One of the oft-recited suwar (pl. surah) of the Qur’an is Surah al-Kahf – the Cave. There are prophetic recommendations for reading this surah every Friday due to its great lessons related to trials and tribulations, namely, the trial of religious persecution, the test of wealth, the trial of knowledge, and the trial of power.
The cave is a very interesting concept. In short, this story, known by Christians as “the Seven Sleepers,” refers to the religious persecution of Christians by a roman king. The Qur’an itself doesn’t mention any names, places, or the period of time when it took place; rather, it underlines and emphasizes what’s more important and beneficial for the believers, that is, lessons and principles.
As the story goes, a group of young men stood up against the king’s request to abandon the worship of the Creator. According to the exegesis, they were sons of people with high political status in that society. The tyrannical king gave them respite in the hope they would give up their religion before they were to be executed like others.
Instead, these young men, which most probably were seven – but the Qur’an hints that the number is not important, decided to escape from the city and seek refuge in a cave. Miraculously, they fell asleep for three centuries and woke up as if they had simply taken a nap during that day – nothing had changed in them.
While confronting the enemies of God is inevitable – and perhaps that’s the norm, escaping from the society in order to give yourself time, distancing yourself from people, minimizing the connection and interaction with them, minimizing the dependence on them, escaping from the Government’s persecution, getting rid of the intellectual and societal chains, living off grid if needs be, growing the spiritual self, distancing yourself from the avenues of negative influence – schools, the media, and social gatherings much exploited by the Government in order to control people, escaping from all the negative distractions which serve as a barrier to the truth, escaping from the fake luxuries of life, escaping from an unsustainable and unstable lifestyle which is promoted by a corrupt society, escaping from the chains of political oppression, escaping from the false hopes nurtured by the powers it be, liberating yourself from all the fake dreams, academic titles and the likes, deserting the army of blind soldiers, abandoning the false aspirations which are used as a mechanism in order to imprison people ideologically and politically, escaping from the corrupt society – full of liars, backstabbers, deceivers, and mercenaries of the powers it be, and seeking refuge in a cave – be it a physical place far from people or symbolically by forming a barrier between yourself and the society is indeed an essential strategy of not only recovery, but also for protection, giving yourself the time and space to rest, reflect, grow, and getting close to God.
Sabri Lushi
March 2025
