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.