ONE AYAT A DAY
۞ وَتَرَى الشَّمْسَ اِذَا طَلَعَتْ تَّزٰوَرُ عَنْ كَهْفِهِمْ ذَاتَ الْيَمِيْنِ وَاِذَا غَرَبَتْ تَّقْرِضُهُمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ وَهُمْ فِيْ فَجْوَةٍ مِّنْهُۗ ذٰلِكَ مِنْ اٰيٰتِ اللّٰهِ ۗمَنْ يَّهْدِ اللّٰهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ وَمَنْ يُّضْلِلْ فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهٗ وَلِيًّا مُّرْشِدًا ࣖ
Wa tarasy-syamsa iżā ṭala‘at tazāwaru ‘an kahfihim żātal-yamīni wa iżā garabat taqriḍuhum żātasy-syimāli wa hum fī fajwatim minh(u), żālika min āyātillāh(i), may yahdillāhu fa huwal-muhtadi wa may yuḍlil falan tajida lahū waliyyam mursyidā(n).
And [had you been present], you would see the sun when it rose, inclining away from their cave on the right, and when it set, passing away from them on the left, while they were [lying] within an open space thereof. That was from the signs of Allāh. He whom Allāh guides is the [rightly] guided, but he whom He sends astray - never will you find for him a protecting guide.
The Location of the Cave This indicates that the entrance to the cave faced north, because Allah tells us that when the sun was rising, sunlight entered the caveذَاتَ الْيَمِينِ(the right), meaning that the shade decreased towards the right, as Ibn `Abbas, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Qatadah said:تَّزَاوَرُ(declining) means leaning. Every time the sun rises on the horizon, its rays decline until there is nothing left in such a place when it reaches its zenith. So Allah said,وَإِذَا غَرَبَت تَّقْرِضُهُمْ ذَاتَ الشِّمَالِ(and when it set, turning away from them to the left,) meaning, it entered their cave from the left of its entrance, which means from the west. This proves what we say, and it is clear to anyone who thinks about the matter and has some knowledge of astronomy and the paths of the sun, moon and stars. If the entrance of the cave faced east, nothing would have entered it when the sun set, and if it faced the direction of the Qiblah (in this case, south), nothing would have entered it at the time of sunrise or sunset, and the shadows would have leaned neither to the right nor the left. If it had faced west, nothing would have entered it at the time of sunrise, until after the sun had passed its zenith, and would have stayed until sunset. This supports what we have said, and to Allah is the praise. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah said that "turning away from them" means tha…