In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
As Muslims it is our duty to pursue the learning process while breath still fills our lungs and our brains are capable of thought. Let's look at one aspect of learning that Allah teaches us in Surah Al-Kahf, specifically within the story of the youth companions of the cave.
When the young men made it to cave, fleeing from oppression of the society, Allah put them to sleep.
فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ فِى ٱلْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا ﴿١١[Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:11]
So We cast [a cover of sleep] over their ears within the cave for a number of years. (11)
فَضَرَبْنَا عَلَىٰٓ ءَاذَانِهِمْ literally to pat someone on the ears -- the image of that of a mother affectionately putting her child to sleep by patting on the ears. The idiom also means to prevent somebody from hearing something, i.e. by sealing off somebody ears.
Allah's love is expressed in this one expression. The young men were patted to sleep and as a result they were saved from hearing the painful things that have forced them to take refuge in the cave -- it is the idea that Allah lovingly patting these young men to sleep.
Everything in the Qur'an has a purpose, nothing in it is put haphazardly. Allah does not tell us the exact number of years the sleepers were in the cave. One thing we have to understand is that a good teacher purposely keeps certain information from his students when they are not ready for it. Even if you ask repeatedly, your teacher won't give it to you because if you get the information when you are not ready for it, it will either distract you from the actual learning that you must do or it will cause harm that you will get things confused. Just like medication or a diet food has a certain time and proportion, there is a certain order of things in life, and similarly with learning.
The Qur'an teaches us that there are things we need to know and there are things we don't need to know. The idea that Allah being the teacher is that Allah knows which question deserves an answer and which one does not. Perhaps He will teach you something far more valuable than your question and perhaps by Him not answering your question is the best education you ever received. By answering a question you get information but sometimes by answering it with a different answer you get not just information but wisdom.
When Allah kept ambiguous the number of years the sleepers were in the cave is extremely profound. If we think about it, Qur'an is not a massive Book -- only 114 Surahs revealed in 23 years. If we were going to author a book for 23 years, we could have many more than 600 pages. The Qur'an is extremely limited compared to any of what is left of the sacred texts, compared to the Bible and the Old Testament. It only has a fraction of the information those texts have. There are no extended family names, village names, or dates in the Qur'an. From the information perspective there is very limited information in the Qur'an and lots of repetition.
Allah is going to tell us something that is contested among the Christians -- how long the men stayed in the cave. Allah could have given the exact number but He didn't. He only tells us,
فِى ٱلْكَهْفِ سِنِينَ عَدَدًا
[within the cave for a number of years]
It is really important to note what Allah tells us and it is equally important to note what Allah decided not to tell us. Everything we need to know, Allah tells us in His Book. Qur'an is a Book of teaching and not a Book of information. Teaching is different than giving information. Teaching is a constant back and forth with lots of repetition.
So every ayah in the Qur'an is extremely valuable.
The purpose of every ayah is to give us something of value. The purpose of this ayah is the love Allah expresses for these young righteous men. We were given the image of babies being put to sleep. Babies are not put to sleep on a rock but a place of comfort. These young men were being treated with this kind of loving care and that Allah did not forget them. They were given this comfort in the cave for some number of years -- sleeping like a baby, saved from the fitnah of the society outside. But Allah didn't tell us exactly how long they were sleeping in the cave. Even if it was a month it would already be miraculous but Allah tells us they were sleeping for some number of years. This is enough for a believer to appreciate Allah's power. Thus, the exact number becomes irrelevant.
May Allah increase our love for the Qur'an, teach us the Qur'an, help us live by the Qur'an, and make us His elect people of the Qur'an. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
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