The Cave (Al-Kahf)
Verses 18 GROUP_673 18.18
18
وَتَحْسَبُهُمْ أَيْقَاظًا وَهُمْ رُقُودٌ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ وَكَلْبُهُم بَاسِطٌ ذِرَاعَيْهِ بِالْوَصِيدِ لَوِ اطَّلَعْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِرَارًا وَلَمُلِئْتَ مِنْهُمْ رُعْبًا
You would have thought they were awake, though they lay asleep. We turned them over, to the right and the left, while their dog lay at the cave’s entrance with legs outstretched. Had you looked down and seen them, you would have surely turned your back and fled in terror.
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Commentary
(a) God had arranged a long period of unbroken sleep for the Men of the Cave and had taken different measures for their safety. For example, they used to turn on their sides regularly, as otherwise, in the words of Ibn ‘Abbas, the earth would have eaten up their bodies, as happens with dead bodies. At the mouth of the cave, a dog was constantly keeping watch. This was perhaps to prevent the entry of any man or animal. In addition to this, the atmosphere inside was made so terrifying by God that, if an intruder had tried to peep in, he would have become terrified at the very first glimpse and would have run away.