4 Hotting. Hist. Orient. p. 40. 5 Vide Greg. Turon. et Simeon. Metaphrast. 6 Vide D'Herbelot, Bibl. Orient. p. 189. 7 Al Beidâwi, ex trad Noomân Ebn Bashir. 8 Idem.
And thou mightest have seen the sun, when it had risen, to decline from their cave towards the right hand, and when it went down, to leave them on the left hand:x and they were in the spacious part of the cave.y This was one of the signs of GOD. Whomsoever GOD shall direct, he shall be rightly directed: and whomsoever he shall cause to err, thou shalt not find any to defend, or to direct. And thou wouldest have judged them to have been awake,z while they were sleeping; and we caused them to turn themselves to the right hand, and to the left.a And their dogb stretched forth his forelegs in the mouth of the cave: if thou hadst come suddenly upon them, verily thou wouldest have turned thy back and fled from them, and thou wouldest have been filled with fear at the sight of them.c And so we awaked them from their sleep, that they might ask questions of one another. One of them spake and said, How long have ye tarried here? They answered, We have tarried a day, or part of a day. The others said, Your LORD best knoweth the time ye have tarried:d and now send one of you with this your money into the city;e and let him see which of its inhabitants hath the best and cheapest food, and let him bring you provision from him; and let him behave circumspectly, and not discover you to any one. Verily if they come up against you, they will stone you, or force you to return to their religion; and then shall ye not prosper forever.