Companions of the Cave (Sura 18:10, 16)

The eighteenth chapter of the Suhuf-i Mutahhara with its

unmistakeable apocalyptic theme embodies an important lesson for
the Muslims of the latter days when it narrates the story of the As-
Hab al-Kahf or the youth who sought refuge in a cavern:

When the youths retreated to the cave they said: Our Lord, grant
us from Yourself mercy and facilitate for us from our affair in the
right way.
(Sura 18: 10)

And when you withdraw from them and what they worship
except Allah, then retreat to the cave. Your Lord will spread for
 you of His mercy and will facilitate for you from your affair in
ease.
(Sura 18: 16)

The theme of withdrawal and retreating away from the false society
is especially important as a lesson for the present day Muslims in
the midst of all sorts of trials which they must resist in order to
protect their faith. The Uzla (withdrawal) discussed in Surah 18: 16
is in fact twofold; 1. withdrawal from them, i.e., the society of
Jahiliya (ignorance, barbarism) 2. withdrawal from their objects
of worship, their false gods. The second is obviously a spiritual
withdrawal, to remove oneself from their false religion, practices,
and system, and purify oneself from the uncleanliness of idolatry,
as Allah Most High commands:

And keep away al-Rujz (unclean idols)
(Sura 74: 5)

And those who avoid al-Taghut (false gods) lest they worship
them, and (instead) turn to Allah; for them are glad tidings
 (Sura 39:17)

But in order to enact the second type of withdrawal as per Sura 18:
16, the turning away from and avoidance of the false gods and
idols, the youths of the cave first enacted withdrawal from the
people and society. It is this first type of Uzla which I am discussing
in greater depth:

This withdrawal from a society consumed by Jahiliya, infused with

idolatry, disobedience to Allah, and corrupt to the core takes on
several forms. The youths of the cave represent an example of true
Believers who took their withdrawal to a physical level of
separation by actually retreating into a cavern. The Prophet
foretold his own Umma that a time will come with his followers too
will have to enact this kind of physical withdrawal from society in
order to safeguard their faith:

A time will soon come when the best property of a Muslim will be
sheep which he will take to the top of mountains and the places of
rainfall (valleys) so as to flee with his Religion from trials.
 (Sahih al-Bukhari: Kitab al-Iman; Bab Min al-Dini al-Firaro min-
al-Fitan)

Verily, al-Hijra (emigration) is of two types: the first is to emigrate

from sins, and the second is to emigrate to Allah and His
Messenger. And al-Hijra shall not cease as long as repentance is
accepted, and repentance shall not cease to be accepted until the
sun rises from the west.
(Musnad Ahmad b. Hanbal)

Then there is also a psychological, emotional, and social separation

from the society one lives in. This too is imperative for the believing
Muslims who happen to live in a society of Jahiliyya and corruption
but are unable to physically emigrate to another land where Islam is
established and there is no corruption or retreat into the remote
areas in order to safeguard their faith.

Two illuminous companions of the Prophet , namely, Abu Dharr

al-GhifariRA and Salama b. al-AkwaRA, retreated into the desert of
Rabadha to live among the Bedouins for the purpose of fleeing from
trials. When the oppressor al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf taunted Salama b. al-
AkwaRA because he imagined that Salama had committed apostasy
by retreating into the desert to live among the Bedouins, Salama
replied:

No, but rather the Messenger of Allah permitted me to stay

with the Bedouins.
(Sahih al-Bukhari: Kitab al-Fitan; Bab al-Taarrubi fil-Fitan)

Retreating into remote areas, such as caves, mountains, rainfall

valleys, and the desert is all for the purpose of safeguarding ones
faith and fleeing from the trials and afflictions of the world. Some
may argue that it is akin to cutting oneself off from the Jamaa of
the Muslims, but that is not the case, as the Hadith of Salama b. al-
AkwaRA illustrates. That is not to say that a wrong intention and
motivation for departing from the Muslim society, such as that
which came to characterise the Kharijite factions, is not
condemnable and dispraised. But in the latter days especially,
behavior which resembles the khuruj of the old Kharijites in leaving
urban centers and withdrawing to form separate, small communities
for the purpose of safeguarding the faith will in fact be considered
as practing the Sunna, as long as an attitude of mass-Takfir
(excommunication) of Muslim societies is avoided. Hence, the As-
Hab al-Kahf represent a model and inspiration that Allah has cited
in the Holy Quran for especially Muslims of the latter days to
emulate.
In his book, Gilles Kepel discusses the type of Uzla that was
practiced in Egypt during the time of President Anwar el-Sadat:

The imprisoned Islamicist militants were divided in their reading

of Signposts. While the old-guard supporters of Hudaybi defended
established dogma against heresies by publishing Preachers, Not
Judges, the youth soon split into various factions. These may be
classified in two major currents, which disagreed as to the proper
interpretation of Qutbs term mufasala, or uzla (separation,
withdrawal). One tendency held that withdrawal from society
meant only spiritual detachment, while the other felt it meant total
separation. Those who preached spiritual detachment from
society called themselves the jamaa al-uzla al-shuuriyya
(Spiritual Detachment Group). They argued that contemporary
Egyptian jahiliyya society had to be excommunicated (takfir), but
they were aware of the dramatic consequences any enunciation of
takfir could have, since they found themselves in a position of
weakness (istidaf) relative to the enemy jahiliyya society. Since
they continued to live within society, they concealed their views,
pronouncing the takfir secretly in their hearts while awaiting the
advent of the phase of power that would enable them to
excommunicate a society which they would then have the capacity
to combat without beeing doomed to defeat. Not unlike the Shiite
sects that practice kitman (concealment), every Friday they
pretended to pray before an imam whom they actually held to be an
infidelThe other faction, which preached mufasala kamila, or
total separation from society, agreed with the first tendency that
jahiliyya society had to be excommunicated. They were also aware
of the danger of pronouncing this excommunication while they
were still living in society in a phase of weakness. But their
method of averting danger was to withdraw from society and to
create, on its margins, a little Society of Muslims, which would then
excommunicate jahiliyya society without concealment. (Muslim
Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh, pp. 74 75)

In May 1975 the Cairo daily newspaper al-Akhbar published an

article about Shukri and his disciples, calling them ahl al-kahf
(people of the cave), an expression used in the Koran to designate
the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus and, by analogy, any others who
sought withdrawal from the real world. The groups wanderings in
the mountains seem to have made an impression both on the authors
of the police reports and on the journalists who copied them. In
reality, however, the group had lived only very briefly in the
grottoes. Most members lived together in furnished rooms in the
poor neighborhoods ringing Cairo and other cities. (ibid, p. 77)

The latter group described by Gilles Kepel was the Jamaat-ul-

Muslimin led by Shukri Mustafa (1942 1978). They were
nicknamed Takfir wal-Hijra by the Egyptian media. Undoubtedly a
pure Kharijite group, Takfir wal-Hijra was highly influenced by
Syed Qutbs Signposts (or Milestones) and moulded by the political
atmosphere created by Nassers modernist, secularist and pan-
Arabist regime in Egypt. But throughout the history of the Umma,
including its modern history, there have been various tendencies
and sects among the Muslims who practiced Uzla to different
degrees. These groups often bore the unmistakeable mark of
Kharijism, Shiism and Sufism. These particular expressions of
Islam share with each other a sense of protest and dissent from the
Muslim mainstream and political establishment. I believe that a
healthy dose of this expression of spiritual and political dissent from
the mainstream and the establishment is not only Islamic but is,
upon deep introspection, the very theme and flavor of pure Islam.
However, extreme manifestations of Uzla such as mass-Takfir of
Muslim societies, terrorism against the State and even worse,
against civilians, and the doctrine of concealment, represent a
fundamental divergence from the Quranic and Sunni expression of
Uzla. The Prophet warned specifically about many groups
emerging from the east, their distinctive sign being their shaven
heads (Sahih Muslim: Kitab al-Zakat). This description fits many
sects and subsects of Kharijism, Shiism and extreme versions of
Sufism based in the eastern lands, especially Iraq. To compare these
kind of misguided groups to the As-Hab al-Kahf is obviously a
mistake.