Chapter 3
Thoughts on Surah al-Kahf (the Cave) In discussing the meanings embedded in the Our'an, one should be aware of the implicit and underlying wisdom of its verses. It is not uncommon for the reader of the Our'an to miss certain meanings which Allah intended us to con足 template. This does not mean however, that one should ascribe to the words of the Our'an any meaning other than that which they actually possess. Scholars, in their attempts to keep pace with modern trends and meet the challenges they face from science and sceptical doctrines, may try to. find a common ground between some of the spectacular new scientific theories and the miraculous portents revealed in the Our'an, or to try to find evidence to support the Our'an with these theories or these theories from the Our'an, The danger of such practices lies in the fact that scientific theories are susceptible to modification and misinterpretation. In足 deed, the situation would be precarious and damaging to the whole religion if it so happened that we used one of these scientific theories to validate some Our'anic facts, only to discover, later, that the theory was false. It is, therefore, neither wise nor desirable that our enthusiasm cause us to search the Qur'an for facts which accord with any modern scientific hypothesis or discovery. The Our'an is, in the first
place, a religious scripture and not a textbook and as such should never be used as source material for explaining science. In fact, Allah explicitly defined the main purpose of the Our'an when He said:
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