Now the wonderful story of the seven sleepers has been narrated, in which some knowledge of the Relativity of Time; and Resurrection Day, can be obtained. Of course the story might be wonderful in our sight, but not in the sight of God; who is All-mighty, and Omnipotent:ِ

      ``Have you thought that the event of the Companions of the Cave and Al-Raghim was something wonderful among our signs?''

      Qurän narrates the story of the seven sleepers in brief, through the above four verses; and then gives more detail about the incident, in the verses that follow. Here the sleepers are called the Companions of the Cave and also Al-Raghim, which might be the name of the mountain in which the cave was, or their written name which was inscribed on a monument.

      Their story in brief is as follows:ِ

      When the Roman Emperors were persecuting the Christians for their belief, some young Christian believers, of the townsfolk of Ephesus, left their home and hearth, and took refuge in a cave in the near by mountains. The youths put their trusts entirely on God, and there in the cave, in a fervent prayer gave over their whole affair to God to dispose, saying:ِ

      ``Our Lord! Have of Your Mercy on us, and guide us in our affair.''

      Allah answered them and sealed their ear, so that they sunk in a deep long sleep, not knowing what was going on outside the cave! After a few centuries, Allah raised them up from their long sleep while they thought to have slept a few hours!:ِ

      ``We then raised them up to make known which one of the two group would better calculate the period of their stay.''