وَكَذَلِكَ أَعْثَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَأَنَّ السَّاعَةَ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهَا إِذْ يَتَنَازَعُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ أَمْرَهُمْ فَقَالُوا ابْنُوا عَلَيْهِمْ بُنْيَانًا رَبُّهُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِهِمْ قَالَ الَّذِينَ غَلَبُوا عَلَى أَمْرِهِمْ لَنَتَّخِذَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ مَسْجِدًا ﴿۲۱﴾ سَيَقُولُونَ ثَلَاثَةٌ رَابِعُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ خَمْسَةٌ سَادِسُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ وَيَقُولُونَ سَبْعَةٌ وَثَامِنُهُمْ كَلْبُهُمْ قُلْ رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ بِعِدَّتِهِمْ مَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ فَلَا تُمَارِ فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا وَلَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِمْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا ﴿۲۲﴾

﴾21﴿ Wa kazaalika a'sarnaa 'alaihim liya'lamooo anna wa'dal laahi haqqunw wa annas Saa'ata laa raiba feehaa iz yatanaaza'oona bainahum amrahum faqaalub noo 'alaihim bunyaanaa; Rabbuhum a'lamu bihim; qaalal lazeena ghalaboo 'alaaa amrihim lanat takhizanna 'alaihim masjidaa
﴾22﴿ Sa yaqooloona salaasatur raabi'uhum kalbuhum wa yaqooloona khamsatun saadisuhum kalbuhum rajmam bilghaib; wa yaqooloona sab'atunw wa saaminuhum kalbuhum; qur Rabbeee a'lamu bi'iddatihim maa ya'lamuhum illaa qaleel; falaa tumaari feehim illaa miraaa'an zaahiranw wa laa tastafti feehim minhum ahadaa

﴾21﴿ And thus We made their story known to the people so that they might know that indeed the promise of Allah is true and that there is no doubt about the Hour (of Resurrection). When (the people of that time) disputed among themselves about their case, they said, Construct a building over them; their Lord knows best about them." Those who prevailed in their matter said, "We will surely build over them a mosque
﴾22﴿ Some say, "They were three, and their dog was the fourth," and others say, "They were five, and their dog was the sixth," guessing blindly without knowledge. And others say, "They were seven, and their dog was the eighth." Say, "My Lord knows best their number. None knows them except a few." So do not argue about them except with clear evidence, and do not question anyone among these people about them

[21] In this verse, other wisdoms behind revealing the state of the Companions of the Cave are mentioned.
One is that Allah Most High fulfills His promise of support and help for His righteous servants—just as He protected the Companions of the Cave.
(وَكَذَلِكَ) – “And thus” – meaning just as He caused them to sleep, protected them in the cave, and awakened them again, He also made people aware of them.
The second wisdom is that at that time, people differed regarding resurrection after death.
So, this incident became a proof for the resurrection of the dead.
This indicates that Allah Most High always fulfills the aims of the righteous, but sometimes—according to His wisdom—He does the opposite of what they intended.
For example, the Companions of the Cave wanted their condition to remain hidden, but Allah revealed it for greater wisdoms.
In (وَكَذَلِكَ), there is also a reference that all previous events were by the will of Allah, and so this public disclosure was also by Him.
The meaning of (وَعْدَ اللَّهِ) is the resurrection of bodies along with their souls after death.
(إِذْ يَتَنَازَعُونَ بَيْنَهُمْ أَمْرَهُمْ) – The meaning of “their matter” is the issue of resurrection, about which the people of that time disagreed.
Some denied resurrection altogether, some believed only in the resurrection of souls, and some accepted the correct concept of bodily resurrection.
A second interpretation is that the pronoun in أَمْرَهُمْ refers to the Companions of the Cave, and this debate occurred after their death.
The Magians said, “These people followed our religion,” while the Christians claimed, “They were upon our faith.”
So the Magians proposed to build a wall around them, while the Christians said a place of worship should be built beside them.
(الَّذِينَ غَلَبُوا عَلَى أَمْرِهِمْ) refers to the Christians, because governance was in their hands at the time, and they built a church (or place of worship) over them.
Note: Innovators (mubtadi‘īn) have used this verse as proof that it is permissible to build mosques over the graves of righteous people, but this reasoning is invalid.
The first reason is that those mentioned in the verse were Christians, and Allah Most High did not praise them in this verse—He merely mentioned their dominance and power.
The second reason is that authentic hadiths clearly state that those who build mosques over the graves of prophets and the righteous are cursed.
The Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace) explicitly mentioned curse and anger upon such people from his own side.
Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī and Tafsīr Rūḥ al-Ma‘ānī both offer detailed refutations on this issue.
[22] In this verse, first, there is a warning to those who, without evidence, gave differing opinions regarding the number of the Companions of the Cave.
(وَيَقُولُونَ سَبْعَةٌ) – This phrase is brought separately, indicating that this number is correct and not a conjecture based on the unseen (rajman bil-ghayb).
Another reasoning is in the phrase (مَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلٌ) – “No one knows them except a few.”
It is narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) that he also mentioned the number as seven and said, “I am among those few who know their number.”
(وَثَامِنُهُمْ) – The wāw here is known as wāw al-thamāniyyah (the eighth wāw), which, according to some grammarians, is used when the number eight is mentioned after seven.
Another view is that this wāw serves as a marker, signaling that this number is correct and different from the incorrect numbers mentioned earlier.
(قُلْ رَبِّي أَعْلَمُ) – This points to the best manner of dealing with such matters: to leave the detailed knowledge to Allah Most High, since such specifics are not necessary unless proven by sound evidence.
(فَلَا تُمَارِ فِيهِمْ إِلَّا مِرَاءً ظَاهِرًا) – This expresses the first etiquette: the word mirā’ means to argue or debate, and ẓāhiran means only that discussion which is based on what is clearly stated in the Qur’an or sound hadith.
(وَلَا تَسْتَفْتِ فِيهِمْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا) – This is the second etiquette: do not seek fatwa (religious verdict) or knowledge from anyone among them (i.e., the People of the Book) regarding such matters.
This is evidence that Muslims should not derive religious knowledge from the People of the Book.
However, narrating stories from them—when they are instructive and do not contradict the Qur’an and Sunnah—is permissible, based on the hadith: “Narrate from the Children of Israel, and there is no harm.”