Dear Islamic brothers! The topic of today’s speech is the ‘Protection of Faith’. In this speech, we will hear about how much emphasis has been placed on remaining steadfast upon faith in the Quran and Hadith, how necessary it is for a Muslim to remain concerned regarding the protection of his faith, how would our noble predecessors yearn for the protection of their faith, how fearful they remained about losing their faith, how important it is to remain fearful in relation to losing one’s faith, and what precautions one should observe in order to attain salvation in the Hereafter. In addition to this, we will also hear about such matters that can become a cause of ruining one’s faith.

First of all, let us hear the Quranic account of those pious bondsmen of Allah Almighty who sought refuge in a cave to protect their faith.

The account of Ashaab-e-Kahf

Many years ago, there was a city (in Rome, at the edge of the Arabian sea) called ‘Ufsoos’. This city was under the rule of ‘Daqyanoos’ [Decius]. He would engage in polytheism himself and also force others to do the same. He would oppress those who would refuse to do so and inflict punishment upon them.

The people of faith would hide from him to remain safe from his oppression and save their faith. One group of believers feared that Daqyanoos would capture them one day and force them into polytheism. With this danger in mind, they decided to leave the city and fled.

On the way, they met a shepherd who was fleeing the city to safeguard his faith. He also had a dog with him. The shepherd and his dog joined them also. There was a cave on the way which they took as their dwelling, and they lay down there to rest. After lying down inside the cave, many strange and wonderous events took place with them:

1.   They slept in the cave for 309 years. When they woke up after 309 years with the command of Allah Almighty, then not only were their bodies intact, but so were their clothes, money and even their dog.