كان باب الغار من ناحية الشرق لما دخل إليه منها شيء عند الغروب ولو كان من ناحية القبلة لما دخل منها شيء عند الطلوع ولا عند الغروب ولا تزاور الفيء يمينًا ولا شمالا ولو كان من جهة الغرب لما دخلته وقت الطلوع بل بعد الزوال ولم تزل فيه إلى الغروب فتعين ما ذكرناه ولله الحمد وقال ابن عباس ومجاهد وقتادة: " تقرضهم" تتركهم وقد أخبر الله تعالى بذلك وأراد منا فهمه وتدبره ولم يخبرنا بمكان هذا الكهف في أي البلاد من الأرض إذ لا فائدة لنا فيه ولا قصد شرعي وقد تكلف بعض المفسرين فذكروا فيه أقوالا فتقدم عن ابن عباس أنه قال هو قريب من أيلة وقال ابن إسحاق: هو عند نينوى وقيل ببلاد الروم وقيل ببلاد البلقاء والله أعلم بأي بلاد الله هو ; ولو كان لنا فيه مصلحة دينية لأرشدنا الله تعالى ورسوله إليه فقد قال صلى الله عليه وسلم " ما تركت شيئًا يقربكم إلى الجنة ويباعدكم من النار إلا وقد أعلمتكم به "فأعلمنا تعالى بصفته ولم يعلمنا بمكانه فقال " وترى الشمس إذا طلعت تزاور عن كهفهم " قال مالك عن زيد بن أسلم: تميل" ذات اليمين وإذا غربت تقرضهم ذات الشمال وهم في فجوة منه " أي في متسع منه داخلا بحيث لا تصيبهم إذ لو أصابتهم لأحرقت أبدانهم وثيابهم قاله ابن عباس " ذلك من آيات الله " حيث أرشدهم إلى هذا الغار الذي جعلهم فيه أحياء والشمس والريح تدخل عليهم فيه لتبقي أبدانهم ولهذا قال تعالى " ذلك من آيات الله" ثم قال " من يهد الله فهو المهتد " الآية أي هو الذي أرشد هؤلاء الفتية إلى الهداية من بين قومهم فإنه من هداه الله اهتدى ومن أضله فلا هادي له.

The Location of the Cave This indicates that the entrance to the cave faced north, because Allah tells us that when the sun was rising, sunlight entered the cave

ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ

(the right), meaning that the shade decreased towards the right, as Ibn `Abbas, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Qatadah said:

تَّزَاوَرُ

(declining) means leaning. Every time the sun rises on the horizon, its rays decline until there is nothing left in such a place when it reaches its zenith. So Allah said,

وَإِذَا غَرَبَت تَّقْرِضُهُمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ

(and when it set, turning away from them to the left,) meaning, it entered their cave from the left of its entrance, which means from the west. This proves what we say, and it is clear to anyone who thinks about the matter and has some knowledge of astronomy and the paths of the sun, moon and stars. If the entrance of the cave faced east, nothing would have entered it when the sun set, and if it faced the direction of the Qiblah (in this case, south), nothing would have entered it at the time of sunrise or sunset, and the shadows would have leaned neither to the right nor the left. If it had faced west, nothing would have entered it at the time of sunrise, until after the sun had passed its zenith, and would have stayed until sunset. This supports what we have said, and to Allah is the praise. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah said that "turning away from them" means that it would shine on them and then leave them. Allah has told us this, and He wants us to understand it and ponder its meaning, but He did not tell us the location of this cave, i.e., in which country on earth it is, because there is no benefit for us in knowing that, and no legislative objective behind it. If there was any spiritual or religious interest that could be served by our knowing that, Allah and His Messenger would have taught us about it, as the Prophet said:

«مَا تَرَكْتُ شَيْئًا يُقَرِّبُكُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَيُبَاعِدُكُمْ مِنَ النَّارِ إِلَّا وَقَدْ أَعْلَمْتُكُمْ بِه»

(I have not left anything that will bring you closer to Paradise and keep you further away from Hell but I have certainly taught you about it.) So Allah has told us about the features of the cave, but He did not tell us where it is, and He said,

وَتَرَى الشَّمْسَ إِذَا طَلَعَت تَّزَاوَرُ عَن كَهْفِهِمْ

(And you might have seen the sun, when it rose, declining from their cave.) Malik narrated from Zayd bin Aslam, "Leaning."

ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ وَإِذَا غَرَبَت تَّقْرِضُهُمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ وَهُمْ فِى فَجْوَةٍ مِّنْهُ

(the right, and when it set, turning away from them to the left, while they lay in the midst of the cave.) meaning, the sun entered the cave without touching them, because if it had touched them, it would have burnt their bodies and clothes. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas.

ذلِكَ مِنْ ءَايَاتِ اللَّهِ

(That is from the Ayat of Allah), how He guided them to this cave where He kept them alive, and the sun and wind entered the cave preserving their bodies. Allah says,

ذلِكَ مِنْ ءَايَاتِ اللَّهِ

(That is from the Ayat of Allah.) Then He says:

مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ

(He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly-guided;) meaning that He is the One Who guided these young men to true guidance among their people, for the one whom Allah guides is truly guided, and the one whom Allah leaves astray will find no one to guide him.

And you might have seen the sun when it rose inclining read tazzāwaru or tazāwaru away from their Cave towards the right side of it and when it set go past them on the left avoid them and pass over them so that it does not fall on them at all while they were in a cavern therein in an ample space inside the Cave where the coolness and the gentle breeze of the winds reached them. That which is mentioned was one of God’s signs one of the proofs of His power. Whomever God guides he indeed is rightly guided and whomever He leads astray you will not find for him a guiding friend.

Commentary

In these verses, Allah Ta` ala has told us about three states of the People of Kahf. All three are indeed unique and it was the karamah, a matter of wonder, that manifested itself in an extraordinary way around these people devoted to Allah (a thing of wonder that manifests itself at the hands of a prophet of Allah is called a mujizah or miracle, while if it appears at the hand of some other pious persons, it is called 'Karamah' ).

First of all, to be overtaken by continuous sleep for a long time and to stay alive in that state without eating and drinking is by itself a matter of wonder, and certainly contra-habitual and extraordinary. Its details will appear in the verses that follow. Given here is one state of their long sleep, that is, Allah Ta’ ala had arranged for their protection in the Cave in a way that the Sun would pass by them morning and evening but would not shine over their bodies inside the Cave. The advantages of the sunshine passing by them were things like the stabilization of the traces of life, moderation and balancing of the effects of wind, chill and heat etc. And then, the Sun not hitting their bodies directly may have also been a factor in keeping their bodies and dress protected.

This arrangement of keeping them shielded from direct sunlight could also be conceived if the cave lies situated in a particular structural position and the opening of its entrance happens to face south or north in a way that sunlight does not get in there naturally. Ibn Qutaibah went to the trouble of making elaborate mathematical calculations to determine the peculiar location of this Cave precisely in terms of latitude and longitude. (Mazhari) Contrary to this was the approach of al-Zajjaj who said that the staying of sunshine away from them was not because of any inherent situation or formation of the Cave, instead, it was an extraordinary phenomenon manifested as a karamah. It seems when it was said: ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّـهِ (That is one of the signs of Allah) at the end of the verse, it was obviously there to prove that this arrangement of protection from the Sun was not the outcome of any particular formation or location of the Cave. Instead, it was a sign of the perfect power of Allah Ta` ala. (Qurtubi)

To put it candidly, Allah Ta` ala had it all arranged for them that sunlight will not reach their bodies. It may have been caused through its particular formation or location or through the barrier of a cloud or something similar when the Sun would start shining, or the very rays of the Sun would be moved away from them in an extraordinary manner. All these probabilities exist within the verse. There is no need to insist upon fixing any of these as the absolute reality.

Thou wouldst have seen the sun, when it rose, turning aside from their cave to the right. When the lights of the beginningless secrets show their faces to someone's inwardness, how can the light of the sun of form have the gall to throw its rays upon him or exercise its ruling authority over him? The sun of form is for brightening creation, and the lights of the secret cores are for rec- ognizing the Real. The former is the light of form and the latter is the light of the secret core. The former is the world-brightening sun and the latter the heart-brightening light. The former keeps the world bright so that the creatures may gaze upon it, and the latter keeps the hearts of the friends bright so that the Real may gaze upon them. The lights of the secret cores of those chevaliers in the cave gave out the glittering rays of the lights of the secrets, and the shining sun rolled up its skirt, for it was turning aside from their cave to the right [18:17]. When someone's breast is made the place of the lights of the unseen secrets, his attribute is what the Exalted Lord said concerning these chevaliers: