Revelations From Inside The Cave

Whoever seeks the truth about this worldly life will not reach it if he stops at its outward appearance and neglects its ulterior. For this truth, a simple equation:

Knowledge of the Truth (Reality) =

Apparent (Exoteric) Knowledge + Hidden (Esoteric) Knowledge

In several places in His Enlightening Scripture, God highlights the importance of esoteric knowledge, because esoteric knowledge holds what is hidden, and often what is hidden contains the greater part of the truth. I find "Surat Al-Kahf" ("The Cave Chapter") to be the chapter of "The Apparent and the Hidden". On the surface, the chapter narrates many stories and topics filled with morals and wisdoms that teach the reader the importance of trusting God, and that life matters are defined by their conclusions, and that there are many hidden / esoteric / unseen / predestined matters that a person may not perceive, and so forth. Whoever absorbs those morals and wisdoms and acts upon them will be able to face life's trials and tribulations. They will also develop the curiosity and interest to search for the complete truth that allows them to be conscious of the underlying realities of this world, such as God's hidden plans and practices, Satan's hidden evil schemes, and people's true nature and ulterior motives. And with life trials and experiences come wisdom and insight. So, what is wisdom, and what is insight?

Wisdom is reaching a conclusion or passing judgment regarding a matter or a thing after knowing its apparent and ulterior truth—as opposed to naivety, which is to judge based only on outward appearance (or first impressions), as did Satan, the angels, Adam and Eve in ancient times, and subsequently, multitudes of the Children of Adam. Add true divine knowledge along with wisdom and you will have sound insight to form in your mind the true picture of things. The more knowledge you gain, the more complete the picture becomes with all its details.

{They know what is apparent of the worldly life, but they, of the Hereafter, are oblivious.} (30:7)

It is no coincidence that "The Cave" chapter is positioned deep within the Qur'an—exactly in the middle of the Book. If we consider the name of the chapter, we find that the cave (at first) appears to be nothing more than a superficial opening with an inner gap. To discover the truth of its matter, you must delve into its interior. The deeper you delve into it, the darker it gets—hence, the more light you will need. If you are given the light, and you strive forward, you will discover that there is more depth than what you initially imagined, and this is the reality of this worldly life. To see the outward appearance of life (i.e., the visible world) through your eyes, you need visible light, but to see through your Fouad—the third eye—the hidden meaning of this worldly life and what is truly happening beyond what is apparent and obvious, you need the light of God! And the source of this light on Earth today is the Qur'an and the Straight Path.

{ِAlif, Lam, Ra. A Book which We have sent to you, so you bring mankind out of darknesses into the light by permission of their Lord—to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Most Praiseworthy.} (14:1)

The more we gain knowledge, the more we realize how much we do not know. We find this wisdom in the creation of the Heavens and the Earth. Whenever humans discover the smallest/lowest entity of matter, they then find what is even smaller, and whenever they discover the highest/farthest creation of God, they then find what is even further. There are many depths to the truth of existence; each depth needs additional light—light upon light. God guides to His light whomever He wills, and for whom God does not grant light, there is no light (24:35). Whoever reads the words of the Qur'an will reach its surface and pick up its low-hanging fruits, but whoever scrutinizes and contemplates the words of the Qur'an will enter its cave and extract its hidden treasures. As much as one strives and exerts the effort to know of God and the truth—without being biased to one's whims and desires—as much as one acquires the esoteric knowledge in the Qur'an and the insight to perceive what lies beyond the horizon.

{And that Man can have nothing but what he seeks; and that his effort will eventually be seen.} (53:39-40)

Whoever receives insight from his Lord and delves into the cave of the Qur'an will reach the following discoveries:

1. Most of the stories in the Qur'an will be repeated in end times—"The Second Global Era of Islam", as some have called it—but in a modern outfit and with different details to suit its time.
2. The Qur'an is a message (sent from God) to all people at all times, but within the message there is an address, apparently (directly) to the former Muslims (during prophet Muhammad's time), and covertly (indirectly) to the latter Muslims (of end times), and how magnificent is the Lord of the worlds!
3. The religion of God—Islam—has been completed and made known to the people. There is no prophet after Muhammad (peace be upon him), and there is no Book/Scripture to be sent down from Heaven after the Qur'an. However, the complete knowledge of certitude inside the Qur'an has not been made apparent to the people at the time the Qur'an was revealed, so that people may continue to learn and research the Qur'an in effort to understand better the truth about God, His creation, His religion, His practices, and His laws. There are different measures and depths of knowledge in the cave of the Qur'an that God permits its discovery and revelation over the ages (2:255), depending on how many signs the people in each age need to be certain of God's existence. {And so those who were given knowledge may know that it is the truth from your Lord (and) so they believe in it; then their hearts be venerating to Him; and surely Allah indeed guides the ones who have believed to a straight path.} (22:54)

The Cave chapter is an allegorical chapter full of symbols and cryptic indications. If we connect the stories of this chapter with end times prophecies and current events, we will arrive at an esoteric reading of this chapter that highlights key events of end times (I will share with you part of this reading at the end of this essay). Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) statements regarding the importance of reading The Cave chapter every Friday, and how it protects us from Ad-Dajjal (The Antichrist) tribulation, are two pieces of evidence that signal the importance of understanding hidden knowledge, especially in end times. Why? Because in end times the truth will be masked by falsehood, and there is the Dajjal tribulation, which is the greatest tribulation of all time. In other words, in order to not be deceived by the falsehood that the Dajjal will exhibit, you will need to have complete certainty of what is true and real and what is not. Therefore, you will need the knowledge of certitude, and the largest part of this knowledge is the hidden knowledge. The more you realize what is happening covertly, the more you will realize the true reality of the Dajjal and protect yourself from his deception. And for your information, the deception of the Dajjal began before his public appearance, and we are now in the midst of it (coinciding with the end of the Dark tribulation), until his deception reaches its climax upon his emergence.

For those who, unfortunately, do not believe in what I am saying, let them revisit the story of prophet Moses with Al-Khidr. Even though Moses (peace be upon him) was a messenger, a prophet, and the one who spoke to God directly, he could not endure what Al-Khidr did. So how, O Son of Adam, will you endure what the Dajjal will do if you do not have a comprehensive awareness (of his deception)?!! This is why you must learn what the Qur'an, the Messenger of God, and the scholars have mentioned to you, especially (if you were born) in a time of misguidance and Satan's Era; in a time when people enjoin evil and forbid good; in a time when jihad in God's cause becomes "radicalism and terrorism", adherence to the straight path becomes "extremism and backwardness", committing lewd acts becomes "progressiveness and open-mindness", and the month of the Qur'an and forgiveness (i.e., Ramadan) becomes "the month of TV series and idle talk", ignorance becomes "secularism", and lying and committing fraud becomes "social norms and cleverness"; in a time where "the liar is believed and the truthful is disbelieved; the traitor will be regarded as trustworthy, and the trustworthy person will be regarded as a traitor; and the stupid fool speaks (publicly)" (Hadith). Al-Khidr, in the Cave chapter, is like a tutor of esoteric knowledge, not only to prophet Moses, but to Muhammad's ummah (nation), until the emergence of the Dajjal. Every Friday, the Muslims should have a study session with him. Whoever studies well will become certain and insightful (or in other words, have higher consciousness), and whoever becomes certain and insightful and follows the best advice will succeed in the exam of end times, in'Sha'Allah (God willing).

There is wisdom in God's decree to have the Dajjal emerge in end times. I will leave it to the people of reason to try to figure it out after what I have written, and all praise be to Allah who taught the Qur'an.

(YOU CAN FIND MY ESOTERIC READING OF THE CHAPTER IN THE FOLLOWING PDF)