(fatwa) regarding them from anyone among the People of the Outward (Ahl al-Ẓāhir). This is according to the saying of the Master Abu Shu’ayb (peace be upon us):

"Do not take your religion except from those who took it from us, as an explicit text (nassan) from us, one from another, following one another."

And the Almighty said: {The Merciful (al-Raḥmān)—so ask about Him an expert.} (Al-Furqān: 59).

In this noble verse is that which indicates the rejection of the Outward (al-Ẓāhir); for the dog of the People of the Cave is nothing but a parable (mathal) to point toward the symbolized reality (mamthūl). The same applies to the Cave, the youths, and what they manifested. Indeed, if we were to believe in the Outward, it would be permissible for us—Allah forbid—to believe in [the divinity/sacredness of] that physical dog. The Creator (the Almighty) transcends humans and Light, let alone that which is lower. He has struck for us parables through these acts of worship just as He struck the parable for us in the dog of the People of the Cave, and indeed He (Glory be to Him) is {There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing} (Al-Shura: 11).

And He (the Almighty) has commanded us with concealment, not out of fear for Himself nor for His religion, but for our own sake, as al-Sayyid al-Muntajab (may Allah sanctify him) said: