Translation of the meanings Ayah 18 Surah Al-Kahf - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 18

وَتَحۡسَبُهُمۡ أَيۡقَاظٗا وَهُمۡ رُقُودٞۚ وَنُقَلِّبُهُمۡ ذَاتَ ٱلۡيَمِينِ وَذَاتَ ٱلشِّمَالِۖ وَكَلۡبُهُم بَٰسِطٞ ذِرَاعَيۡهِ بِٱلۡوَصِيدِۚ لَوِ ٱطَّلَعۡتَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ لَوَلَّيۡتَ مِنۡهُمۡ فِرَارٗا وَلَمُلِئۡتَ مِنۡهُمۡ رُعۡبٗا

(18) ^[3773]And you think them awake while they are fast asleep^[3774]; We turn them ˹once˺ to their right sides and ˹once˺ to their left sides^[3775]; and their dog extending its forepaws while at the threshold ˹of the cave˺. Should you peep at them, you would have surely fled away from them beating a retreat and would have surely been filled with horror of them!^[3776]

[3773] This aya further highlights how God Almighty cared for and safeguarded them in their vulnerable state (cf. Ibn ʿĀshūr). Should anyone happen on them, he would only see a band of fully awake men with a dog standing guard on them and would surely have been filled with horror over this sight (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).
[3774] Exegetes have it that their eyes were open (cf. Ibn ʿAṭiyyah, Ibn Kathīr, al-Zajjāj).
[3775] Exegetes opine that the reason for this was so that the ground did not affect their bodies (cf. al-Ṭabarī, al-Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-Manthūr). It is a common medical practice nowadays to turn bed-ridden patients on their sides every few hours so that they do not get bedsores (pressure ulcers) resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin.
[3776] Fear at their sight is an important factor in their preservation so that no one would be tempted to draw close to them (cf. Ibn ʿUthaymīn).