The story of the Ashab al-Kahf

 The Roman emperor, Trajan Decius, hated the religion of Prophet Isa, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him. He ordered everyone in his land to worship idols and statues. But a young man refused to do so, as he was one of the original followers of Prophet Isa, who believed in Allah. This man was able to form a group of people who all shared the same belief: the belief that there is no God, but Allah.

Decius found out about this group of people, and he sent his soldiers to hunt them down to be arrested, and then executed. The group of men managed to escape from their homeland, where they were also joined by a farmer on their journey to safety. The farmer kept a hunting dog which would help to protect the group of believers. Eventually, the believers found a cave in a remote area, and they hid inside it. The farmer's dog stood guard at the entrance.

Allah sent these men and the hunting dog into a very long slumber which lasted for about three hundred years. After many years had passed, they woke up, and they felt as if they had slept for just a few hours. They greeted each other with Salaam, and did their Salah in the cave. They waited inside the cave, fearing that Decius was around. But after some time passed, they felt hungry, so one man volunteered to leave the cave to buy some food for them. When he left the cave, he realized that the whole place was completely new. The people, town, and everything in the surroundings looked different. Signs of true monotheism were everywhere, instead of idols.

The man went to a shop to buy some food. When he gave a coin to purchase food, the shopkeeper was bewildered to see such an ancient form of currency. He took that man to the emperor. The new emperor, Theodosius II, was a very benevolent and pious man who believed in Allah. At the palace, the man questioned the new emperor about Decius. Theodosius II replied in utter confusion, saying, “Yes, there was a man named Decius. He used to rule here, and he was very evil. But that was like a hundred years ago!” The man told him the story of his group and how he and his group of believers fled from Decius which felt like it was only yesterday.

Upon hearing the story, the emperor greeted the man wholeheartedly. Then, he asked him to lead him to the rest of the men. In the meantime, the Ashab al-Kahf were worried about the safety of their companion. They feared that Decius had captured and executed him. But to their utmost surprise, he returned with the emperor, a new and monotheistic one. The new emperor sought blessings from these men who stood staunch by their faith and received divine help from Allah. Everywhere in Europe, the story of the Ashab al-Kahf spread like fire; about the people, who had disappeared more than a hundred years ago, seemed to have surfaced out of nowhere.

The Ashab al-Kahf eventually passed away, and were buried in their cave. Theodosius II passed away a few years later due to an accident while he was riding his horse. He was buried next to another monotheistic emperor, Constantine I, in a land located in what is now modern-day Istanbul.

Source:

Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Surah al-Kahf

Ma'arif ul-Qur'an by Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Tafsir on Surah al-Kahf 

Al-Bahr al-Madid by Ahmad ibn Ajibah, Tafsir on Surah al-Kahf 

Stories of the Qur'an by Imam Ibn Kathir

Historia Tripartita by Theodorus Anagnostes Lector (about Theodosius II)

Eusebiu tu Alexandreōs, Eusebiu Emisēnu, ta Heuriskomena panta (about the death of Theodosius)