"Exploring Speculation and Time Calculation in Qur'anic Verses 18:22 and 18:25: A Logical and Linguistic Approach"?
Let us now consider the possibility of connecting those who speculate in verse 18:22 with those who "add" nine years in verse 18:25, analyzing the Qur'anic text through logic and language, without relying on traditional interpretations.
Verse 18:22: Translation:
"They will say: 'There were three, and their fourth was a dog'; and they will say, 'There were five of them, and their sixth was a dog' - speculating about what they do not know; and they will say, 'There were seven of them, and their eighth was a dog.' Say: 'My Lord knows their number best, few know that.' So don't argue about them except superficially and don't ask any of them about it."
Verse 18:25: Translation:
"And they remained in their cave three hundred years, and they added nine."
Both verses use the plural, indicating that they are talking about a group of people who speculated about the sleepers (in 18:22) and about the period spent in the cave (in 18:25).
The correct translation better illuminates that in both verses they are the collective group mentioned, without singular forms. In verse 22, the Qur'an describes a group of people discussing the number of sleepers. These groups of people make different claims: some say there are three, some say there are five, while others claim there are seven.
The use of the word "رَجْمًا بِالْغَيْبِ" indicates blind guesswork, which means they do not have certain knowledge about it. The key here is that the word "they" in the plural indicates the people who tried to make different interpretations or judgments about the sleepers. It is interesting that the Qur'an in the continuation of this verse indicates that there is no need to discuss it further, because the true knowledge is only with Allah.
Verse 25 talks about how long the sleepers stayed in the cave, precisely stating "three hundred years" and according to the next verse, this knowledge comes directly from Ellah. Since this is a direct statement about the length of their stay, the use of the plural "وَازْدَادُوا" (and they added) indicates that someone added those nine years. However, it is not immediately clear who are those who add nine years.
1. Logical Analysis:
The connection between guessing and addition: Those who speculate in verse 18:22 discuss unknown details – primarily the number of sleepers – and the Qur'an emphasizes this as speculation without actual knowledge.
The addition of nine years in verse 18:25 may be related to a similar process of conjecture. If we consider that in Arabic culture both lunar and solar time calculations were used, it is possible that those who "added nine years" were trying to interpret the period of the sleeper, taking into account the differences between lunar and solar years, while Ellah gives the correct number years and accurate calculation.
2. Identification of "those who added nine years":
Those who guessed at 18:22 about the number of sleepers can be logically connected to those who added nine years at 18:25. Both groups are engaged in a speculative discussion - one about the number of sleepers and the other about the time period. The Qur'an directly emphasizes in 18:22 that these discussions are based on "blind guesswork", which may suggest that the addition of nine years is not based on accurate knowledge, but on speculation.
3. Linguistic analysis:
Using Lane's Lexicon, the word "ازْدَادُوا" (izdādū) comes from a root meaning "to increase, to add". This word implies that some people, probably based on a different system of calculation (lunar vs. solar calendar), "added" nine years. Since verse 18:22 talks about people speculating about sleepers, it is possible that the same people or similar groups are also speculating about the time they spent in the cave.
Conclusion:
The possible identification of those who speculated about the number of sleepers (18:22) with those who added nine years (18:25) is based on the common theme of speculation and conjecture. Both verses use the plural which can refer to groups of people trying to interpret the story of the sleepers, either in terms of their number or the length of their stay in the cave. Those who added nine years may be the same or similar to those who speculate about the number of sleepers, and this may be related to the difference between solar and lunar time reckoning, where nine years represents an addition made from a different system of reckoning, but, most interestingly, Ellah in this example of verse 25 correctly indicates the counting of years according to the solar calculation.