Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 22

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.