May God forgive me and guide me regarding any sign that would have been misinterpreted in this study and elsewhere. May He always guide us to a better understanding of His profound scripture so we can purify ourselves and increase our knowledge.
As usual in history, men often mix historical truth with fables, and we end up losing important lessons of our past. After having studied in depth the story of the companions of the cave focusing exclusively on the Quran, I came to the conclusion that questionable Christian and Islamic traditions have prevented us from understanding correctly part of the historical message narrated in sura 18. A close analysis reveals for instance that long before the first large scale Christian persecution led by roman emperor Decius in 250 CE, it is in reality Trinitarian Christians who first started massively eradicating pure monotheist Christians exemplified by the companions of the cave. It took many centuries of persecutions, wars and massacres for the polytheistic doctrine of trinity to eventually prevail in the Christian world; sura 18 reinstates the historical responsibilities of the early trinitarian church by taking us back to the dark ages of the beginning of the 2rd century when corrupted Christianity didn’t find any other solution but to kill people to impose the concept of Jesus’ deity.
Mathematical signs hidden behind the story of the companions of the cave.
Sura 18 tells us one of the most profound stories in the history of mankind: The companions of the cave fell asleep for three centuries before God awoke them. How many companions stayed in the cave has remained a historical enigma in the Quran that very few people have been able to solve decisively; I promise that it will be by the end of the article. One of the key questions is why is there so much importance given to their number as such a number could easily seem insignificant in itself? As usual in the Quran, there is a profoundly meaningful symbolical dimension hidden behind their number, and one of the goals of this study will be to decipher it, God willing.
Why did they stay specifically “three hundred years and they add nine”, as the Quran puts it literally? We will explain why such a number is written in such a peculiar manner, and also show that the number of years is deeply related to the correct number of companions who remained in the cave.
The story of the companions of the cave is a multiple meaning sign. The signs will, I believe, strengthen the faith of true believers;
We will first propose to the reader to read attentively the beginning of sura 18; we will then comment in depth the verses following a logical path which will gradually lead to the unraveling what I believe is one of the great secret of the story of the companions of the cave.
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful,
(18:1) Glory to God, the one who revealed the Book to His servant, and has not allowed in it any deviousness; (18:2) Straightforward, in order to warn about a terrible punishment that will impart from Him; and give good news to the believers who accomplish good deeds that a generous recompense awaits them, (18:3) In which they shall abide eternally. (18:4) And to warn those who say: “God has ascribed a son to Himself”. (18:5) They do not have in this regard any [sound] knowledge, nor do their forefathers. Grievous is the word that comes out of their mouths! All they say is nothing but a lie. (18:6) And you may torment yourself in grief keeping after their footsteps, if they happen not to believe in this narration. (18:7) Indeed, We have turned everything that there is on Earth into a means by which to embellish it, that we may test which one accomplishes the best deeds. (18:8) And indeed, We will make everything on it a barren land. (18:9) Why else have you thought that the companions of the Cave and Al Raqeem were among Our wondrous signs? (18:10) Once the youths retreated to the Cave, they then implored: “May the inherent mercy of your soul be bestowed upon us; help us conduct our affairs in the right way.” (18:11) We then veiled their ears in the Cave for a specific number of years. (18:12) We then awakened them to reveal which of the two groups best calculated how much time they remained. (18:13) We narrate to you this story with absolute truthfulness. Indeed they were youths who believed in their Lord and We increased their guidance. (18:14) We strengthened their hearts when they stood up and proclaimed: “Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the Earth. We will never invoke beside Him any other god. Assuredly, we would otherwise have uttered an enormity.” (18:15) These people of ours have set up gods beside Him. Why do they not bring forward any clear evidence to support them! And Who could possibly be more wicked than he who invents a lie about God? (18:16) And now that you have dissociated [yourself] from them and what they worship beside God, seek refuge in the Cave: Your Lord will bestow His mercy upon you, and will provide a solution regarding your [current] situation. (18:17) You can see the rising sun declining away from the right of their cave, and once it set, disappearing from them to the left, while they stand inside in the enclosed space. This is [indeed] among God’s signs. He whom Allah guides is rightly guided; but he whom He lets go astray, you cannot find any guardian to lead him on the Right Way. (18:18) And you [would] think that they [were] awake, while they [were] asleep. And We turn[ed] them over to the right, and to the left, their dog stretching his two forelegs at the entrance. If you had looked at them, you would have turned away from them in haste, as their [sight] would most assuredly have stricken you with terror. (18:19) And similarly, we resurrected them, so they would debate among themselves. One of them took the floor and said (lit. “a speaker among them said”): “How long did you remain [asleep]?”They [who were part of the first group] replied: “We remained [asleep] a day, or part of a day.” They [who were part of the second group] said: “Your Lord knows best how long you remained, so send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the city, and let him find out which food is best there, and bring you thereof some provisions; let him be cautious not to attract attention on any of you. (18:20) Indeed, if they happen to find out about you, they will stone you [to death], or revert you to their religion and in that case you will never attain felicity.” (18:21) And this is how We allowed the secret about them to come to light, in order for them to know that God’s promise is the truth, and that there is no doubt in it whatsoever regarding the [advent of the] Hour. When they had an argument with each other about their case, they said: “Build over them an edifice; their Lord has full knowledge about them”. Those who prevailed regarding their case said: “We will surely erect a place of worship (masjid) over them”. (18:22) They will [subsequently] say: “They were three, the fourth being their dog.”, while [others] will say: “Five, the sixth being their dog”, taking a guess about the hidden aspect of things; and they will say: “Seven, the eighth being their dog.” Say: “My Lord knows their number; none knows them except a few”. So do not argue with them except with a decisive argument, and do not seek information regarding them from anyone. (18:23) And do not ever say about anything: “I will certainly do that tomorrow”, (18:24) Except “If God so wills”. And remember your Lord when you forget and say: “May this guidance, O my Lord, draw me nearer”. (18:25) And they remained in their cave for three hundred solar years, and they add nine. (18:26) Say: “God knows best how long they [exactly] stayed (i.e. in addition to 309 years); to Him belongs the hidden aspect of the heavens and the Earth; how clearly He sees through it and hears! No one other than Him can serve as a Protector, and He doesn’t share anything in His judgment.”(18:27) And recite what has been revealed to you from the book of your Lord. Nothing can modify His words; you will find no refuge to protect you other than Him. (18:28) And may your soul be patient with those who call their Lord in the morning and the evening seeking His face, and do not let your eyes turn away from them, seeking the beauties of this worldly life, and do not obey the one whose heart we have made heedless of our remembrance and succumbed to his desires, while his affairs were driven to excess.
General historical context of sura 18
According to historians and what we can derive directly from sura 18, Muhammad was tested by Jews and Christians about three stories:
– The story of young Christians who fell asleep for three centuries in a cave.
– The story of Khidr, a man who traveled with Moses and taught him lessons he was not prepared for.
– The story of Zul Qarnain, who built the wall that prevented Gog and Magog to spread evil on Earth.
Jews and Christians suspected that someone was teaching the Bible to Muhammad and they knew that only an authentic prophet who would receive God’s revelations could answer their questions regarding stories that were not even found in the Bible and that even themselves had only partial knowledge of. This is why sura 18 was revealed.
The symbol of the Day of Resurrection
Sura 18 and the symbolical resurrection of the companions of the cave is a physical proof that the Day of Resurrection is an incontrovertible reality, a fact that an overwhelming majority of Jews have historically denied to this day. God tells us in the Quran that He takes away our souls when we are asleep in the same way as He does with people who die, and that He resurrects us during the day (25:47, 39:42).
(25:47) He is the one who made for you the night as a garment, and the sleep a rest; and He made the day a resurrection.
(39:42) God takes away the souls at the time of their death, as well as the ones who do not die in their sleep; He then keeps the one upon which He has decreed death, and sends back the others for a specified term. There are indeed therein signs for people who reflect.
Human beings have a clear choice between Heaven and Hell and the story of companions of the Cave is a profound warning intended primarily towards Christians:
Condemnation of the doctrine of trinity
The typical mistake that many people make commenting or reading sura 18 is to consciously or unconsciously dissociate the beginning of sura 18 (verses 1 to 8) from the rest of the sura and believe that the story of the companions actually starts in verse 9 where they are mentioned for the first time. It is extremely important to bear in mind that the context of the story begins with verse 1 and follows afterwards a very logical order until its very end.
Verse 4 sets the tone right away as it warns those who believe that Jesus is the son of God. The condemnation is extremely strong as such a belief is called a “lie” (verse 5). It implies in the context of the sura that the companions of the cave were pure, early Christians whose faith was not tarnished by the doctrine of trinity. The prophet Muhammad was deeply sad and “tormented” (verse 6) when he met Christians in his time as most of them refused to purify their faith by stopping worshipping Jesus and his mother. We will learn more about the theme of the rejection of the trinity later in the commentary when it comes to who persecuted the companions of the cave.
There is a very strong connection between the theme of rejecting trinity, verse 8 which describes the Day of resurrection, and verse 9 where the companions of the cave are mentioned for the first time: God used pure early Christians as a warning and a lesson for subsequent generations manifesting a miracle which provides an analogy with the day of resurrection:
أَمْ حَسِبْتَ أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْكَهْفِ وَالرَّقِيمِ كَانُوا مِنْ آيَاتِنَا عَجَبًا
(18:9) Why else have you thought that the companions of the Cave and Al Raqeem were among Our wondrous signs?
“Al Raqeem” is in my opinion the name of the dog that slept in the cave, not “scriptures” that the sleepers carried with them, or an “inscription” that was subsequently posted at the entrance of the cave, or again a physical location as others have claimed, as is usually interpreted by many translators and commentators. Verse 22 makes it a fact that a dog slept with them in the cave. “The companions and their dog” are therefore altogether part of the “wondrous sign” described in verse 9, all of them being the symbol of resurrection. It would not make sense to call alleged scriptures that we did not even inherit from them, an alleged inscription that we cannot find, or an alleged physical location near the cave to be part of the “wondrous sign” together with the companions, while not even mentioning the dog which we are certain was present (verses 18 and 22). The dog being awakened together with the companions is a very important message that all creatures, not just humans, will be resurrected at the end of times; this is why we cannot dissociate the dog as being part of the “wondrous sign”, and it is why “al Raqeem” is very simply the name of their dog. The story also shows that dogs are not unclean, as corrupted Islamic traditions have claimed. The companions are one of the utmost symbol of purity of faith in the Quran and they slept three centuries in the same space as a dog. Would God choose to do such a thing if they were unclean or impure?!
God always answers righteous prayers and He has a plan: The young companions were persecuted because of their faith in the One True God as corrupted Christianity based on trinity was in the process of being established in the Byzantine empire; they would have been martyred, but they implored God and He saved them by sending them in a deep sleep for many years in a safe place. Verse 12 provides us a very important piece of information as it clarifies that the sleepers were awakened in order “to reveal which of the two groups best calculated how much time they remained.” It makes it clear that the sleepers were divided in two groups with two different opinions regarding how much time they remained in the cave. This important detail will help us determine how many sleepers there were.
The companions make a most beautiful proclamation of their faith in the One true God before falling asleep in verses 14 to 16, which implies not only a condemnation of roman paganism, but primarily in the context of the sura of the concept of Jesus’ deity, a doctrine which appeared very early in Christianity and was derived from the teachings of Paul, a false apostle who introduced the corrupted belief that Jesus is the savior of the world and died on the cross to save the entire mankind. The concept of Jesus’ deity was a constant subject of divisions in Christianity and only became the official doctrine of the Roman Empire in 325 C.E. after the Council of Nicea. It took several more centuries of terror killing Christians who rejected it before it became the official creed in the entire Christian world.
What makes us say that the companions of the cave were persecuted by Trinitarians before they fell asleep is verse 14 where they say about those who ascribed deities beside God that they “would have uttered an enormity” if they had listened to those who corrupted the faith in God by setting up partners beside Him. It is not a coincidence if the very same word “enormity” (Shatatan = شَطَطًا) is used only one more time in the entire Quran in 72:4 to specifically denounce Christians who deify Mary and Jesus:
(72:3) Exalted is the majesty of our Lord, He has never attributed a wife (Mary) nor a son (Jesus) to himself. (72:4) The foolish among us used to utter against God an enormity (Shatatan = شَطَطًا).
The word “enormity” occurs therefore only twice in the Quran (18:14, 72:3), the word in 72:3 clarifying the context of the one in 18:14, which is very typical of how the Quran functions. It confirms that the companions of the cave were initially persecuted by corrupted Christians who were forcing them to renounce to the pure stand of monotheism to worship God Alone. This interpretation connects perfectly with the fact that the very beginning of sura 18 is all about condemning those who claim that Jesus is “the son of God”, which belief we saw is called a “lie” (كَذِبًا) in verse 5. The very same word “lie” is used again in verse 15 where, in the context of the sura, the companions condemn the doctrine of trinity as they are quoted saying: “Who could possibly be more wicked than he who invents a lie (كَذِبًا = trinity) about God?”.
Since the companions of the cave were awakened before the revelation of the Quran (revealed in 610 C.E.) and slept about three centuries, it means that the Quran provides historical proof that Trinitarian Christians began persecuting and killing pure Christians before the Council of Nicea in 325 C.E., which is the first time the roman empire formally accepted trinitarian Christianity as the official religion.
Location of the cave
Verse 18:17 provides geographical insight regarding the location of the actual cave, which seems to be facing North, as the sun first reverberates against the right side of the entrance of the cave at sunrise and on the left side at sunset (You can see the rising sun declining away from the right of their cave, and once it set, disappearing from them to the left, while they stand inside in the enclosed space.).
From Spain to Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, Afghanistan…, over 100 caves around the world are said to be the cave of the seven sleepers. The most famous site is the cave of Ephesus in Turkey.
A number of caves can be easily discarded because the Quran is extremely precise, God telling us that eventually a “Masjid” (lit. “a place where people prostrate”) was built “over them”:
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَعْثَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَأَنَّ السَّاعَةَ لَا رَيْبَ
فِيهَا إِذْ يَتَنَازَعُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ أَمْرَهُمْ فَقَالُوا ابْنُوا عَلَيْهِم بُنْيَانًا رَّبُّهُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ
قَالَ الَّذِينَ غَلَبُوا عَلَىٰ أَمْرِهِمْ لَنَتَّخِذَنَّ عَلَيْهِم مَّسْجِدًا
(18:21) And this is how We allowed [the secret] about them to come to light, in order for them to know that God’s promise is the truth, and that there is no doubt in it whatsoever regarding the [advent of the] Hour. When they had an argument with each other about their case, they said: “Build over them an edifice; their Lord has full knowledge about them”. Those who prevailed regarding their case said: “We will surely erect a place of worship (masjid) over them”.
The way Jews and Christians prayed in ancient times was very much alike Muslims as they used to prostrate during their ritual prayer, starting from the standing position. Even today, Coptic Christians in the Middle East, Syrian Orthodox Christian, Greek Orthodox Christian and other Christian denominations still prostrate during their prayer ritual.
Another blatant example can be found in the book written by Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin, “To Pray as a Jew”, which shows that Jews originally used to pray almost the same way Muslims do today, standing, bowing and prostrating.
This is why the Christians who witnessed the miracle of the seven sleepers built a “Masjid” (“Place of prostration”), since “prostration” was a natural part of their prayer ritual at the time.
The oldest known account of the story of the seven sleepers was written in Syriac in 474 C.E. by Jacob of Sarug (a Christian priest born approximately in 451 C.E. in the village of Kurtam on the Euphrates, modern Turkey, very close to the modern border between Syria and Irak) a few years after the sleepers woke up. His story describes Ephesus as the location of the cave and his description is fairly close to the story in the Quran, but departs from it regarding important details, for instance when it says that “the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus” fell asleep around 250 AD during the reign of the Roman emperor Decius and awoke approximately 150-200 years later during the reign of Theodosius II (who was the Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450). This story grossly contradicts the Quranic account that they slept 300 years, the Quran being the infallible word of God.
Therefore, the Syriac story cannot be trusted at the same level as the Quran, but is very important because it establishes that the date the sleepers awoke cannot be later than 450 C.E (the year Theodosius II died) This means that the companions of the cave fell asleep no later than 150 C.E. (as Their sleep lasted about 300 years according to 18:25) and likely a few years before. Christians like Jacob of Sarug who did not witness the story directly be reported it years later must have guessed that the companions fell asleep during the reign of Decius because he is historically the first emperor to have initiated a large scale persecution against Christians; Such an assumption turns out to be completely false once that we realize that the Quran cannot be wrong about the companions sleeping three centuries.
We have to bear in mind that “those who prevailed” and decided to build a “Masjid” (a Christian church) over the companions of the cave (verse 21) were Trinitarian Christians of the same type as those who massacred pure monotheist Christians like the young companions three centuries before. The official doctrine in the Byzantine Empire was not only to worship Jesus as God incarnate and part of a trinity, but also to regard Mary as the “Mother of God”: Such a pagan belief became the official doctrine of the church following the council of Ephesus in 431 C.E. in which it was “resolved” that the creed of the divinity of Christ and of Mary as the mother of God, should be included in the articles of the Christian Church.
This may very well be one of several signs that Ephesus is the right location because it is the place where Christianity reached the utmost stage of idol worship. We can wonder if 431 C.E. would have been the year the companions of the cave awoke as a symbolic response to the council of Ephesus, and because 431 is the gematrical value of “the sun”, key symbol of the solar calendar in the sura, God knows best; we will see later the importance of the word “the sun” in 18:17 in connection with the number of years the companions slept.
Above: Picture of the entrance of the cave near Ephesus located on the Northern Slope of mount Pion
The fact they decided to build a church over them reflects a pagan reaction typical to that of worshiping saints, or establishing partners with God in general. Building a church meant that the cave was going to become a major site of pilgrimage where a lot of idol worship would take place, that people would want to touch the bones or relics of the sleepers, ask their intercession, would want to be buried nearby, etc…
Just like in corrupted Christianity, the same need to build sanctuaries or shrines for dead saints has become widespread throughout the Sunni and Shia world and it is a blatant proof that they deviated from pure monotheism in the very same way as Christians.
What an irony that Trinitarian Christians ended up worshiping and canonizing the companions of the cave who were pure monotheist Christians and were initially persecuted by Trinitarians! Even after witnessing the miracle of their resurrection three centuries later, they would have stoned them to death if they had discovered that they were ready to die rather than corrupt their faith with the doctrine of Trinity.
The site of Ephesus may or may not be the actual cave described in the Quran, as there are over one hundred caves in the world which claim that title. We will simply mention that Ephesus is a likely candidate simply because it is the oldest site reported historically (by Jacob of Sarug).
The emperor Constantine (272 – 337) converted to Christianity and brutally imposed the doctrine of trinity in the roman empire after the council of Nicea in 325, which was a compromise between Christianity and roman paganism. Here is an example of Constantine’s hatred against non Trinitarian Christians which gives an idea of what pure Christians had to endure:
“In addition, if any writing composed by Arius should be found, it should be handed over to the flames, so that not only will the wickedness of his teaching be obliterated, but nothing will be left even to remind anyone of him. And I hereby make a public order, that if someone should be discovered to have hidden a writing composed by Arius, and not to have immediately brought it forward and destroyed it by fire, his penalty shall be death. As soon as he is discovered in this offence, he shall be submitted for capital punishment…..”
— Edict by Emperor Constantine against the Arians.
Remark: Arius, a Christian presbyter in Alexandria (Egypt) of Libyan origins, is known historically to have rejected the doctrine of Trinity. He and his followers were persecuted and Arius seems to have died by poisoning.
The location of the cave, though important historically, remains secondary compared to the deep message embedded in the story of the companion of the cave. What we can say to try to solve the puzzle is that:
(1) The actual cave most probably faces northeast;
(2) It has to be in an area where monotheist Christians were persecuted by corrupted Christians who were trying to impose the doctrine of trinity before the companions fell asleep;
(3) Historical accounts have to fit the framework of “300 solar years and they add nine” (18:25) between the time they were persecuted and fell asleep (shortly before 150 C.E.) and the time God awoke them (shortly before 450 C.E.).
Verse 18 shows that the sleepers were turned over to the right and the left by God’s grace because their bodies would have otherwise been crippled staying in the same position for such an incredible amount of time. We all enjoy the same benediction when we sleep.
How many sleepers? A historical enigma permanently solved through basic grammar
A correct understanding of verse 19 solves permanently the mystery of how many sleepers were in the cave; we saw in verse 12 that the companions were divided in two groups reflecting two different opinions regarding how much time they remained in the cave. The two groups and the two different opinions are described in verse 19:
وَكَذَٰلِكَ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا بَيْنَهُمْ قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ
بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالُوا رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ فَابْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَٰذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ
فَلْيَنظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُم بِرِزْقٍ مِّنْهُ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا
(18:19) And similarly, we resurrected them, so they would debate among themselves. One of them took the floor and said (lit. “a speaker among them said”): “How long did you remain [asleep]?”They [who were part of the first group] replied (قَالُوا = “They said” = 3 or more people in Arabic): “We remained [asleep] a day, or part of a day.” They [who were part of the second group] said (قَالُوا = “They said” = 3 or more people in Arabic): “Your Lord knows best how long you remained,…
The “speaker” is obviously distinct from the two groups since he is asking the question to both of them, so we have one person speaking to the two groups. Every time people in the two groups express their opinions, it is unequivocal from the Arabic language that three or more people speak in each group: “قَالُوا” = “They said”, is a regular plural (3 or more people), otherwise it would be a dual plural (يَقُولاَنِ) for two persons specifically. This means that there are three or more people in each of the two groups. It is a Quranic fact.
We therefore have (1) speaker + (3 or more) companions in the first group + (3 or more) companions in the second group = Seven companions minimum who slept in the cave. .
Let us now proceed with verse 22, which eliminates two out of the three solutions that God mentioned in the Quran regarding how many sleepers there were:
سَيَقُولُونَ ثَلَاثَةٌ رَّابِعُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ خَمْسَةٌ سَادِسُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ
وَيَقُولُونَ سَبْعَةٌ وَثَامِنُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ قُل رَّبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِم مَّا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّ
ا قَلِيلٌ فَلَا تُمَارِ فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا وَلَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِم مِّنْهُمْ أَحَدًا
(18:22) They will [subsequently] say: “They were three, the fourth being their dog.”, while [others] will say: “Five, the sixth being their dog”, taking a guess about the hidden aspect of things; and they will say: “Seven, the eighth being their dog.” Say: “My Lord knows their number, none knows them except a few”. So do not argue with them except with a decisive argument, and do not seek information regarding them from anyone.
We already have solid proof from verse 19 that the sleepers were a minimum of seven, which discards the first two possibilities (“3, their dog being the 4th” and “5 and their dog being the 6th”). God pointed at the weakness of the two statements by saying that such people were purely “guessing about the hidden aspect of things”. The Quran is “the book for which there is no doubt” (2:2): It never quotes a false statement or anything incorrect in general without indicating in some way its weakness or falseness and providing the right answer instead. By contrast, God did not make any objection against people who said they were “Seven, the eighth being their dog.” For this reason, together with the fact we know for certain that they were a minimum of seven, the third solution is indeed the right one. The simple and miraculously precise language of the Quran provided us the “decisive argument” God is talking about in verse 22: “So do not argue with them except with a decisive argument, and do not seek their advice pertaining to them.”
In verse 19, we see that one of the seven companions was sent to the town with silver coins to get some provisions. It was likely that he was going to attract people’s attention because of the way he was dressed, which was probably very different from people’s clothes three centuries later. The local community had the capability to identify approximately how long they stayed because the coins were marked with the effigy of the roman emperor who was in power when they fell asleep.
Historical non Quranic sources regarding the story of the companions of the cave tell us that Jews and Christians tested Muhammad with the story of the sleepers and how many they were because he couldn’t have heard of it and only a prophet would be able to provide answers to a story they themselves could not solve. We saw in verse 6 that Muhammad was trying to persuade Christians to abandon their belief in trinity which belief God calls a lie that prevents people from reaching paradise. After being tested by Christians, Muhammad promised that he would bring the answer to a story he had no prior knowledge of, and verse 23 and 24 tell us that Muhammad forgot to say “If God so wills”; the prophet was not perfect and he received a warning and teaching from God in this regard and learned what to say if you forget.
18:25: The Solar/Lunar ratio of 1.03
300 + 9:
وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ مِائَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُوا تِسْعًا
(18:25) And they remained in their cave for three hundred solar years (سِنِينَ = sineen), and they add nine.
قُلِ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثُوا لَهُ غَيْبُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَبْصِرْ بِهِ
وَأَسْمِعْ مَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا يُشْرِكُ فِي حُكْمِهِ أَحَدًا
(18:26) Say: “God knows best how long they [exactly] stayed (i.e. in addition to 309 years); to Him belongs the hidden aspect of the heavens and the Earth;…
“300 sineen” (years) was translated in the verse above by “300 solar years”, which is exactly what it means and requires some explanation.
The word “year” is written in two completely different ways in the Quran: “Sanat” (سنة, GV 115) and “’Aam” (عام, GV 111). Both simple singular forms occur seven times in the entire Quran, providing one of many examples of word symmetries in the Quran. At the time this article was written, very few people, if any, knew that they are not synonyms and that there is a fundamental difference between the two.
Sanat definition: “Sanat” derives from the root “sanaa”, which means “to blaze”, “to brighten”, “to flash”. In 24:43 we find the same root word and have the example of the lightning which “brightens” so much that it takes away the eyesight. Therefore, the word “sanat” (sanat = سنة, GV 115, feminine word) carries the idea of intense light, like the “sun” (شمس, the word is feminine in Arabic too). For this very reason, it consistently refers to or symbolizes a Solar year in the Quran. We are going to provide decisive proofs for that.
The simple form “Sanat” (year) occurs 7 times in 2:96; 5:26, 22:47, 29:14, 32:5, 46:15 and 70:4.
Every time the Quran expresses the age of a human being or how many years a human being lived, it is consistently expressed in “Solar years” (Sanat), which is consistent with the way human beings around the globe have almost always naturally counted their age to stay in phase with the re-occurrence of new seasons.
وَلَتَجِدَنَّهُمْ أَحْرَصَ النَّاسِ عَلَىٰ حَيَاةٍ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا يَوَدُّ أَحَدُهُمْ لَوْ يُعَمَّرُ
أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ وَمَا هُوَ بِمُزَحْزِحِهِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ أَن يُعَمَّرَ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ
(2:96) In fact, you will find them the most covetous of life; even more so than the idol worshipers. The one of them wishes to live a thousand [solar] years (Sanat). But this will not spare him any retribution, no matter how long he lives. GOD is seer of everything they do.
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَبَلَغَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً
(46:15)…until the time he reaches his maturity and the age of forty year(s) (Sanat)…
’Aam definition:
“’Aam” (عام, GV 111, masculine word) derives from the root “’Aama”, which means “to enter in a contract for one (lunar) year”. The simple form occurs 7 times in verses 2:259; 9:37; 9:126; 12:49 and 29:14.
Since “Sanat” is the symbol of a Solar year, we can easily expect that ‘Aam is the symbol of a lunar year in the Quran.
Remark: The word “Moon” (قمر) is also masculine in Arabic.
One obvious example that “’Aam” means “Lunar year” is verse 9:37; first let’s read 2:189 and 2:197 to understand the context:
(2:189) They ask you about the lunar crescents (i.e. complete cycle of moon phases from the new moon until the end of a lunar month); Say: They are timing devices for the people and for Hajj…
الْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَّعْلُومَاتٌ
(2:197) Hajj takes place during the well known months (“months” is a regular plural = three or more months by definition in Arabic), so whoever undertakes Hajj therein…
إِنَّمَا النَّسِيءُ زِيَادَةٌ فِي الْكُفْرِ يُضَلُّ بِهِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُحِلُّونَهُ عَامًا وَيُحَرِّمُونَهُ عَامًا لِّيُوَاطِئُوا
عِدَّةَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ فَيُحِلُّوا مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ زُيِّنَ لَهُمْ سُوءُ أَعْمَالِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ
(9:37) The postponement [of the Sacred months] is a sign of excessive disbelief; it augments the straying of those who have disbelieved. They make it lawful one Lunar year, and make it unlawful the [next] Lunar year, to adjust the number which God has made unlawful, and making lawful what God has made unlawful. Their evil works are adorned in their eyes. GOD does not guide the disbelieving people.
The polytheists used to carry over a sacred month to another from time to time to adjust the lunar calendar to the solar calendar. The practice of “intercalation” is made unlawful in the verse. The use of “’Aam” in 9:37 unquestionably means “Lunar year” since the sacred months are based on a perfect lunar calendar without any intercalation.
Based on this observation, we for instance learn from the perfect Quran in 12:49 that a lunar calendar was in place in Egypt at the time of Joseph:
ثُمَّ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ عَامٌ فِيهِ يُغَاثُ النَّاسُ وَفِيهِ يَعْصِرُونَ
(12:49) “Then will come after that a lunar year (‘Aam) in which will be given abundant rain for the people, and they will once again press juice.”
In 29:14 the age of Noah is expressed both in solar and lunar years, as he is said to have lived one thousand solar years (sanat), less fifty lunar years (“Aam). Two different words have been used because they are not synonyms and because Noah’s age could only accurately be expressed as “one thousand Solar years (sanat), less fifty Lunar years (“Aam)”.
Now that we proved with the straightforward Quran the difference between “Sanat” (Solar year) and ‘Aam” (Lunar year), let us study the meaning of 18:25:
وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ مِائَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُوا تِسْعًا
(18:25) And they remained in their cave for three hundred solar years (سِنِينَ = sineen), and they add nine.
قُلِ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثُوا لَهُ غَيْبُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَبْصِرْ بِهِ
وَأَسْمِعْ مَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا يُشْرِكُ فِي حُكْمِهِ أَحَدًا
(18:26) Say: “God knows best how long they [exactly] stayed (i.e. in addition to 309 years); to Him belongs the hidden aspect of the heavens and the Earth;…
Verse 25 is written in a very peculiar way since it separates “300 solar years” (300 “sineen” = plural of “Sanat” = Solar years), to which “nine” have to be added; God does not precise directly if we are dealing with nine solar or lunar years.
The first thing we can say is that if 309 years were written the normal way in just one number (instead of 300 years and they add nine), there would be 303 numbers in the Quran, instead of the current 304 (19×16), code 19 being a master code guarding the Holy book of Islam. Moreover, the addition of all numbers in the Quran wouldn’t be 162146 anymore (19×8534), but 162155, not a multiple of 19.
When the companions hid in the cave fearing for their lives because they desperately wanted to preserve the purity of their faith in the one true God, the calendar which was used was solar (the Julian calendar). When they woke up 300 solar years later, a lunisolar calendar was in place in the Byzantine Empire because people used to combine a solar and a lunar calendar to calculate the date for Easter, the most important date at the time in Christianity. This is why 300 Solar years + “nine” means that “nine” lunar years are needed in addition to number 300 to establish the correspondence between the solar and lunar calendars:
It is a hidden allegory that 300 Solar years = 309 Lunar years, and that the ratio (or proportion) between a solar and a lunar year is 309/300 = 1.03.
In other words a solar year is approximately 365 days, and a lunar year of 354 days has to be 1.03 times longer (slightly longer in days) to catch up with the length of a solar year.
Some very insincere people who deny the mathematical miracle of the Quran reject the allegory that 300 solar years = 309 Lunar years saying that 1.03 is not the exact ratio between a Solar year and a lunar year.
300 solar years × 365.2425 days = 109572.75 days
309 lunar years × 354.36708 days = 109499.42772 days
Therefore, it is fact that there is a difference of about 73.32 days between 300 Solar years and 309 Lunar years. Now is the time to read the exact context of 18:25:
By the Grace of God, the Quran exposes insincere people who reject the truth because if God says clearly in verse 18:25 that they stayed a total of “300 solar years and they add nine”, He stated in the very next verse that “God knows best how long they [exactly] stayed”. In other words, God always utters the truth and He established that they stayed 309 years, but He equally said the truth when He says that “He (alone) knows how long they stayed”, meaning clearly that they stayed a little bit more days than exactly 309 years.
300 Solar years = 309 Lunar years is a therefore a perfect correspondence between Solar and Lunar years expressed in years. And God lets us know that it is only but a close approximation if we take into account the exact number of days.
We have explained the mathematical miracle hidden in 18:25 establishing the relation between 300 Solar years and 309 Lunar years and the allegory of the ratio of 1.03; we also proved with Quranic verses the difference between “Sanat” (Solar year) and ‘Aam”: Let us now prove it mathematically with their gematrical values:
Solar year (Sanat) and Lunar year (‘Aam): Mathematical confirmation
– Simply by studying the relationship between gematrical values of “Sanat” (Solar year, GV 115, symbolizing 365 days) and ‘Aam (Lunar year, GV 111, meaning 354 days), we witness the following profound fact:
GV Solar year/GV Lunar year = GV Sanat (115)/ GV ‘Aam (111) = 1.03603603603603…
Just like it is the case in 18:25 and a number of other places in the Quran, we see that the symbol of 1.03 is encoded in 1.03603… to reflect a close average of the relationship between a Solar (Sanat) and a lunar year (“Aam) !!!
The fact that gematrical values of “Sanat” (GV 115) and “’Aam” (111) are so amazingly close and divinely calculated to allow and reflect the symbol of 1.03 is a great statistical wonder and miracle of the Quran:
Gematrical values of Arabic words can be as different as 11 (GV “Hajj”), 66 (GV “God”), 115 (GV “Sanat”), 352 (GV “Quran”), 400 (GV “Sun”), 1091 (GV “Ramadan”) etc… We can safely say that there is less than 1 chance in many thousands that two meaningful words like sanat (Solar year) and ‘Aam (Lunar year) would reflect a ratio within the 1.03 range.
Note: 115/111 = 1.03603… = GV Sanat/GV ‘Aam
Let’s study what a slight variation by only 1 does compared to the above ratio:
116/111 = 1.0450…
114/111 = 1.0270…
115/110 = 1.0454…
115/112 = 1.0267…
This gives us a little idea of how incredible it is that 115 and 111 reflect the symbol of 1.03. None of the four above ratios stays within the 1.03 range if we vary one of the numbers just by 1. The only ratio that is in the 1.03 range is the one based on the actual gematrical values of “Sanat” (Solar year) and “”Aam” (Lunar year).
Let us divide a few random gematrical values by either “Sanat” or “’Aam”:
1091/115 = 9.4869…
400/115 = 3.4782…
352/111 = 3.1711…
11/111 = 0.0990…
The least we can say is that getting a ratio within the 1.03 range dividing random gematrical values is a tremendous statistical challenge.
What we have here is no less than a massive mathematical confirmation based on the allegory of 1.03 (encoded in 18:25) of the respective meanings of “Sanat” (Solar year) and “’Aam” (Lunar year) which we initially explained showing very simple and straightforward examples of the way they are used in the Quran.
The ratio between 115 (Sanat) and 111 (‘Aam), just like in 18:25 is also a very close approximation. The reason why it is only very close to the scientifically perfect ratio between a Solar year and a Lunar year (which is 365.2425 days /354.36708 days = 1.03068… instead of 115/111 = 1.03603…) is that the ratio between Sanat (115) and ‘Aam (111) is based on whole numbers which reflect the symbol of 309/300 = 1.03, as encoded in 18:25. God makes His proofs overwhelming for the sincere, but it is very important for insincere people to express their disbelief as they will always say that they would only accept a ratio that it scientifically perfect.
Such people refuse to see that there are tiny adjustments between the length of a solar or lunar year throughout history. God knows exactly what the solar/lunar ratio was 14 centuries ago when the Quran was revealed, and He designed His Quran with close averages to reflect the fact that such a ratio will remain stable historically (allegory of 1.03), despite the fact that there are slight adjustments between the time the Quran was revealed and the time the world will end.
309 years: Additional mathematical confirmation coded in sura 18
وَلَبِثُوا فِي كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلَاثَ مِائَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُوا تِسْعًا
(18:25) And they remained in their cave for three hundred solar years (سِنِينَ = sineen), and they add nine.
Sura 18 is entitled “The cave”, the place where the companions fell asleep for many years. One of the crucial questions that is solved in the sura is evidently how many years the “companions” stayed in the “cave”. The word “companions” occurs for the first time in sura 18 in 18:9 and it is noteworthy that it is associated with the word “Cave” in the expression “Companions of the Cave”.
Profound fact:
From the first word “the cave” in 18:9 to the word “Nine” (ending the expression “300 Solar years and they add Nine”) in 18:25, there are exactly 309 words. The hidden message is straightforward: The “companions” remained in the “Cave … 309 years”.
– Dividing 309 by 300, we know we get the symbol of 1.03.
– Dividing gematrical values of the 309 words from “The cave” to “Nine” (98579) by the gematrical values of the first 300 words (95472) from the word “the cave”, we get 1.03254…
Individual Gematrical values of letters in Arabic vary from 1 to 1000 and we saw that the 1.03 ratio is very difficult to obtain by chance dividing gematrical values. If you have time, get gematrical values of for instance 30 sets of 309 consecutive random words in the Quran and divide their gematrical values by gematrical values of the first 300 words and you will realize what an incredible challenge it is to get an average ratio of 1.03.
Dividing the related letters of the above, we divide 1310 letters (= 309 words) by 1270 (300 words), we get 1.031496…
Verse 18:17 and the cycle of the sun are miraculously coded to reflect how many years the companions remained in the cave:
وَتَرَى الشَّمْسَ إِذَا طَلَعَت تَّزَاوَرُ عَن كَهْفِهِمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ وَإِذَا
غَرَبَت تَّقْرِضُهُمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ وَهُمْ فِي فَجْوَةٍ مِّنْهُ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ
اللَّهِ مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُّرْشِدًا
(18:17) You can see the rising sun declining away from the right of their cave, and once it set, disappearing from them to the left, while they stand inside in the enclosed space. This is [indeed] among God’s signs. He whom Allah guides is rightly guided; but he whom He lets go astray, you cannot find any guardian to lead him on the Right Way.
Verse 18:17 is the one and only time in sura 18 where the word “sun” (الشمس) is mentioned in connection with the companions of the cave. It is patently obvious that the sun symbolizes the solar system, and has been designed by God to enable us to count the number of years (see 10:5, 17:12). Verse 18:17 depicts the continuous cycle of the sun from sunrise to sunset while the companions remained asleep for three centuries, and is therefore a symbolical description of how much time the sleepers stayed in their cave.
Amazingly, if we concatenate sura 18 and verse 17 in 18:17, we get 1817, which is very exactly the gematrical value of:
“300 solar years and they add nine”
(ثلث مائة سنين وازدادوا تسعا, GV 1817) !!!
Is this a “coincidence”?! Again, the sincerity of true believers will be here tested.
Remarks:
1817 symbolizes the difference between a solar year and a lunar year, as described in 18:25. It is noteworthy that the movement of the sun ends at sunset in 18:17, which is the exact time of the beginning of a new lunar day in Islam.
Number 11 is in my opinion a symbol of the difference between the Solar and Lunar calendar in the Quran because there is an eleven day difference between 365 days (average solar year) and 354 (average lunar year). It is interesting that the word “sun” occurs for the 11th time in 18:17 since the beginning of the Quran.
The seven sleepers are a sign that the day of resurrection is an incontrovertible reality; it establishes that 300 solar years equals 309 lunar years; it is a profound symbol of purity of faith. The dog that fell asleep at the entrance of the cave is a symbol that it was guarding the cave and the secret of the seven sleepers. In the same way, the symbol of the seven companions of the cave associated with number 309 is one of the great signs which shows that the Quran is guarded with mathematical signs.
The words “year” – “solar year” (sanat) or “lunar year” (‘Aam) – both occur seven times in the entire Quran: Seven is therefore one of the great signs symbolizing a solar or a lunar year and it is not a surprise to see it associated with number 309, the very symbol of the relationship between a solar and a lunar year. In 18:25, 300 solar years = 309 Lunar years is a symbolical “midpoint” which defines the relationship between “Sanat” (GV 115) and “’Aam” (GV 111). We saw that 115/111 = 1.03…
Conclusion:
The seven companions of the cave were pure early Christians (around 150 C.E.) who were persecuted by trinitarian Christians (and not by typical Roman polytheists as usually thought) because they refused to corrupt their faith in the one true God and rejected trinity and the concept of Jesus being divine.
The seven sleepers are one of the greatest miracle in the history of mankind. It is one of the greatest sign of the Quran as well; it is a deep, multiple meaning sign.
God saved them and made them a sign that resurrection is an incontrovertible fact.
Al Raqeem, their dog, is a proof that anything that has a soul will be resurrected as well.
The companions of the cave were divided in two groups of at least three people, and a speaker asked to both groups how long they stayed: Consequently, they were at least seven, which is the highest number of companions stated in verse 19, God thus confirming that they were “seven, their dog being the eighth”.
There are 392 words (7×7×8) from the first word of the sura to the last of 18:25, ending with the expression “300 solar years and they add nine”.
The only verse in sura 18 which describes the continuous movement of the sun while the seven companions slept is verse 18:17:
1817 is the gematrical value of “three hundred years, increased by nine”!
The seven “companions” remained “309 years in the cave”: The count of words from right after the word “companions” in 18:9 is the word “Cave”: From the word “Cave” to the end of the expression “300 solar years and they add nine”, there are 309 words.
God coded in years the correspondence between solar and lunar years in 18:25: 300 solar years, which is equal to 309 lunar years, the average ratio between the two being 1.03.
1.03 is a mathematical symbol in the Quran in many ways. If we divide the gematrical value of the word “solar year” (Sanat = 115) by the gematrical value of the word “lunar year” (‘Aam = 111), we get 1.03603…
The words “year” – “solar year” (sanat) or “lunar year” (‘Aam) – both occur seven times in the entire Quran and God miraculously displayed the relationship between the two words with 300 solar years being equal to 309 lunar years: Seven is therefore one of the great signs symbolizing both a solar or a lunar year in the Quran, and it is not a surprise nor a coincidence to see that 300 solar years and 309 lunar years are directly associated with the allegory of the seven companions of the cave.
Praise be to God for helping us understand more of His signs.
(41:53) We shall show them Our portents on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth. Does not your Lord suffice, that He is Witness over all things?