The Story of the People of Al-Kahf Here Allah tells us about the story of the people of Al-Kahf in brief and general terms, then Heexplains it in more detail. He says
(that the people of Al-Kahf and Ar-Raqim were a wonder among Our signs) meaning, their case was not something amazing compared to Our power and ability, for the creation of the heavens and earth, the alternation of night and day and the subjugation of the sun, moon and heavenly bodies, and other mighty signs indicate the great power of Allah and show that He is able to do whatever He wills. He is not incapable of doing more amazing things than the story of the people of the Cave. Similarly, Ibn Jurayj reported Mujahid saying about,
Tafsir authority al-Qurtubi of al-Andulus (Spain) has reported some events at this juncture in his Tafsir. Some of these events, that belong to different cities, he had heard or seen himself. First of all, he says on the basis of a report from Dahhak that al-Raqim is the name of a town in Rum (the Greco-Roman territory) where twenty-one men are lying in a cave as if they are sleeping. Then, he reports from Tafsir authority, Ibn ` Atiyyah that he had heard from many people that there was a cave in Sham (Syria) which had some dead bodies in it. Attendants said that they were the ones called the People of Kahf. And adjacent to the cave, there was the structure of a mosque and residential house called Raqim. In addition to the dead bodies, the skeleton of a dead dog was also present there.
The incident of the Men of the Cave shows symbolically the stages through which true believers have to pass in their lives and the hurdles which they have to surmount. We learn from this incident that true believers sometimes, by force of circumstances, are compelled to take refuge in a ‘cave’. But, from this cave which, to all appearances, was a grave for them, emerged a flood of life and vitality. Where their opponents had planned to end the lives of these young men, a new history began for them from that very same place. If the Men of the Cave are the same individuals known as the Seven Sleepers in Christian history, the story relates to the city of Ephesus. This once famous city, dating back to ancient times, was situated on the west coast of Turkey, where its majestic ruins can still be seen today. During the period 249 to 251 A.D., this area was under the rule of a Roman ruler, Desius. Polytheism was prevalent here and the moon was treated as a god and worshipped. During this period, the message of the Unity of God (monotheism) reached this area through the early followers of Jesus Christ and started spreading. The Roman ruler of this place, who was a pagan, could not tolerate the spread of this monotheistic religion and started persecuting the followers of Jesus Christ. The aforesaid ‘Men of the Cave’ were seven young men from noble families of Ephesus, who embraced the monotheistic religion probably in the year 250 A.D. and who became preachers of that religion. When they were harassed by the authorities, they fled the city and took refuge in a big cave on the side of a nearby mountain.
