<aside> 📝 Zeidan Abdel-Rahman
</aside>
The so-called “Salafīyah”, following the doctrine of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Najdī, have actively engaged in the desecration of the houses and graves of the Awliyā’ (saints) and Ṣaḥābah claiming to combat idolatry in doing so. This verse of the Qur’ān counters this erroneous conviction. Shaykh al-Islām Fakhr al-Dīn ****al-Rāzī, in the second part of his exegesis on this verse, elaborates on the intended meaning, and identifies those responsible for erecting a mosque over the graves of the Aṣḥāb al-Kahf ****(the people of the cave) ****as Muslims (or the believers during that era). ****I will translate the second part of his tafsīr below.
القرآن الكريم - مفاتيح الغيب للرازي - تفسير سورة الكهف - الآية 21
Original Tafsīr in Arabic
https://quran.com/al-kahf/21?translations=19
Click ‘continue’ if it does not load.
“…And others said: Rather, it is preferable to build a mosque at the entrance of the cave. This opinion indicates that those people¹ were aware of Allāh, and [submitted to Him in] worship and prayer.
The fourth opinion is that the disbelievers [had claimed]: ‘[The People of the Cave] were of our religion, so we should construct a building (ie. a temple) over them’, and the Muslims [had claimed]: ‘they were of our religion, so we should construct a mosque over them.’
The fifth opinion is that they¹ disputed about the length of their stay [in the cave] [and] the sixth opinion is that they¹ disputed about their number and names. Then the Almighty said [in the Qu’rān]: ‘their Lord knoweth best concerning them’, and [there are] two [perspectives concerning this]. The first [perspective] is that [this quote] is from the speech of those disputing, as if, when they discussed [this] affair and exchanged words about their² names, circumstances, and the duration of their stay [in the cave] [and realized that they could not determine] the truth [of the matter], they [conceded and] said that their Lord ‘knoweth best concerning them.’ The second [perspective] is that this is [directly] from the speech of Allāh, Exalted be He, mentioned as a rebuttal against those indulging in [this idle talk] among those [discussing].
Then the Almighty said: ‘Those who won their point…’, [and] it is said that this [could refer] to a Muslim king,³ and it is [also] said [that this could refer to] the companions of The People of the Cave, and it is [also] said [that this could refer to] the magistrates of the town. [And whoever it was ultimately who had ‘won their point’ is attributed with saying]: ‘We verily shall build a [mosque] over them.’ [The purpose being that] we [may] worship Allāh within it and preserve [and honor the story] of The People of the Cave [through] that mosque.”
Nowhere in scripture is this abrogated, nor does the Qur’ān mention this story in a negative light, as if, for example, the Muslims had sinned in doing this. Other scholars explain this parable in the same context, such as Shaykh al-Islām Najm al-Dīn al-Nasafī (May Allāh be pleased with him) and Al Hāfidh ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī.