نَّحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ نَبَأَهُم بِٱلْحَقِّ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِرَبِّهِمْ وَزِدْنَٰهُمْ هُدًۭى
Kami kisahkan kepadamu (Muhammad) cerita ini dengan benar. Sesungguhnya mereka adalah pemuda-pemuda yang beriman kepada Tuhan mereka, dan Kami tambah pula untuk mereka petunjuk.
Tafsir Ibn Kathir
Their Belief in Allah and their Retreat from their People
From here Allah begins to explain the story in detail. He states that they were boys or young men, and that they were more accepting of the truth and more guided than the elders who had become stubbornly set in their ways and clung to the religion of falsehood. For the same reason, most of those who responded to Allah and His Messenger were young people. As for the elders of Quraysh, most of them kept to their religion and only a few of them became Muslims. So Allah tells us that the people of the cave were young men. Mujahid said, "I was informed that some of them wore some kind of earrings, then Allah guided them and inspired them to fear Him, so they recognized His Oneness, and bore witness that there is no god besides Him."
وَزِدْنَـهُمْ هُدًى
(and We increased them in guidance.) From this and other similar Ayat, several scholars, such as Al-Bukhari and others, understood that faith may increase, that it may vary in degrees, and that it may fluctuate. Allah says:
وَزِدْنَـهُمْ هُدًى
(and We increased them in guidance.) as He said elsewhere:
وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْاْ زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَءَاتَـهُمْ تَقُوَاهُمْ
(While as for those who accept guidance, He increases their guidance and bestows on them their Taqwa.) 47:17
فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ فَزَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَـناً وَهُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ
(As for those who believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice.) 9:124,
لِيَزْدَادُواْ إِيمَـناً مَّعَ إِيمَـنِهِمْ
(...that they may grow more in faith along with their (present) faith.) 48:4 There are other Ayat indicating the same thing. It has been mentioned that they were followers of the religion of Al-Masih `Isa, `Isa bin Maryam, but Allah knows best. It seems that they lived before the time of Christianity altogether, because if they had been Christians, the Jewish rabbis would not have cared about preserving because of their differences. We have mentioned above the report from Ibn `Abbas that the Quraysh sent a message to the Jewish rabbis in Al-Madinah to ask them for things with which they could test the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they told them to ask him about these young men, and about Dhul-Qarnayn (the man who traveled much) and about the Ruh. This indicates that this story was something recorded in the books of the People of the Book, and that it came before Christianity. And Allah knows best.
وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُواْ فَقَالُواْ رَبُّنَا رَبُّ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ
(And We made their hearts firm and strong when they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth,) Here Allah is saying: `We gave them the patience to go against their people and their city, and to leave behind the life of luxury and ease that they had been living.' Several of the earlier and later Tafsir scholars have mentioned that they were sons of the kings and leaders of Byzantium, and that they went out one day to one of the festivals of their people. They used to gather once a year outside the city, and they would worship idols and offer sacrifices to them. They had an arrogant, tyrannical king who was called Decianus, who commanded and encouraged the people to do that. When the people went out to attend this gathering, these young men went out with their fathers and their people, and when they saw their people's actions with clear insight, they realized that the prostrations and sacrifices the people were offering to their idols should only be dedicated to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth. Each of them started to withdraw from his people and keep aloof from them. The first one of them to move away on his own went and sat in the shade of a tree, then another came and sat with him, then another came and sat with them, then four more followed suit one by one. None of them knew the others, but they were brought together by the One Who instilled faith in their hearts. As it says in the Hadith recorded by Al-Bukhari with an incomplete chain of narrators from `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«الْأَرْوَاحُ جُنُودٌ مُجَنَّدَةٌ، فَمَا تَعَارَفَ مِنْهَا ائْتَلَفَ وَمَا تَنَاكَرَ مِنْهَا اخْتَلَف»
(Souls are like recruited soldiers. Those that recognize one another will come together, and those that do not recognize one another will turn away from each another). Muslim also recorded this in his Sahih from the Hadith of Suhayl from his father from Abu Hurayrah from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. People say that similar qualities or characteristics are what bring people together. So each of the young men was trying to conceal what he really believed from the others, out of fear of them, not knowing that they were like him. Then one of them said, "O people, you know by Allah that only one thing is making you leave your people and isolate yourselves from them, so let each one of you say what it is in his case." Another said, "As for me, by Allah I saw what my people are doing and I realized that it was false, and that the only One Who deserves to be worshipped Alone with out partner or associate is Allah Who created everything, the heavens, the earth and everything in between." Another said, "By Allah, the same thing happened to me." The others said the same, and they all agreed and became brothers in faith. They adopted a particular location as a place of worship and began worshipping Allah there, but their people found out about them and told their king about them. The king ordered them to appear before him, and asked them about their beliefs. They told him the truth and called him to Allah, as Allah says about them:
وَرَبَطْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ إِذْ قَامُواْ فَقَالُواْ رَبُّنَا رَبُّ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ لَن نَّدْعُوَاْ مِن دُونِهِ إِلـهاً
(And We made their hearts firm and strong when they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, never shall we call upon any god other than Him...") "Never" (Lan) implies an absolute and eternal negation, meaning, `this will never happen, and if we were to do that it would be false.' So Allah says about them:
لَّقَدْ قُلْنَا إِذًا شَطَطًا
(...if we did, we should indeed have uttered an enormity in disbelief.) meaning, untruth and utter falsehood.
هَـؤُلاءِ قَوْمُنَا اتَّخَذْواْ مِن دُونِهِ ءَالِهَةً لَّوْلاَ يَأْتُونَ عَلَيْهِم بِسُلْطَـنٍ بَيِّنٍ
(These, our people, have taken for worship gods other than Him (Allah). Why do they not bring for them a clear authority) meaning, why do they not produce some clear evidence and genuine proof for their behavior
فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا
(And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah.) They said: `but by saying that they are lying transgressors.' It was said that when they called their king to believe in Allah, he refused, and warned and threatened them. He commanded them to be stripped of their clothing bearing the adornments of their people, then he gave them some time to think about the situation, hoping that they would return to their former religion. This was a way that Allah showed kindness for them, because during that time they managed to escape from him and flee from persecution for the sake of their religion. This is what is prescribed in the Shari`ah during times of trial and persecution -- a person who fears for his religion should flee from his persecutors, as was reported in the Hadith:
«يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَكُونَ خَيْرُ مَالِ أَحَدِكُمْ غَنَمًا يَتْبَعُ بِهَا شَعَفَ الْجِبَالِ وَمَوَاقِعَ القَطْرِ يَفِرُّ بِدِينِهِ مِنَ الْفِتَن»
(Soon there will come a time when the best wealth any of you can have will be sheep, which he can follow to the tops of the mountains and places where rain falls, (fleeing) for the sake of his religion from persecution. ) In such cases, it is allowed to seclude oneself from people, but this is not prescribed in any other case, because by such seclusion one loses the benefits of congregational and Friday prayers. These young men were determined to flee from their people, and Allah decreed that for them, as He says about them,
وَإِذِ اعْتَزَلْتُمُوهُمْ وَمَا يَعْبُدُونَ إَلاَّ اللَّهَ
(And when you withdraw from them, and that which they worship, except Allah,) meaning, when you depart from them and follow a different religion, opposing their worship of others besides Allah, then separate from them in a physical sense too,
فَأْوُواْ إِلَى الْكَهْفِ يَنْشُرْ لَكُمْ رَبُّكُم مِّن رَّحْمَتِهِ
(then seek refuge in the cave; your Lord will open a way for you from His mercy) meaning, He will bestow His mercy upon you, by which He will conceal you from your people.
وَيُهَيِّىءْ لَكُمْ مِّنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مِّرْفَقًا
(and will make easy for you your affair.) means, He will give you what you need. So they left and fled to the cave where they sought refuge. Then their people noticed they were missing, and the king looked for them, and it was said when he could not find them that Allah concealed them from him so that he could not find any trace of them or any information about them, as Allah concealed His Prophet Muhammad and his Companion Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, when they sought refuge in the cave of Thawr. The Quraysh idolators came in pursuit, but they did not find him even though they passed right by him. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ noticed that As-Siddiq was anxious and said, "O Messenger of Allah, if one of them looks down at the place of his feet, he will see us," he told him:
«يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ مَا ظَنُّكَ بِاثْنَيْنِ اللهُ ثَالِثُهُمَا؟»
(O Abu Bakr, what do you think of two who have Allah as their third) And Allah said:
إِلاَّ تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ اللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ثَانِيَ اثْنَيْنِ إِذْ هُمَا فِى الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لاَ تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا فَأَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَيْهِ وَأَيَّدَهُ بِجُنُودٍ لَّمْ تَرَوْهَا وَجَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ السُّفْلَى وَكَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِىَ الْعُلْيَا وَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
(If you help him not, for Allah did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove him out, the second of the two; when they were in the cave, he said to his companion: "Do not grieve, surely, Allah is with us." Then Allah sent down His tranquillity upon him, and strengthened him with forces which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lower, while the Word of Allah became the higher; and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.) 9:40 -The story of this cave (Thawr) is far greater and more wondrous than that of the people of the Cave.
Hadits Terkait
Telah bercerita kepada kami ['Ali bin 'Abdullah] telah bercerita kepada kami [Sufyan] telah bercerita kepada kami ['Amru bin DInar] berkata, telah mengabarkan kepadaku [Sa'id bin Jubair] berkata; aku mengatakan kepada [Ibnu 'Abbas radliallahu 'anhuma]; "Nauf Al Bakaly menganggap bahwa Musa teman Khadlir bukanlah Musa Bani Israa'il, tapi Musa yang lain. Ibnu 'Abbas radliallahu 'anhu berkata: "Musuh Allah itu berdusta, sungguh telah bercerita kepada kami [Ubay bin Ka'ab] dari Nabi Shallallahu'alaihiwasallam: "Bahwa Musa tengah berdiri di hadapan Bani Isra'il memberikan khuthbah lalu dia ditanya: "Siapakah orang yang paling 'alim". Beliau 'Alaihissalam menjawab: "Aku". Seketika itu pula Allah Ta'ala mencelanya karena dia tidak diberi pengetahuan tentang itu. Lalu Allah Ta'ala memahyukan kepadanya: "Ada seorang hamba diantara hamba-hamba-Ku yang tinggal di pertemuan antara dua lautan yang dia lebih 'alim (pandai) darimu". Lalu Musa berkata: "Wahai Rabb, siapa yang bisa kujadikan teman untuk bertemu? ' Sufyan meriwayatkan dengan kalimat yang lain; "Wahai Rabb, bagaimana caraku (agar bisa bertemu)?. Allah berfirman: "Ambillah seekor ikan dan tempatkan dalam suatu keranjang dan kapan saja kamu kehilangan ikan tersebut itulah tanda petunjuknya". Sufyan juga meriwayatkan dengan kalimat lain; "Itulah tempat orang itu". Maka Musa ambil ikan dan diaruhnya dalam keranjang, lalu berangkat bersama muridnya bernama Yusya' bin Nun hingga ketika tiba pada batu besar, keduanya membaringkan kepalanya di batu itu hingga Musa tertidur. Kemudian ikan itu keluar dari keranjang diam-diam lalu melompat dan mengambil jalannya di laut (QS al-Kahfi ayat 61). Allah pun menahan aliran air yang dilewati ikan tersebut sehingga terbentuk seperti atap suatu bangunan atau membentuk suatu tanda. Maka Musa berkata; "Itulah tandanya yang bentuknya seperti atap". Maka keduanya melanjutkan sisa malam dan hari perjalannannya. Hingga pada siang harinya, Musa berkata kepada muridnya; "Bawalah kemari makanan kita, sungguh kita sudah sangat lelah dalam perjalanan ini'. ((QS al-Kahfi ayat 62). Tidaklah Musa merasakan kelelahan kecuali setelah sampai pada tempat yang dituju sebagaimana diperintahkan Allah Ta'ala. Maka muridnya berkata kepadanya: "Tahukah kamu ketika kita mencari tempat berlindung di batu tadi?, sesungguhnya aku lupa menceritakan ikan itu. Dan tidaklah yang melupakan aku ini kecuali syetan"). Berkata Musa: ("Itulah tempat yang kita cari. Lalu keduanya kembali mengikuti jejak mereka semula". (QS al-Kahfi ayat 63). Saat itu, ikan tersebut mengambil jalannya sendiri di laut dan bagi keduanya ini suatu hal yang aneh. Musa berkata: "Itulah tempat yang kita cari". Lalu keduanya kembali dan mengikuti jejak mereka semula". (QS al-Kahfi ayat 64). Keduanya berbalik lalu menyusuri jejak sebelumnya hingga sampai kembali di batu dan ternyata di sana sudah ada seorang dengan pakaiannya yang lebar lalu Musa memberi salam. Orang tua itu membalas salamnya Musa lau berkata; "Bagaimana cara salam di tempatmu? Musa menjawab: "Aku adalah Musa". Orang tua itu balik bertanya: "Musa Bani Isra'il?". Jawab Musa: Ya, benar". Kata Musa selanjutnya: "Aku datang menemuimu agar kamu mengajariku "ilmu yang benar dari ilmu-ilmu yang benar yang telah diajarkan kepadamu". (QS al-Kahfi ayat 66). Orang tua itu berkata; "Wahai Musa, aku punya ilmu dari ilmu Allah yang telah Allah ajarkan kepadaku yang kamu tidak mengetahuinya dan begitu juga kamu punya ilmu dari ilmu Allah yang telah Allah ajarkan kepadamu yang aku tidak mengetahuinya". Musa berkata; "Bolehkah aku mengikutimu? '. Dia menjawab: "Kamu sekali-kali tidak akan sanggup sabar bersamaku. Dan bagaimana kamu dapat sabar atas sesuatu yang kamu belum memiliki pengetahuan yang cukup tentang hal itu". Seterusnya hingga firman Allah "… kesalahan yang besar". (QS al-Kahfi ayat 67 - 71). Kemudian keduanya berjalan kaki di tepi pantai hingga tiba-tiba ada perahu yang lewat, lalu mereka meminta untuk menumpangkan mereka, rupanya mereka kenal Khadlir Lalu mereka (pemilik perahu) membawanya tanpa meminta upah. Ketika keduanya berlayar dengan perahu tersebut, datang seekor burung kecil dan hinggap di sisi perahu lalu mematuk-matuk di air laut untuk minum satu atau dua kali patukan. Maka Khadlir berkata kepadanya: "Wahai Musa, ilmuku dan ilmumu bila dibandingkan dengan ilmu Allah tidaklah seberapa kecuali seperti (air yang bisa terambil) dari patukan burung ini dengan paruhnya terhadap air lautan. Tiba-tiba Khadlir mengambil kapak lalu merusak papan perahu. Keheranan Musa belum hilang, hingga papan perahu itu sudah dicabutnya.. Musa berkata kepadanya: "Apa yang kamu lakukan?". Orang-orang ini telah menumpangkan kita ke dalam perahunya tanpa upah lalu kamu malah melubangi perahu mereka "Sehingga kamu menenggelamkan penumpangnya. Sungguh kamu telah berbuat kesalahan yang besar". Khadlir berkata: "Bukankah aku telah katakana; Sesungguhnya kamu sekali-kali tidak akan sabar bersama dengan aku". Musa berkata: "Janganlah kamu menghukum aku karena kelupaanku dan janganlah kamu membebani aku dengan sesuatu kesulitan dalam urusanku" (QS al-Kahfi ayat 71 - 73). Pertanyaan yang pertama ini karena Musa terlupa. Setelah keduanya meninggalkan laut, mereka melewati seorang anak kecil yang sedang bermain dengan dua temannya. Lalu Khadlir memegang kepala anak itu dan mematahkannya dengan tangannya. Sufyan, perawi memberi isyarat dengan jarinya seolah dia memelintir sesuatu. Maka Musa bertanya kepadanya: "Mengapa kamu membunuh jiwa yang bersih, bukan karena dia telah membunuh orang lain?. Sungguh kamu telah melakukan suatu kemungkaran. Khadlir berkata: "Bukankah sudah kukatakan kepadamu, bahwa sesungguhnya kamu tidak akan dapat sabar bersamaku?" Musa berkata: "Jika aku bertanya lagi tentang sesuatu kepadamu setelah ini maka silakan kamu tidak memperbolehkan aku untuk menyertaimu. Sungguh kamu telah cukup memberikan udzur kepadaku". (QS al-Kahfi ayat 74). Lalu keduanya berjalan. Hingga tatkala keduanya sampai kepada penduduk suatu negeri, mereka minta dijamu kepada penduduk negeri itu, tetapi penduduk negeri itu tidak mau menjamu mereka. Kemudian keduanya mendapatkan dinding rumah yang hampir roboh di negeri itu". (Perawi. 'Ali bin 'Abdullah) berkata: Tembok itu miring. Sufyan memberi isyarat dengan tangannya seakan dia mengusap sesuatu ke atas dan aku tidak mendengar Sufyan menyebutkan miring kecuali sekali saja. Musa berkata; "Mereka adalah suatu kaum yang kita sudah mendatangi mereka namun tidak mereka memberi makan kita dan tidak juga menjamu kita, lalu mengapa kamu sengaja memperbaiki tembok mereka?."Jikalau kamu mau, minta saja upah untuk itu". Khadlir menjawab: "Inilah saat perpisahan antara aku dan kamu. Aku akan memberitahukan kepadamu tujuan dari perbuatan-perbuatanku yang kamu tidak dapat sabar terhadapnya". (QS al-Kahfi ayat 77 - 78). Nabi shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda: "Kita sangat berharap seandainya Musa bisa lebih sabar lagi sehingga Allah akan mengisahkan lebih banyak cerita tentang keduanya". Sufyan berkata; "Nabi shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam: "Semoga Allah merahmati Musa. Seandainya dia bersabar tentu akan diceritakan lebih banyak lagi tentang kisah keduanya". Ibnu 'Abbas radliallahu 'anhuma membaca (menjelaskan) ayat ini dengan; "Di hadapan mereka ada raja yang akan merampas setiap perahu yang baik secara curang. Sedangkan anak kecil yang dibunuh tadi adalah anak yang kafir sedang kedua orang tuanya adalah orang beriman". Sufyan berkata kepadaku; "Aku mendengar darinya dua kali dan aku menghafalnya". Ditanyakan kepada Sufyan; "Apakah kamu menghafalnya sebelum kamu mendengar dari 'Amru atau kamu menghafalkannya dari orang lain?. Sufyan berkata; "Dari siapa lagi aku menghafalnya? Seseorang meriwayatkannya dari 'Amru dan aku mendengarnya darinya dua kali atau tiga kali lalu aku menghafalnya
Telah bercerita kepada kami [Ibrahim bin Musa] telah mengabarkan kepada kami [Hisyam] bahwa [Ibnu Juraij] mengabarkan kepadanya, berkata telah bercerita kepadaku [Ya'laa bin Muslim] dan ['Amru bin Dinar] dari [Sa'id bin Jubair] dimana satu sama lain saling menambahkan dan begitu juga para perawi selain keduanya, sungguh aku pernah mendengarnya bercerita kepadanya dari [Sa'id bin Jubair] berkata; Kami sedang bermajelis dengan [Ibnu 'Abbas radliallahu 'anhuma] ia berkata, telah bercerita kepadaku [Ubay bin Ka'ab] berkata; Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda: Musa Rasulullah Alaihis Salam, lalu dia menyebutkan hadits. Kisahnya dalam firman Allah Surah al-Kahfi; 72: (Nabi Hidzir AS berkata: "Bukankah telah aku katakan bahwa kamu tidak akan sanngup untuk bersabar bersamaku"). Pertanyaan dari Musa yang pertama adalah karena lupa, yang kedua syarat yang diajukannya sedangkan yang ketiga adalah kesengajaan. (Musa AS berkata: "Janganlah kamu menghukum aku karena kelupaanku dan janganlah kamu membebani aku dengan sesuatu kesulitan dalam urusanku"). -Al Kahfi; 73- ("..hingga tatkala keduanya berjumpa dengan seorang anak.") -Al Kahfi; 74- Lalu keduanya berjalan hingga mendapatkan (…dalam negeri itu dinding rumah yang hampir raboh..) -Al Kahfi; 77- Ibnu 'Abbas membacakannya; "sedang didepan mereka ada seorang raja
Telah bercerita kepada kami [Al Humaidiy] telah bercerita kepada kami [Sufyan] telah bercerita kepada kami ['Amru] berkata telah mengabarkan kepadaku [Sa'id bin Jubair] berkata; Aku bertanya kepada [Ibnu 'Abbas radliallahu 'anhuma], lalu dia menjawab, telah bercerita kepada kami [Ubay bin Ka'ab] bahwa dia mendengar Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam bersabda: " Musa Alaihissalam berkata kepada muridnya; "Hidangkanlah makanan siang kita". Muridnya berkata; ("Tahukah kamu tatkala kita mecari tempat berlindung di batu tadi?. Sesungguhnya aku lupa (menceritakan tentang) ikan itu dan tidak ada yang melupakan aku untuk menceritakannya kecuali setan"). Maka Musa Alaihissalam tidak mendapatkan jatah makan hingga mereka menemukan tempat yang diperintahkan Allah Ta'ala". (Kisah dalam QS al-Kahfi ayat)