Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 21

(Ayah 21) ➊ {وَ كَذٰلِكَ اَعْثَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ …:} That is, just as We kept them steadfast and made them sleep in a wondrous manner, in the same way We made the people of the city aware of their true state and location. Many commentators state, and the nature of the incident itself also indicates, that when that person set out to buy food, he saw that the roads of the city, the people's culture, lifestyle, language, and clothing—everything had changed. He thought perhaps he had gone mad or was dreaming. Eventually, he reached the city and began to buy food from a shopkeeper, and when he took out the coin, the shopkeeper was astonished and called another shopkeeper. Eventually, some people gathered and suspected that perhaps this person had found some old treasure from somewhere. But when he told them that he was a resident of this very city and had just left here yesterday after seeing such-and-such king, the people's astonishment increased, and they took him to the king. There, when an inquiry was made, the whole matter became clear, so the king and a crowd of people went to the cave to see the People of the Cave and to greet them. The companion who had gone to the city entered inside, and all the companions lay down again, and in this state Allah took their souls. The evidence for this is that Allah stated their stay there as three hundred and nine (309) years; if they had remained alive after that, there would have been no question of building a structure or a mosque over them, rather, those with good beliefs who witnessed their miracle would have taken them to the city and served them in every way.

➋ From this verse, it is established that the wealth of several companions can be pooled together and spent collectively for food and other needs, whether someone eats less or more, and this verse is also evidence that someone can be appointed as a deputy or agent.

➌ { لِيَعْلَمُوْۤا اَنَّ وَعْدَ اللّٰهِ حَقٌّ … :} That is, so that the people of the city who became aware of them would be certain that Allah's promise is true and there is no doubt about the coming of the Resurrection.

➍ {اِذْ يَتَنَازَعُوْنَ بَيْنَهُمْ … :} That is, We made the people of the city aware of them at a time when they were disputing among themselves about their matter. Some said that resurrection after death is true, some denied it, some said that only the soul would be resurrected, not the body. But Allah showed them the state of the People of the Cave with their own eyes and convinced them that the Resurrection will come and the resurrection will be of both body and soul. The meaning of {’’اِذْ يَتَنَازَعُوْنَ بَيْنَهُمْ اَمْرَهُمْ ‘‘} can also be that when the people of the city were disputing about the People of the Cave—who were these people? When did they come to the cave? How long did they sleep? Now that they have died, what should be done with them? Some said, build a wall over them and close the mouth of the cave. Some said, build a structure over them as a memorial.

➎ { رَبُّهُمْ اَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ :} That is, their Lord knows best the conditions of the People of the Cave and the people of the city.

➏ { قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ غَلَبُوْا عَلٰۤى اَمْرِهِمْ … :} Those who had dominance and authority said, "We will surely build a mosque over them," and thus preserve their memory. Among previous nations, it was through this very way that shirk (polytheism) entered, and even now the greatest centers of shirk are those buildings constructed over graves, such as shrines or mosques. It is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said in his illness in which he passed away: [ لَعَنَ اللّٰهُ الْيَهُوْدَ وَالنَّصَارَی اتَّخَذُوْا قُبُوْرَ أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ مَسَاجِدَ ] [ بخاری، الجنائز، باب ما یکرہ من اتخاذ المساجد… : ۱۳۳۰۔ مسلم : ۵۲۹ ] "May Allah curse the Jews and Christians, they took the graves of their prophets as mosques." Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) five days before his death, he said: [ أَلَا وَإِنَّ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ كَانُوْا يَتَّخِذُوْنَ قُبُوْرَ أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ وَصَالِحِيْهِمْ مَسَاجِدَ، أَلَا فَلاَ تَتَّخِذُوا الْقُبُوْرَ مَسَاجِدَ، إِنِّيْ أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْ ذٰلِكَ ] [ مسلم، المساجد، باب النہي عن بناء المساجد علی القبور… : ۵۳۲ ] "Beware! Those before you used to take the graves of their prophets and righteous as mosques. Beware! Do not take graves as mosques, I forbid you from that."

In one hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared those who do so to be the worst creatures in the sight of Allah, he said: [ فَأُولٰئِكَ شِرَارُ الْخَلْقِ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ] [ بخاري، الصلاۃ، باب ھل تنبش قبور مشرکي الجاھلیۃ … : ۴۲۷۔ مسلم : ۵۲۸، عن عائشۃ رضی اللہ عنہا ]

In these hadiths, building mosques over graves means building mosques near them, because the places of worship of the Jews and Christians used to be near the graves of their prophets and saints. Unfortunately, some Muslims have even abandoned this formality and started building the graves of their elders right inside the mosques. Rarely will any of their mosques be free from some grave or another; their scholars have used the verse under discussion to justify this worst act, whereas it only mentions that their dominant and influential people said this. As for whether they said right or wrong, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified it, so Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: [ نَهٰی رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ يُّجَصَّصَ الْقَبْرُ، وَأَنْ يُّقْعَدَ عَلَيْهِ، وَأَنْ يُّبْنٰی عَلَيْهِ ] [ مسلم، الجنائز، باب النھي عن تجصیص القبر…:۹۷۰ ] "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade that a grave be plastered (cemented), or that one sits on it, or that a structure be built over it." In fact, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered such graves to be leveled. Thus, Abu al-Hayyaj al-Asadi, the son-in-law of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), says that Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: [ أَلاَ أَبْعَثُكَ عَلٰی مَا بَعَثَنِیْ عَلَيْهِ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ؟ أَنْ لاَّ تَدَعَ تِمْثَالاً إِلَّا طَمَسْتَهُ وَلاَ قَبْرًا مُشْرِفًا إِلاَّ سَوَّيْتَهُ ] [ مسلم، الجنائز، باب الأمر بتسویۃ القبر : ۹۶۹ ] "Shall I not appoint you to the task for which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed me? That you do not leave any image without obliterating it, nor any elevated grave without leveling it." See the wisdom of Allah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed for leveling graves the very person whose followers were to build the most solid and elevated graves, so that no excuse would remain for anyone.

21. 1 That is, just as We made them sleep and woke them up, in the same way We made people aware of their condition. According to some narrations, this awareness happened in such a way that when one of the Companions of the Cave went to the city with a silver coin, which was from the time of King Decianus three hundred years earlier, and he gave that coin to a shopkeeper, the shopkeeper was astonished. He showed it to the neighboring shopkeeper, who was also astonished upon seeing it, while the Companion of the Cave kept saying that he was a resident of this city and had just left here yesterday, but three centuries had passed since that "yesterday." How could people believe him? People suspected that perhaps this person had found a buried treasure. This matter reached the king or the competent authority, and with the help of this companion, they reached the cave and met the Companions of the Cave. After that, Allah Almighty caused them to die again (Ibn Kathir).

21. 2 That is, from the incident of the Companions of the Cave, it is known that the occurrence of the Resurrection and the promise of life after death by Allah is true. For the deniers, there is a demonstration of Allah's power in this incident.

21. 3 "Idh" is either the adverb of "a'tharna," meaning We made them known at the time when they were disputing among themselves about life after death or the event of the Resurrection.

21. 4 Who were those who said this? Some say they were the believers of that time, others say it was the king and his companions. When they went and met them, and after that Allah made them sleep again, the king and his companions said that a building should be constructed for their protection.

21. 5 Allah Almighty said to those who were disputing that only Allah has the authentic knowledge about them.

21. 6 Were these dominant ones the believers or the disbelievers and polytheists? Shawkani preferred the first opinion, and Ibn Kathir preferred the second opinion, because building mosques over the graves of the righteous is not liked by Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said: "May Allah curse the Jews and Christians who made the graves of their prophets and righteous ones into mosques." (Al-Bukhari, Muslim) Allah Almighty curses the Jews and Christians who made the graves of their prophets and righteous ones into mosques. During the caliphate of Umar, when the grave of Prophet Daniel was discovered in Iraq, he ordered that it be hidden and made like an ordinary grave so that people would not know that such and such grave belongs to such and such prophet. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

21. Thus We made the people [19] aware of them so that they might know that Allah's promise is true and that there is no doubt about the coming of the Hour [20]. When they were disputing among themselves about their case, some said, "Build a structure over them." Their Lord knows best about them. But those who prevailed in the matter said, "We will surely build a mosque [21] over them."

[19]
The Change of Kingdom and Favorable Circumstances:

When the one who brought the food reached the city, the world there had completely changed. There was a marked difference in the people's culture and civilization, clothing, and appearance. The language had also changed considerably, and when people saw this young man, everyone turned their attention towards him, but he kept avoiding them. Then, when he presented a coin from several centuries ago while buying food, the shopkeeper and all those around began to look at this young man with suspicion. They suspected that perhaps this person had found some ancient treasure. Therefore, on the basis of this suspicion, people caught him and presented him before the higher authorities. And when this young man gave his statement, it became clear that these were the very followers of Christ who had suddenly disappeared several centuries ago, and whose record had been continuously transferred in the government offices until now. This news spread instantly throughout the Christian population. The very thing they wanted to avoid, Allah made everyone aware of their condition. The difference was that when they had fled and disappeared, at that time they were considered criminals by that society and government, but now, in everyone's eyes, they were respected for remaining steadfast in their faith.

[20]
The Nature of the Dispute About Resurrection After Death: Spiritual or Physical?

In those days, although the official religion was Christianity and Christians believed in the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment, nevertheless, strange and philosophical debates were ongoing regarding the Day of Resurrection. Some irreligious people outright denied resurrection after death, as such people are found in every religion, whether this denial is in practice or in words. Among those who believed in resurrection after death, there was a difference of opinion as to whether it would be spiritual or physical, and debates were held on this, but no final decision was being reached. The king himself wanted a final decision on this difference. During those days, the issue of the discovery of these young men came before everyone, which provided undeniable proof of the physical nature of resurrection after death.

[21]
Construction of a Mosque as a Memorial:

Now these Companions of the Cave were respected in everyone's eyes and began to be considered as friends of Allah (awliya Allah). Whether people went to the cave to meet them or not, or whether these people came out of the cave to greet the people or not, this detail is not mentioned anywhere. However, the predominant opinion seems to be that the one who brought the food also went back into the cave, they lay down as before, and there their souls departed from their physical bodies. People thought that these were all sacred personalities, so a memorial building should be constructed at this cave. Then there was a difference of opinion as to what kind of memorial should be built, and the opinion of those who were influential and powerful prevailed, and that opinion was that a mosque or place of worship should be built as a memorial near the cave, which these influential people themselves took responsibility for building. In this way, the Companions of the Cave attained the status of friends of Allah, and their cave became like a shrine or their tomb. Building a mosque or place of worship near or on shrines, khanqahs, or tombs, or making a grave in a mosque considering someone a friend of Allah, are such acts that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ strictly forbade. The reason is that such acts open many doors to shirk (polytheism), as is clear from the following hadiths.

1.
Building Mosques on Graves is an Ancient Polytheistic Practice:

Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa ؓ narrates that some of the pure wives mentioned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that they had seen a church named "Maria" in Abyssinia in which there were statues. He ﷺ said: "When a righteous man among them died, they would build a mosque on his grave. Such people are the worst of creation in the sight of Allah." [مسلم، كتاب الصلوٰة]

And Imam Bukhari has mentioned this hadith as follows: Sayyida Aisha ؓ narrates that Umm Habiba ؓ and Umm Salama ؓ mentioned to the Prophet ﷺ a church they had seen in Abyssinia and that there were images in it. He ﷺ said: Their custom was that when a righteous man among them died, they would build a mosque on his grave and place images in it. On the Day of Resurrection, these people will be the worst of all creation in the sight of Allah. [بخاري، كتاب الصلوة، باب هلے نبش قبور مشركي اهل الجاهليه۔ نيز باب الصلوة فى البيعة]

2.
Hadiths Related to Graves:

Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa ؓ narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, in the illness from which he did not recover, said: "May Allah curse the Jews; they made the graves of their prophets into mosques or places of prostration." Sayyida Aisha ؓ says: If I had not feared that people would make your ﷺ grave a place of prostration, it would have been made accessible to all. [بخاري، كتاب المغازي۔ باب مرض النبيﷺ]

The explanation is that the blessed grave of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in the house of Sayyida Aisha ؓ. The arrangement was such that the grave was at the back, then Sayyida Aisha's ؓ residence in front of it, and then the outer door, and except for Sayyida Aisha ؓ or relatives, no one else could go to the grave because there was a wall behind the grave. For this reason, Sayyida Aisha ؓ says that if there had been no fear that after some time people would start prostrating to your grave, the back wall would have been opened for visitation.

3. In the following hadith, besides the grave-worshipping Jews, Christians are also mentioned: Sayyida Aisha ؓ and Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas ؓ both narrate that when the Prophet ﷺ fell ill and signs of death appeared, he would cover his face with his sheet, and when the discomfort increased, he would remove it from his face and say: May Allah curse the Jews and Christians; they made the graves of their prophets into mosques or places of prostration. By this statement, he ﷺ was warning us against the evil deed that the Jews and Christians had done. [بخاري۔ حواله ايضاً]

4. And in Sahih Muslim, Book of Prayer, in the narration of Sayyiduna Jundub, the graves of saints are also mentioned along with the prophets. The words are: "Beware! Those before you made the graves of their prophets and righteous men into places of prostration. Beware! Do not make graves into places of prostration. I forbid you from this."

5. Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri ؓ says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The whole earth is suitable for prayer except graveyards and bathhouses." [ترمذي، ابو داؤد، دارمي، بحواله مشكوة، كتاب الصلٰوة باب المساجد و مواضع الصلوٰة فصل ثاني]

6. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said regarding himself: "Do not make my grave an 'Eid (festival, urs, or fair), and wherever you are, send blessings upon me. Your blessings are conveyed to me." [نسائي بحواله مشكوٰة۔ باب الصلوٰة على النبيﷺ و فضلها۔ فصل ثاني]

7. And he ﷺ also prayed to Allah: "O Allah! Do not make my grave an idol (shrine) that people come to worship." [مالك، بحواله مشكوٰة، كتاب الصلوٰة، باب المساجد و مواضع الصلوٰة، تيسري فصل]

From all these hadiths, it is clear that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade people from gathering at graves, tombs, shrines, or mausoleums considering them sacred, holding urs or fairs there, and even performing prayers there. Building a mosque on any grave, tomb, or shrine is forbidden because this is done solely out of reverence for the occupant of the grave, and prayer is not valid in a graveyard. Whereas, in our society, it is customary that every shrine has a mosque, or a saint is buried in a mosque. All such situations are prohibited. Those who gather at shrines do so believing those saints to be fulfillers of needs and removers of difficulties. They also perform such rituals or acts of worship there that are only appropriate for Allah or for the House of Allah, such as making vows, offerings, i.e., financial sacrifices. Cleaning graves, decorating them, illuminating them—all these are forbidden by Shariah, yet are practiced there. And some unfortunate people even circumambulate graves like the Ka'bah, cover them with cloths, and do not even refrain from prostrating to them. And probably these are the reasons why prayer in graveyards is prohibited and the construction of shrines and mausoleums is declared forbidden. Nowadays, at some shrines, even the full rituals of Hajj are performed instead of urs, and it is even called Hajj.