18:1Praise be to God, who revealed the Book to His servant, and allowed in it no distortion.

18:5They have no knowledge of this, nor did their forefathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths. They say nothing but a lie.

18:6Perhaps you may destroy yourself with grief, chasing after them, if they do not believe in this information.

18:9Did you know that the People of the Cave and the Inscription were of Our wondrous signs?

18:12Then We awakened them to know which of the two groups could better calculate the length of their stay.

18:14And We strengthened their hearts, when they stood up and said, “Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth; we will not call on any god besides Him, for then we would have spoken an outrage.”

18:15“These people, our people, have taken to themselves gods other than Him. Why do they not bring a clear proof concerning them? Who, then, does greater wrong than he who invents lies and attributes them to God?”

18:16“Now that you have withdrawn from them, and from what they worship besides God, take shelter in the cave. And your Lord will unfold His mercy for you, and will set your affair towards ease.”

18:17You would have seen the sun, when it rose, veering away from their cave towards the right, and when it sets, moving away from them to the left, as they lay in the midst of the cave. That was one of God’s wonders. He whom God guides is truly guided; but he whom He misguides, for him you will find no directing friend.

18:19Even so, We awakened them, so that they may ask one another. A speaker among them said, “How long have you stayed?” They said, “We have stayed a day, or part of a day.” They said, “Your Lord knows best how long you have stayed.” “Send one of you to the city, with this money of yours, and let him see which food is most suitable, and let him bring you some provision thereof. And let him be gentle, and let no one become aware of you.”

18:21So it was, that We caused them to be discovered, that they would know that the promise of God is true, and that of the Hour there is no doubt. As they were disputing their case among themselves, they said, “Build over them a building.” Their Lord knows best about them. Those who prevailed over their case said, “We will set up over them a place of worship.”

18:22They will say, “Three, and their fourth being their dog.” And they will say, “Five, and their sixth being their dog,” guessing at the unknown. And they will say, “Seven, and their eighth being their dog.” Say, “My Lord knows best their number.” None knows them except a few. So do not argue concerning them except with an obvious argument, and do not consult any of them about them.

18:26Say, “God knows best how long they stayed.” His is the mystery of the heavens and the earth. By Him you see and hear. They have no guardian apart from Him, and He shares His Sovereignty with no one.

18:27And recite what was revealed to you from the Book of your Lord. There is no changing His words, and you will find no refuge except in Him.

18:28And content yourself with those who pray to their Lord morning and evening, desiring His Presence. And do not turn your eyes away from them, desiring the glitter of this world. And do not obey him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance—so he follows his own desires—and his priorities are confused.

18:30As for those who believe and lead a righteous life—We will not waste the reward of those who work righteousness.

18:33Both gardens produced their harvest in full, and suffered no loss. And We made a river flow through them.

18:35And he entered his garden, wronging himself. He said, “I do not think this will ever perish.”

18:36“And I do not think the Hour is coming. And even if I am returned to my Lord, I will find something better than this in return.”

18:39When you entered your garden, why did you not say, “As God wills; there is no power except through God”? Although you see me inferior to you in wealth and children.

18:43He had no faction to help him besides God, and he was helpless.

18:47On the Day when We set the mountains in motion; and you see the earth emerging; and We gather them together, and leave none of them behind.

18:48They will be presented before your Lord in a row. “You have come to Us as We created you the first time. Although you claimed We would not set a meeting for you.”

18:49And the book will be placed, and you will see the sinners fearful of its contents. And they will say, “Woe to us! What is with this book that leaves nothing, small or big, but it has enumerated it?” They will find everything they had done present. Your Lord does not wrong anyone.

18:51I did not call them to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation; and I do not take the misleaders for assistants.

18:52On the Day when He will say, “Call on My partners whom you have claimed.” They will call on them, but they will not answer them. And We will place between them a barrier.

18:53And the sinners will see the Fire, and will realize that they will tumble into it. They will find no deliverance from it.

18:57Who does greater wrong than he, who, when reminded of his Lord’s revelations, turns away from them, and forgets what his hands have put forward? We have placed coverings over their hearts, lest they understand it, and heaviness in their ears. And if you call them to guidance, they will not be guided, ever.

18:58Your Lord is the Forgiver, Possessor of Mercy. Were He to call them to account for what they have earned, He would have hastened the punishment for them. But they have an appointment from which they will find no escape.

18:60Recall when Moses said to his servant, “I will not give up until I reach the junction of the two rivers, even if it takes me years.”

18:65Then they came upon a servant of Ours, whom We had blessed with mercy from Us, and had taught him knowledge from Our Own.

18:67He said, “You will not be able to endure with me.

18:68And how will you endure what you have no knowledge of?”

18:69He said, “You will find me, God willing, patient; and I will not disobey you in any order of yours.”

18:70He said, “If you follow me, do not ask me about anything, until I myself make mention of it to you.”

18:72He said, “Did I not tell you that you will not be able to endure with me?”

18:73He said, “Do not rebuke me for forgetting, and do not make my course difficult for me.”

18:74Then they set out. Until, when they encountered a boy, he killed him. He said, “Did you kill a pure soul, who killed no one? You have done something terrible.”

18:75He said, “Did I not tell you that you will not be able to endure with me?”

18:76He said, “If I ask you about anything after this, then do not keep company with me. You have received excuses from me.”

18:82And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphaned boys in the town. Beneath it was a treasure that belonged to them. Their father was a righteous man. Your Lord wanted them to reach their maturity, and then extract their treasure—as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do it of my own accord. This is the interpretation of what you were unable to endure.”

18:90Until, when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.

18:91And so it was. We had full knowledge of what he had.

18:97So they were unable to climb it, and they could not penetrate it.

18:99On that Day, We will leave them surging upon one another. And the Trumpet will be blown, and We will gather them together.

18:105It is they who rejected the communications of their Lord, and the encounter with Him. So their works are in vain. And on the Day of Resurrection, We will consider them of no weight.