18:9-Asad Note:(Men of the Cave - stripped of its Christian garb and of Jewish origin)
Asad Note:(Men of the Cave - stripped of its Christian garb and of Jewish origin) . 18:9 [AND SINCE the life of this world is but a test, 6 dost thou [really] think that [the parable of] the Men of the Cave and of [their devotion to] the scriptures could be deemed more wondrous than any [other] of Our messages? 7 Note 6 This interpolation establishes the elliptically implied connection between the long passage that follows and the preceding two verses. Note 7 Lit., "that the Men of the Cave ... were more wondrous.. .", etc. -the implication being that the allegory or parable based on this story is entirely in tune with the ethical doctrine propounded in the Qur'an as a whole, and therefore not "more wondrous" than any other of its statements. - As regards the story of the Men of the Cave as such. most of the commentators incline to the view that it relates to a phase in early Christian history - namely, the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Decius in th...