u/DhulQarnayni

Why Doesn’t the Quran Give the Exact Number of the People of the Cave?

In the story of the People of the Cave, the Quran mentions different opinions about how many people were in the cave (Q18:22) But it never gives a final exact number and instead says that God knows best.

What i find interesting is that the Quran does give a precise number for how long they stayed in the cave (Q18:25),yet it avoids giving a precise number of the people themselves.

If someone were simply inventing or confidently retelling an ancient story, wouldn’t it be easier to just pick a number and present it as fact? Especially since people at the time couldn’t really verify it anyway?

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u/DhulQarnayni — 4 days ago

▲ 5 r/AcademicQuran

If Q 17:1 is about Moses,then are Q18:1, Q25:1 and Q 53:10 also about Moses?

u/BookofInvestigation argue that Qb17:1 was originally about Moses rather than Muhammad.

But I have a question about the Quran’s internal language itself.

If 17:1 is really about Moses then how should we understand the Quran’s repeated use of the phrase “His servant” (ʿabdihi / ʿabdahu) in other verses that are usually understood to refer to the Qur'anic messenger?

For example:

17:1 — “Glory be to the One who took His servant by night...”

18:1 — “Praise be to Allah who sent down the Book upon His servant...”

25:1 — “Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His servant...”

53:10 — “He revealed to His servant what He revealed...”

If 17:1 is reinterpreted as Moses then should these other “His servant” verses also be reconsidered as referring to Moses?

u/DhulQarnayni — 4 days ago