وَكَذَلِكَ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا بَيْنَهُمْ قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالُوا رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ فَابْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُمْ بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَى طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُمْ بِرِزْقٍ مِنْهُ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا ﴿۱۹﴾ إِنَّهُمْ إِنْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَيْكُمْ يَرْجُمُوكُمْ أَوْ يُعِيدُوكُمْ فِي مِلَّتِهِمْ وَلَنْ تُفْلِحُوا إِذًا أَبَدًا ﴿۲۰﴾

﴾19﴿ Wa kazaalika ba'asnaahum liyatasaaa'aloo bainahum; qaala qaaa'ilum minhum kam labistum qaaloo labisnaa yawman aw ba'da yawm; qaaloo Rabbukum a'lamu bimaa labistum fab'asooo ahadakum biwariqikum haazihee ilal madeenati falyanzur ayyuhaaa azkaa ta'aaman falyaatikum birizqim minhu walyatalattaf wa laa yush'iranna bikum ahadaa
﴾20﴿ Innahum iny yazharoo 'alaikum yarjumookum aw yu'eedookum fee millatihim wa lan tuflihooo izan abadaa

﴾19﴿ And so We awakened them that they might question one another. A speaker among them said, "How long have you remained?" They said, We have remained a day or part of a day. They said, Your Lord knows best how long you have remained. So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the city and let him see which of them has the purest food, and bring you provision from it. And let him be cautious, and let no one be aware of you
﴾20﴿ Indeed, if they come to know of you, they will stone you or turn you back to their religion, and then you will never succeed, ever

[19] In this verse, the awakening of the Companions of the Cave from sleep is mentioned, along with the wisdom behind it.
The detailed wisdom is that they were awakened so they would question one another: “How long have we remained?”
The benefit of this questioning is to show that they were unaware of their own condition—so how could they have knowledge of the world?
Thus, they cannot be considered partners with Allah Most High in knowledge.
This verse is clear evidence that the saints (awliya) do not know the unseen, and even during sleep they are unaware of their own souls—
so how could they have knowledge of the world after death?
(قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا) – They said: “We have stayed…” They differed into two groups: one said a full day has passed, the other said only a part of the day.
Then a third group said—or perhaps all of them together said: “We do not know; Allah knows best.” Thus they entrusted the knowledge to Allah Most High.
(بِوَرِقِكُم) – This indicates that they had taken silver coins with them for their expenses.
In (فَابْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُمْ) – “Send one of you” – it shows that after waking, they felt hunger and planned to buy food, assigning one person for this task.
They instructed him with three etiquettes:
First: (فَلْيَنْظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَى) – to bring food from a monotheist, because they knew that in the town there were some who offered food in the name of other than Allah, which is forbidden.
Second: (وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ) – to be gentle and discreet when buying food and speaking, so that no one becomes suspicious.
Third: (وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا) – not to let anyone know their situation, even outwardly.
[20] In this verse, the reason behind the previous events is mentioned, and it indicates that their migration was also due to this very fear.
It also shows that they had no knowledge of the unseen—their assumption was that the same people still existed from whom they had fled.
According to the narrations of the commentators, when they sent the buyer, unfamiliar buildings became visible to him.
He was eventually forced to enter a shop to buy food, and when he presented the silver coin (ورق), the shopkeeper found it unfamiliar and outdated.
The shopkeeper thought, “This is an ancient coin; perhaps he has found a treasure.”
As a result, he raised a commotion, and people gathered and discovered that this person was from the group that had migrated from the kingdom nearly three hundred years earlier—
since their story had become famous among the people over time.