The Cave
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE
[18:21]
AND IN THIS way have We drawn [people’s] attention to their story, so that they might know – whenever they debate among themselves as to what happened to those [Men of the Cave] – that God’s promise [of resurrection] is true, and that there can be no doubt as to [the coming of] the Last Hour.
And so, some [people] said: "Erect a building in their memory; their Sustainer knows best what happened to them." Said they whose opinion prevailed in the end: "Indeed, we must surely raise a house of worship in their memory!"


* v.21 : I.e., by means of the legend which has grown up around the Men of the Cave and, more particularly, by means of the allegoric use which the Qur’ān makes of this legend. * Lit., “given knowledge about them [to others].”
* Lit., “debate their case (amrahum) among themselves”: an indication of the fact that the legend of the Men of the Cave occupied men’s minds for a long time, leading to many discussions and conflicting interpretations. The next sentence explains why God has “drawn [people’s] attention” to this story in the context of the Qur’ān.
* This, to my mind, is the meaning of the expression ‘alayhim (lit., “over them”) occurring here as well as in the subsequent reference to the building of a house of worship at the suggestion of those “whose opinion prevailed in the end” (alladhīna ghalabū ‘alā amrihim).