A Guiding Teacher is a Prerequisite (18:17 – 18:20)
Quran Talk Blog · Article · August 7, 2017
A Guiding Teacher is a Prerequisite
18:17 You could see the sun when it rose coming from the right side of their cave, and when it set, it shone on them from the left, as they slept in the hollow thereof. This is one of GOD’s portents.* Whomever GOD guides is the truly guided one, and whomever He sends astray, you will not find for him a guiding teacher.
*18:17 This sign, or hint, tells us that the cave was facing north.
18:18 You would think that they were awake, when they were in fact asleep. We turned them to the right side and the left side, while their dog stretched his arms in their midst. Had you looked at them, you would have fled from them, stricken with terror.
When we resurrected them, they asked each other, “How long have you been here?” “We have been here one day or part of the day,” they answered. “Your Lord knows best how long we stayed here, so let us send one of us with this money to the city. Let him fetch the cleanest food, and buy some for us. Let him keep a low profile, and attract no attention.