Recitation of Surah al-Kahf by Shaykh Salah Bukhatir,
[ part 1],
[ ayat 1 - ayat 35 ]
THE CAVE YOUTHS, OR THE SLEEPERS, were young men who lived in a polytheist community but embraced tawhid and rejected all other ideologies, thereby earning the anger of their own people. This is made clear in the verse that says: "These, our people, have chosen (other) gods beside Him though they bring no clear warrant (vouchsafed) to them. And who doth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie concerning Allah? "(15). Their belief had made them a target for mounting persecution by their people and their lives were in danger. They decided to seek safety elsewhere. This led them to a cave on the outskirt of the town, where they remained for a considerable period of time, unaware that that they would go down in history as a paragon of faith and devotion. Political and religious bigotry and persecution are known to exist in every human society: "Or deemest thou that the People of the Cave and the Inscription are a wonder among Our portents? "(9). Naturally they were not!
The sun is 150 million kilometers away from the earth and its rays take eight minutes to reach us. Bearing these facts in mind, it is a miracle that, to protect the innocent youths, sunlight fell on the entrance of the cave at such an angle that it obscured its occupants from the unwelcome gaze of any passers-by.
And thou mightest have seen the sun when it rose move away from their cave to the right, and when it set go past them on the left, and they were in the cleft thereof. That was (one) of the portents of Allah. He whom Allah guideth, he indeed is led aright, and he whom He sendeth astray, for him thou wilt not find a guiding friend. (17)
God's signs abound everywhere, in the history of humankind and all around us today, but most people are blind to them.
Three hundred years later, unaware of how long they had been asleep, the youth awoke. The first thing they felt was hunger, and one of them went to the market to fetch some food. The others urged him to be careful and ensure that no one recognized him. "For they, if they should come to know of you, will stone you or turn you back to their religion; then ye will never prosper " (20). They were innocent and sincere that their only concern was for their faith and how they could protect it. Their account, therefore, is rather appropriately concluded with the words:
Say: Allah is best aware how long they tarried. His is the Invisible of the heavens and the earth. How clear of sight is He and keen of hearing! They have no protecting friend beside Him, and He maketh none to share in His government. (26)
The next verse reasserts the principle of tawhid, already emphasized in the opening verse of the surah: "And recite that which hath been revealed unto thee of the Scripture of thy Lord. There is none who can change His words, and thou wilt find no refuge beside Him " (27).
The Qur'an provoked two distinct reactions amongst the people of Muhammad; some believed it and its teaching, whilst others rejected it outright. God directed the Prophet to side with the former, showing support and affinity towards them, but keep away from the latter, saying:
Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance; and let not thine eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case hath been abandoned. (28)
A believer recognizes the existence of God and, conscious of this reality, dedicates his life to the pursuit of His pleasure and the hope of meeting Him in the hereafter, for he is fully aware that death does not signal the end of existence but simply the staging post for a journey into another life. In contrast, however, a non-believer is firmly rooted in this life and spends it entirely in pursuit of his personal pleasures, needs, and desires. In the expectation that his existence will end at death, with no prospect of a life to come, the non-believer views the present and whatever remains of his life as the only reality.
[ ...Very tragic indeed !...just my editorial comment ]
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali
[ 1917 -1996 ]
" A Thematic Commentary On The Qur'an "
Reflection and by Shaykh Ninowy :
Reflection and commentary by Shaykh Yasir Qadhi :
Part 3 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRwfuN9Y6po
Part 4 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQE_Jp2LF7I
Part 5 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79qQX9rcLTA
Part 6 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6_1Ri9dJSM
[ Syriac legion on the 7 sleepers , a biblical perspective ...]
Part 7 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP5Xhmeh5CI
Part 8 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tE6uPXBplg
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