The Majestic Quran

18. Al-Kahf The Cave This late Makkan chapter was revealed between the eighth and tenth year of the Prophet’s r mission. Its central theme is the contrasting nature of the spiritual and the material world: One permanent, the other temporary, one mysterious the other manifest. Humanity is tempted by the attractions of the material world, but fails to realise the importance of spiritual life. In this chapter, these contrasts are illustrated by five moving stories, each one representing a feature of spiritual and material life. Each story is followed by a terse and helpful commentary, which instils the love, majesty and grandeur of God. The five stories are: The story of the sleepers in the cave is about young men of faith, serious believers, unwilling to compromise their faith. They confronted society’s evil, and abandoned their families to save their faith from an oppressive ruler. The story illustrates God’s power of resurrection, bringing the dead to life. The story of the poor and the rich man reveals the nature of a greedy, self-centred and insensitive rich man who is ready to pick a fight. The Story of Adam and Satan provides a clue to understanding the cause of spiritual sickness. The story of Moses and Khidr, the sage who explains serendipity, “always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of”. The paradox of outward actions and inner meanings. What appears to be harmful turns out to be beneficial, and a loss becomes a