Ashab al-Kahf (People of the Cave)

Ashab al-Kahf (the Companions of the Cave, also known in Christian tradition as the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus) are a group of young men narrated in the Quran (Surah al-Kahf 18:9-26) as a sign of the resurrection and the power of Allah. Their story was one of the three questions posed to the Prophet ﷺ by the Quraysh (on the advice of the Jews of Medina) to test his prophethood. The young men lived during the reign of a pagan king who forced his subjects to worship idols under penalty of death. These youths were among the few monotheists who refused. They sought refuge in a cave outside the city, praying: 'Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance.' Allah caused them to sleep in the cave. A dog accompanied them at the entrance — mentioned specifically in the Quran, which notes three, five, or seven sleepers with the eighth being the dog, though stating certainty lies with Allah. They slept for 309 years (Quran: 300 solar years, which equals 309 lunar years — a Quranic mathematical miracle noted by classical scholars). When they awoke, they thought they had slept a day or half a day. One went to buy food in the city and was discovered when he produced centuries-old coins. The whole city was by then largely Christian, and the king received the news with joy as a confirmation of the resurrection. The young men then died. Their story is one of the Quran's supreme examples of tawakkul (reliance on Allah), the reality of the afterlife, and the protection Allah provides for those who flee persecution to preserve their faith.