Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 22

(Ayah 22) ➊ {سَيَقُوْلُوْنَ ثَلٰثَةٌ رَّابِعُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ … :} From this it is understood that at the time of the Quran’s revelation, there were all sorts of stories about the People of the Cave among the People of the Book and, through them, among the polytheists of Arabia, but no one had authentic information.
➋ There is no authentic marfu’ narration regarding the names of the People of the Cave. The specification of the names is probably derived from the Israelite historical books, and there is much disagreement even in the pronunciation of these names; no statement can be relied upon. (Fath al-Bari) Then some people mention the special qualities and benefits of these names and write them for various illnesses, which is in no way authentic. In fact, if they are written with the vocative particle “ya,” or if one believes that these names have the power to benefit or protect from harm, this is clear shirk. It is strange that some fabricated narrations have also been attributed to Ibn Abbas and other Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), but none of these narrations are established from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) or the righteous predecessors. Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan (may Allah have mercy on him) has refuted the use of these names for treatment in his tafsir.
➌ The People of the Book in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) knew that this incident had occurred at some time, but they were unaware of its reality. Therefore, they used to narrate its details merely by conjecture. Allah Almighty mentioned their two statements regarding their number and refuted them, but when mentioning the third statement—that they were seven—He did not refute it. Rather, He said: “Say: My Lord knows best their number, and none knows them except a few.” Then, indicating the uselessness of this debate, He said: “Do not argue with them except in a superficial way, nor ask any of them about them,” because they have no knowledge of it. Most scholars, including Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), have considered the last statement to be authentic. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that the method of presenting issues with differing opinions is to mention all the statements, indicate the authentic one, and also state the benefit of the discussion—what has been achieved from it. Thus, Allah Almighty mentioned all three points. (Qasimi, summarized)

22. 1 Those who said this and those who mentioned their various numbers were the believers and disbelievers of the time of the Messenger, especially the People of the Book who claimed awareness and knowledge from the heavenly scriptures.

22. 2 That is, none of them possess knowledge, just as someone throws a stone without seeing, they too are making such conjectural statements.

22. 3 Allah Almighty mentioned only three statements; first, He called the two statements رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ (conjecture and guesswork), declaring them weak opinions, and then mentioned the third statement after that, from which the scholars of exegesis have deduced that this style is evidence of the authenticity of this statement, and in reality, their number was exactly as much (Ibn Kathir).

22. 4 It is narrated from some Companions that they used to say: I am also among those few people who know how many the People of the Cave were; they were only seven, as mentioned in the third statement (Ibn Kathir).

22. 5 That is, suffice only with those matters which have been conveyed to you through revelation, or do not argue and dispute about the determination of the number, just say that there is no evidence for this determination.

22. 6 That is, do not ask those who argue about them anything, because the one who is asked should have more knowledge than the one asking, whereas here the matter is the opposite. You at least have a definite source of knowledge, revelation, while others have nothing but mental conjecture.

22. Some say they were three, and their dog was the fourth; and some say they were five, and their dog was the sixth—guessing at the unseen. And some say they were seven, and their dog was the eighth. Say, "My Lord knows best their number. None knows them except a few." So do not argue about them except with a superficial discussion, nor seek information about them from anyone [22].

[22]
The Number of the People of the Cave and the Command to Avoid Useless Debates:

One of the debates concerning the People of the Cave was about their number. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbasؓ says that I am among those few people about whom Allah Almighty has said that they know the correct number of the People of the Cave, and they were seven, because after mentioning those who said three or five, Allah Almighty used the phrase "rajman bil-ghayb" (guessing at the unseen), but excluded those who said seven from this. Some scholars have tried to prove from several other reasons as well that they were indeed seven and the eighth was their dog. However, Allah Almighty forbade His Prophet from taking interest in this debate and also said that there is no need to ask anyone else about it. The reason is that this debate is completely useless in the sense that no action is based upon it. Another example of such useless debates is: which tree was it from which Allah Almighty forbade Sayyiduna Adam? Or, what was the name of Sayyiduna Musaؑ's mother? Or, which is the middle prayer (salat al-wusta)? And some commentators have filled pages upon pages on this, the summary of which is that all five prayers can, in different arrangements, be considered the middle prayer, even though it is clearly stated in the hadiths that the middle prayer refers to Asr prayer. Or the debate about whether the crow is halal or haram? Even if it is proven to be halal, no one would be willing to eat it. Similarly, there is a debate about whether the dabb lizard is halal or haram, over which arguments and debates have taken place, even though these matters have no relation to practical life.

The Mu'tazilah and the Issue of the Creation of the Quran:

And when such matters arise concerning the attributes of Allah, it leads to sectarianism and even safeguarding one's faith becomes insecure, as some time ago the debate arose that since Allah Almighty is capable of everything, can He also lie? And over this issue, two opposing factions were formed. Another such debate was whether Allah Almighty, who has knowledge of everything, also knows the knowledge of magic? And the clearest example of this is the issue of the creation of the Quran, which the Mu'tazilah had raised, and they used to declare those who considered the Quran uncreated as polytheists. The Abbasid caliphs, especially Ma'mun al-Rashid, were deeply influenced by the beliefs of the Mu'tazilah. He killed many scholars merely because they considered the Quran uncreated, and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal endured long periods of imprisonment and severe beatings for this very issue. Eventually, during the reign of Caliph Wathiq Billah, an elderly man with a white beard came to the caliph and requested permission to debate with the court Mu'tazili scholar Ibn Abi Dawud. The caliph granted permission, so the elder said to Ibn Abi Dawud: I say a simple thing—what you are inviting people to, and trying to enforce by force, is something to which neither Allah's Messenger invited nor the Rightly Guided Caliphs, so there are only two possibilities. One is that these great personalities knew of this issue but remained silent, so you too should remain silent. And if you say that they did not know, then O insolent son of an insolent one! Just think, if neither Allah's Messenger nor the Rightly Guided Caliphs knew of this matter, then how did you come to know of it? Ibn Abi Dawud could not answer this. Wathiq Billah stood up from there and went into another room, repeatedly uttering the phrase: If neither Allah's Messenger nor the Rightly Guided Caliphs knew of this matter, then how did you come to know of it? The gathering was dismissed, the caliph sent the elder off with honor and respect, and after that, the hardships upon Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal were stopped, the situation changed, and gradually the fitnah of the creation of the Quran, which had unjustly claimed the lives of countless Muslims, came to an end. Consider: does this issue have any relation to a person's practical life? Even if, for the sake of argument, it is proven to be created, would it make any difference to its rulings? Thus, Allah Almighty has forbidden getting involved in such useless debates. Getting involved in such debates has nothing to do with guidance; rather, countless satanic paths open up.