Said a speaker from among them, 'How long have you remained ?' They said, 'We have remained a day or part of a day.' They said, 'Your Lord is most knowing of how long you remained. And similarly, We awakened them that they might question one another. If you had looked at them, you would have turned from them in flight and been filled by them with terror. And We turned them to the right and to the left, while their dog stretched his forelegs at the entrance. And you would think them awake, while they were asleep. He whom Allah guides is the guided, but he whom He leaves astray - never will you find for him a protecting guide. Your Lord will spread out for you of His mercy and will prepare for you from your affair facility.' And, you would see the sun when it rose, inclining away from their cave on the right, and when it set, passing away from them on the left, while they were within an open space thereof.

', 'And when you have withdrawn from them and that which they worship other than Allah, retreat to the cave.

One can only imagine, then, how dismayed his aggressors were when he reemerged two weeks later with Surah Al-Kahf upon his lips. Meanwhile, his critics rejoiced, believing they had finally unmasked Muhammad ﷺ as a fraud and vanquished Islam from Mecca and, therefore, the world. Naturally, many of his followers were disheartened by this and grew suspicious of him. As such, when the next day arrived, he had to concede that he had not received revelation regarding the stories outlined by the Jews in Yathrib. Crucially, Muhammad ﷺ did not add 'Inshallah' - translating to 'God willing' or 'if God wills' - to his promise. After explaining this to his aggressors, Muhammad ﷺ vowed he would have in-depth answers to all three of their questions the following day. After all, his knowledge of such matters came from Allah and he could not receive information regarding them without praying. Nor should he have, even if he were a prophet. To the surprise of nobody, Muhammad ﷺ did not have immediate answers to the three questions put to him. Upon their return to Mecca, the non-believers tracked down Muhammad ﷺ and asked these questions as instructed.

Surah kahf full image