Q: We received this question from R.A. from Port Sudan, who asks: What is the correct opinion regarding the number of the People of the cave? Are they the people trapped in the cave by a rock or different people? If they are different people, what is the story of those trapped in the cave?
A : Allah (Exalted be He) talks about the People of the cave in the Qur'an. The most preponderant and acceptable opinion of scholars is that they were seven and their dog was their eighth. The People of the cave were some believing men. They were young men who believed in their Lord, and Allah increased them in guidance. Later, when Allah (Exalted be He) made them wake up after their long sleep, He took their lives again while adhering to the Truthful Religion. Thus, the People of the cave as Allah mentions them in the Qur'an were some young men who believed in their Lord, and Allah increased them in guidance. They had a long sleep with the Will of Allah, and after waking up, they died again. Some influential people among princes and rulers built a Masjid (mosque) over their graves, which was wrong, as it is not permissible to build Majids over the graves. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) forbade it and cursed those who do it saying, "Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians; they made the graves of their prophets places of worship." He (peace be upon him) also warned people against building over graves, plastering them and building Masjids over them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade these practices and cursed those who do them.
Hence, it is not permissible for Muslims to build Masjids, domes or anything over the graves. Rather, the graveyard should be an uncovered plain that is not raised above the ground with no buildings on it, not a dome, a Masjid or anything. This is how the graves of Muslims looked like during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the RightlyGuided Caliphs until the people started to change and build over them. Such practice denotes ignorance and misguidance and is a way leading to Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Allah cursed the Jews and the Christians; they made the graves of their prophets places of worship." `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "He is warning against what they have done." He (peace be upon him) also said When Um Habibah and Um Salamah told him that in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) there were many churches that had pictures in them, "When a pious person among them died they built
a place of worship on his grave, and then decorated it with those pictures." He added, "They will be the worst of creation on the Day of Judgment in the sight of Allah." (Agreed upon by AlBukhari and Muslim)The Prophet (peace be upon him) said they are the worst of creation due to their building over the graves and taking them as places of worship. May Allah protect us! It is related on the authority of Jundub ibn `Abdullah AlBajaly (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Allah has taken me as His Khalil (friend), as he took Ibrahim as His Khalil. If I am to take any one of my nation as a friend, I would take Abu Bakr as a Khalil. Those who were before you used to take the graves of their prophets and righteous men as places of worship, so you should not take graves as places of worship; I forbid you to do that." (Related by Muslim in his "Sahih" Book of authentic Hadith)In this important Hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade taking graves as places of worship and warned against it. He showed it was the practice of those before us who incurred Allah's Anger and those who went astray. It is a dispraised act, as it leads to Shirk and exceeds the proper limits in relation to prophets and righteous men. Therefore, it is not permissible for Muslims to build domes or places of worship over the graves of their dead, for this act is Munkar (unacceptable or disapproved of by Islamic law and Muslims of sound intellect) and leads to Shirk. Consequently, it is not permissible to plaster, build over, and sit on the graves. It is related inMuslimon the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) who narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade these practices. In other Hadith, he (peace be upon him) forbade writing on graves and lighting them. The reason behind these prohibitions is to block the means leading to Shirk and to block the way of exceeding the proper limits. Moreover, sitting on the graves is an insult to their inhabitants. It is Allah Alone Whose help can be sought.
The people who were trapped in the cave were mentioned in the Hadith related by `Abdullah ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) who narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying, "Three men from among those who were before you set out until they reached a cave and entered it, hoping to spend the night there. A rock rolled down the mountain and blocked the mouth of the cave. They said (to each other), 'Nothing will save you from this rock but to invoke Allah by virtue of your good deeds.' One of them said, 'O Allah! I had old parents and I never provided my family (wife, children etc.) with milk before them. One day, I was delayed due to something I was doing and I returned late to find they had slept. I milked the sheep for them but they were sleeping. I hated to provide my family with the milk before them. I stood with the bowl of milk in my hand waiting for them to wake up until it was dawn. Then, they got up and drank the milk. O Allah! If I did that only for Your Sake, relieve us from this hardship caused by this rock.' So, the rock shifted a little bit but not enough to allow them to get out."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) added, "The second man said, 'O Allah! I had a cousin who was the dearest of all people to me and I wanted to have sexual relations with her but she refused. Later, she had a hard time in a famine year and she came to me. I gave her 120 Dinars on the condition that she would not resist my desire, and she agreed. When I was about to fulfill my desire, she said: "It is not lawful for you to outrage my chastity except by legitimate marriage." I was ashamed to have sexual intercourse with her and left her though she was the dearest of all the people to me. I also left her the gold I had given her. O Allah! If I did that only for Your Sake, relieve us from this hardship.' So, the rock shifted a little bit but not enough to allow them to get out." The Prophet (peace be upon him) added, "Then the third man said, 'O Allah! I employed some laborers and I paid them their wages except one man who did not take his wages and he went away. I invested his wages and it became very large. (Then after some time,) he came and said to me: "O servant of Allah! Pay me my wages." I said to him: "All the camels, cows, sheep and slaves you see are yours." He said: "O servant of Allah! Do not mock me." I said: "I am not mocking you." So, he took the herd and drove it away, leaving nothing. O Allah! If I did that only for Your Sake, relieve us from our hardship.' So, the rock shifted and they got out."
This Hadith gives us a lesson and shows that Allah is Powerful over everything. He (Glorified be He) afflicts His servants in times of welfare and times of hardship, in good and bad times to test their patience and gratefulness and to show them His Signs and Power. This is Hadith Sahih (authentic Hadith)related by Muslim and AlBukhari in their Sahihon the authority of Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) who narrated it from the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Hadith presents important lessons and teaches us to invoke Allah and ask Him at times of adversity and hardship. Allah (Glorified be He) is EverNear and Responsive. He hears those who call on Him and responds if He wills. Moreover, the Hadith proves that doing good deeds is a way of facilitating matters, warding off harm and relieving hardships. It shows that when a believer is in distress, they must invoke Allah, turn to Him, ask Him and make Tawassul (supplicating to Allah) by virtue of their good deeds such as the belief in Allah (Exalted be He) and His Messenger, His Unification, sincerity to Him, being dutiful to parents, rendering back trusts, and abstaining from committing immoral acts.
These are the lawful means and Allah (Exalted be He) out of His Bounty and Kindness answers the invocation of the distressed, shows mercy to His believing servants, and responds to their supplications. Allah (Glorified be He) says: And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright. He also says: Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islâmic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation). And He (Glorified be He) says: Is not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil
Those three men were distressed since a great affliction had befallen them. They supplicated to Allah (Exalted be He) by virtue of their good deeds and He responded to their supplications and removed their hardship. Further, we learn from the Hadith the excellence of being dutiful to parents, as it is one of the best acts a person can do to draw nearer to Allah (Exalted be He) and facilitate matters. Similarly, abstaining from committing Zina (premarital sexual intercourse and/or adultery) and warning others against it is among the good deeds that save Muslims from every harm. In addition, rendering back trusts and sincerity in doing so are among the reasons for removing hardship and are among the righteous deeds. Due to the great importance of this account, the Prophet (peace be upon him) narrated it to his nation to benefit from it and learn good deeds from those who were before them. It is Allah Alone Whose help can be sought.