What would the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, have seen to fill his heart with terror and make him flee from the People of the Cave, despite his bravery and his being a prophet to whom revelation was given, as stated in the verse, "Had you looked upon them, you would surely have turned from them in flight, and you would surely have been filled with awe by them"?

The exegetes mentioned that Allah protected the People of the Cave with awe (terror) so that no one could discover them, and there is no text from revelation that clarifies the reason for this awe. Al-Tabari mentioned that Allah clothed them with majesty so that the decree concerning them would reach its term. Al-Baghawi mentioned different reasons for the awe, including: the desolation of the place, or that their eyes were open as if they were awake, or due to the abundance of their hair and the length of their nails, or their turning over unconsciously, or that Allah prevented anyone from seeing them through awe. It was narrated from Ibn Abbas that Mu'awiyah wanted to look at them but was prevented. Al-Alusi chose that the reason was the majesty that Allah cast upon them, and some exegetes chose that Allah did not change their appearance at all. Ibn Ashour said that the address was to an unspecified person, and that the awe was because anyone who saw them would assume them to be thieves.