18:19 Al-Kahf (The Cave)

يقول تعالى: { وكذلك بعثناهم } أي: من نومهم الطويل { ليتساءلوا بينهم } أي: ليتباحثوا للوقوف على الحقيقة من مدة لبثهم. { قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ } وهذا مبني على ظن القائل، وكأنهم وقع عندهم اشتباه. في طول مدتهم، فلهذا { قَالُوا رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ } فردوا العلم إلى المحيط علمه بكل شيء، جملة وتفصيلا، ولعل الله تعالى -بعد ذلك- أطلعهم على مدة لبثهم، لأنه بعثهم ليتساءلوا بينهم، وأخبر أنهم تساءلوا، وتكلموا بمبلغ ما عندهم، وصار آخر أمرهم، الاشتباه، فلا بد أن يكون قد أخبرهم يقينا، علمنا ذلك من حكمته في بعثهم، وأنه لا يفعل ذلك عبثا. ومن رحمته بمن طلب علم الحقيقة في الأمور المطلوب علمها، وسعى لذلك ما أمكنه، فإن الله يوضح له ذلك، وبما ذكر فيما بعده من قوله. { وَكَذَلِكَ أَعْثَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَأَنَّ السَّاعَةَ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهَا } فلولا أنه حصل العلم بحالهم، لم يكونوا دليلا على ما ذكر، ثم إنهم لما تساءلوا بينهم، وجرى منهم ما أخبر الله به، أرسلوا أحدهم بورقهم، أي: بالدراهم، التي كانت معهم، ليشتري لهم طعاما يأكلونه، من المدينة التي خرجوا منها، وأمروه أن يتخير من الطعام أزكاه، أي: أطيبه وألذه، وأن يتلطف في ذهابه وشرائه وإيابه، وأن يختفي في ذلك، ويخفي حال إخوانه، ولا يشعرن بهم أحدا. وذكروا المحذور من اطلاع غيرهم عليهم، وظهورهم عليهم، أنهم بين أمرين، إما الرجم بالحجارة، فيقتلونهم أشنع قتلة، لحنقهم عليهم وعلى دينهم، وإما أن يفتنوهم عن دينهم، ويردوهم في ملتم، وفي هذه الحال، لا يفلحون أبدا، بل يحشرون في دينهم ودنياهم وأخراهم، وقد دلت هاتان الآيتان، على عدة فوائد. منها: الحث على العلم، وعلى المباحثة فيه، لكون الله بعثهم لأجل ذلك. ومنها: الأدب فيمن اشتبه عليه العلم، أن يرده إلى عالمه، وأن يقف عند حده. ومنها: صحة الوكالة في البيع والشراء، وصحة الشركة في ذلك. ومنها: جواز أكل الطيبات، والمطاعم اللذيذة، إذا لم تخرج إلى حد الإسراف المنهي عنه لقوله { فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَى طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُمْ بِرِزْقٍ مِنْهُ } وخصوصا إذا كان الإنسان لا يلائمه إلا ذلك ولعل هذا عمدة كثير من المفسرين، القائلين بأن هؤلاء أولاد ملوك لكونهم أمروه بأزكى الأطعمة، التي جرت عادة الأغنياء الكبار بتناولها.

يقول تعالى كما أرقدناهم بعثناهم صحيحة أبدانهم وأشعارهم وأبشارهم لم يفقدوا من أحوالهم وهيئاتهم شيئًا وذلك بعد ثلثمائة سنة وتسع سنين و لهذا تساءلوا بينهم " كم لبثتم " أي كم رقدتم " قالوا لبثنا يومًا أو بعض يوم " لأنه كان دخولهم إلى الكهف في أول نهار واستيقاظهم كان في آخر نهار ولهذا استدركوا فقالوا " أو بعض يوم قالوا ربكم أعلم بما لبثتم " أي الله أعلم بأمركم وكأنه حصل لهم نوع تردد في كثرة نومهم فالله أعلم ثم عدلوا إلى الأهم في أمرهم إذ ذاك وهو احتياجهم إلى الطعام والشراب فقالوا " فابعثوا أحدكم بورقكم " أي فضتكم هذه وذلك أنهم كانوا قد استصحبوا معهم دراهم من منازلهم لحاجتهم إليها فتصدقوا منها وبقي منها فلهذا قالوا " فابعثوا أحدكم بورقكم هذه إلى المدينة" أي مدينتكم التي خرجتم منها والألف واللام للعهد " فلينظر أيها أزكى طعاما " أي أطيب طعاما كقوله " ولولا فضل الله عليكم ورحمته ما زكى منكم من أحد أبدا " وقوله " قد أفلح من تزكى " ومنه الزكاة التي تطيب المال وتطهره وقيل أكثر طعامًا ومنه زكاة الزرع إذا كثر قال الشاعر: قبائلنا سبع وأنتم ثلاثة وللسبع أزكى من ثلاث وأطيبك والصحيح الأول لأن مقصودهم إنما هو الطيب الحلال سواء كان كثيرًا أو قليلا وقوله " وليتلطف " أي في خروجه وذهابه وشرائه وإيابه يقولون وليختف كل ما يقدر عليه " ولا يشعرن " أي ولا يعلمن " بكم أحدًا.

Their awakening and sending One of Themselves to buy Food Allah says: `just as We caused them to ...

كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ

(How long have you stayed (here)) meaning, `how long have you slept'

قَالُواْ لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ

(They said: "We have stayed a day or part of a day.") because they entered the cave at the beginning of the day, and they woke up at the end of the day, which is why they then said,

أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالُواْ رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ

("...or a part of a day." They said: "Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed...") meaning, `Allah knows best about your situation.' It seems that they were not sure about how long they had slept, and Allah knows best. Then they turned their attention to more pressing matters, like their need for food and drink, so they said:

فَابْعَثُواْ أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ

(So send one of you with this silver coin of yours) They had brought with them some Dirhams (silver coins) from their homes, to buy whatever they might need, and they had given some in charity and kept some, so they said:

فَابْعَثُواْ أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَـذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ

(So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the town,) meaning to their city, which they had left. The definite article indicates that they were referring to a known city.

فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَيُّهَآ أَزْكَى طَعَامًا

(and let him find out which is the Azka food.) Azka means "purest", as Allah says elsewhere,

وَلَوْلاَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُ مَا زَكَى مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَبَداً

(And had it not been for the grace of Allah and His mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure Zaka from sins) 24:21 and

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّى

(Indeed whosoever purifies himself Tazakka shall achieve success.) 87:14 From the same root also comes the word Zakah, which makes one's wealth good and purifies it.

وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ

(And let him be careful) meaning when he goes out buying food and coming back. They were telling him to conceal himself as much as he could,

وَلاَ يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًاإِنَّهُمْ إِن يَظْهَرُواْ عَلَيْكُمْ يَرْجُمُوكُمْ

(and let no man know of you. For, if they come to know of you, they will stone you) means, `if they find out where you are,'

يَرْجُمُوكُمْ أَوْ يُعِيدُوكُمْ فِى مِلَّتِهِمْ

(they will stone you or turn you back to their religion;) They were referring to the followers of Decianus, who they were afraid might find out where they were, and punish them with all kinds of torture until they made them go back to their former religion, or until they died, for if they agreed to go back to their (old) religion, they would never attain success in this world or the Hereafter. So they said:

وَلَن تُفْلِحُواْ إِذًا أَبَدًا

(and in that case you will never be successful.)

And so just as We did with them that which We have mentioned it was that We aroused them We awakened them that they might question one another concerning their state and the length of their stay in the cave. One of them said ‘How long have you tarried?’ They said ‘We have tarried a day or part of a day’ he said this because they had entered the cave at sunrise and were awakened at sunset and so they thought that it was the time of sunset on the day of their entry. Then they said unsure about this fact ‘Your Lord knows best how long you have tarried. Now send one of you with this silver coin of yours read bi-warqikum or bi-wariqikum to the city — which is said to be the one now called Tarsus Tarasūs — and let him see which is the purest food that is which of the foods of the city is the purest and let him bring you a supply thereof. Let him be careful and not make anyone aware of you.

Commentary

The word: کَذٰلِک (kadhalik) in the first sentence is for comparison. The purpose at this place is to describe the mutual likeness of two events. One of these is the event of the long sleep of the People of Kahf for an equally long period of time mentioned in the beginning of the story under the verse: فَضَرَ‌بْنَا عَلَىٰ آذَانِهِمْ فِي الْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا : "So, We veiled their hearing (putting them to sleep) in the Cave for a number of years - 11." The second event relates to the rising of these people from that long drawn sleep - intact, healthy and fit despite the absence of any energy-giving intake - and becoming wide awake. Both are alike in being signs of the power of Allah Ta` ala. For this reason, when 'raising them up' was mentioned in this verse, the word: کَذٰلِک (kadhalik: 'And similarly' ) was used to indicate that the way their sleep was not like the habitual sleep of common people, very similarly, their rising too was distinct from natural habit. Then, as for the next statement after that: لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا ، meaning 'so that they ask each other [ as to how long the sleep was ],' it is not the reason of 'raising them up.' Instead, it is a mention of a usual phenomenon. Therefore, the particle: لام (lam) in: لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا (liyatasa'alu: so that they ask) has been identified as the lam of ` aqibah (consequence) or sairurah (result) meaning that which naturally follows as a sequel. (Abu Hayyan, al-Qurtubi)

In short, their long sleep was a Divine sign. Similarly, sitting up all awake after hundreds of years - fit and healthy without usual nourishment - was also another perfect Divine sign. And it was also Divinely in-tended that they too should come to know that they have been sleeping through hundreds of years, therefore, it began with questions asked between each other and ended at the incident mentioned in the next verse: وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَعْثَرْ‌نَا (And in this way We made them known - 21). It means that the people of the city knew their secret and, despite the difference in determining the period of their stay, everyone believed that they had been sleeping in the Cave for a long period of time.

Given in: قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ (One of them said - 19) is the detail of what was said briefly at the beginning of the story (12) - that they differed about the period of their stay in the Cave and that one of them did say the right thing. According to this detail, one person from among the People of the Cave ventured to pose the question as to how long did they sleep. Then, came the response from some that said, 'a day, or part of a day' - because, these people had entered the Cave in the morning and when they woke up, it was evening. Therefore, they thought, that was the day they had entered the Cave and the duration of their sleep was just about a day. But, some from among these very people realized that, perhaps, this was not the day they had entered the Cave. If so, who knows how many days have gone by? Therefore, they decided to let this particular knowledge about the event rest with Allah. By saying: قَالُوا رَ‌بُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ (Your Lord knows best how long you stayed - 19), they dismissed this debate as unnecessary and turned their attention to the need of the hour, that is, to send a man to the city to bring some food from there.

The word: الْمَدِينَةِ (al-madinah) in the phrase: إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ (ila al-madinah: to the city) proves at least this much that there used to be a big city close to the Cave where they had stayed. In his Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit, Abu Hayyan has said that the name of the city at the time the People of Kahf left was Ifsus and now, the name was Tarsus. Al-Qurtubi has said in his Tafsir that during the time idol-worship and ignorance prevailed in this city, its name was Ifsus. But, when the believers of that time, that is, the followers of Sayyidna Masih (علیہ السلام) overtook it, they renamed it as Tarsus.

The word: بِوَرِ‌قِكُمْ with this silver [ coin ] of yours - 19) tells us that these good men had also brought some money with them when they came to the Cave. From here we know that the procurement and management of essential expenditures in life is not contrary to the norms of Zuhd (abstention from worldly desires) and Tawakkul (trust in Allah). (Al-Bahr al-Muhit)

The word: أَزْكَىٰ (azka) in: أَيُّهَا أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًا (which are the purest - 19) means what is clean and pure. According to the Tafsir of Ibn Jubayr, it denotes Halal food. They were alert to the need for such precaution because at the time they had left the city, people used to slaughter animals in the name of idols and that was what they sold in the market. Therefore, they stressed upon the man going out to bring food only after making sure that it was Halal.

Ruling

This tells us that eating food in any city, bazaar or hotel, where most of the food available is حرام Haram, is not permissible without prior investigation.

Now send one of you forth with this silver of yours to the city, and let him see which of them has the purest food. Here there are two allusions: One is that every faithful servant, though he may have reached the furthest limit in the Haqiqah, will be held to guarding the rulings of the Shariah, for any reality in which the outward Shariah is not witnessed is the deception and delusion of Satan. The root in this is that the chevaliers sent one of themselves to buy some food for them, and they commanded him to investigate and scrutinize its situation so that heedlessness would not make him fall into something forbidden. The second is what was said by Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥusayn to one of his companions when he took something to the poor or to the folk of recognition, or when he bought food for them: “Let it be the most goodly and the most subtle of things, for when someone reaches recognition, only subtle things conform with him and only delicate things become his intimate. The root here is His words, 'and let him see which of them has the purest food.'” Then he said, “When you buy for the renun- ciants and the worshipers, buy whatever you find, for they are still busy with abasing their own souls and holding them back from appetites.”