His answer about the soul, the people of the cave and Dhul Qarnain:
At the advent of the Message of the Prophet, Quraish sent to the Jews in Madînah to ask them about certain matters, which they could in turn ask the Prophet (with the intention to embarrass him), as the Jews already had a revealed Book (The Torah). The Jews told the people of Quraish to ask him about three things: First: About the -nature- of the soul. Second: ask him about those young men who lived in olden times and nobody knows what happened to them. Third: to ask him about a man who traveled round the earth until he reached its east and west. When the people of Quraish returned and asked the Prophet the three questions, the following verse was revealed by Allâh the Almighty:And they ask you (O Muhammad) concerning the soul; Say: “The soul is one of the things the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge,you (mankind) have been given only a little.” (17:85).
Then Sûrah al-Kahf was revealed, giving details about the story of the young men, who abandoned the religion of their people (who were atheists) and believed in Allâh, the All-Mighty, Worthy of all Praise! Worshipping none but Him. So, they decided to escape from their people and went to hide in a Cave in which they slept for 309 years, when Allâh the Almighty woke them up. Allâh has given us details of their full story in Sûrah al-Kahf.
In the same Sûrah, Allâh the Almighty, revealed the story of Dhul-Qarnain:
“And they ask you about DhulQuarnain. Say: I shall recite to you something of his story.” (18:83).
The following verses, give details of the journeys made by him to the East and to the West, and the good deeds, which he performed.
Aal-e-Qutub Aal-e-Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi 