By Allama Muhammad Yousuf Gabriel
“Human beings living in an underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the cave, here they have been from their childhood and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way, and you will see, if you look a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets”.
Now the descriptive part of the Quran’s Simile, which we will hereafter quote in full:-

“We have put yokes on their necks, which (come) upto (their) chins, and they are forced to hold up their heads: and we have set a bar before them and a bar behind them, and thus have covered them with darkness, wherefore they shall not see”.
(Quran Chapter -36¸8-9 YASIN)
Both these similes are almost identical in their descriptive parts. Full text of the Simile of the Quran is as follows:-
” Yasin ( I swear) by the instructive Quran that thou art (one) of the messengers (of Allah sent to show) the right way. This is a revelation of most mighty, the Merciful (Allah) that thou mayest warn a people whose fathers were not warned and who live in negligence. (Our) sentence has justly been pronounced against a greater part of them, wherefore they shall not believe. We have put yokes on their necks, which (come) upto (their) chins, and they are forced to hold up their heads; and we have set a bar before them and a bar behind them, and thus have covered them with darkness, wherefore they shall not see. It shall be equal unto them whether thou preach unto them, or do not preach unto them, they shall not believe. But thou shalt preach (with effect) unto him only who follwoeth the admonition, and feareth the Merciful in secret. Wherefore bear good tidings unto him of mercy and honourable reward. Lo! We it is who bring the dead to life. We record that which they send before (them) and their footprints. And all things we kept in a clear register”.
(Quran 36 ¸ 1 to 12)
A comparison between the two Similes:-
Plato
“And now, I said, let me show in a figure, how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened”.
Quran
” Yasin ( I swear) by the instructive Quran that thou (O Muhammad) art (one) of the Messengers (of Allah) sent (to show) the right way. This is a revelation of the Most Mighty, the Merciful Allah”.
Plato
“Behold! Human beings living in an underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the cave, here they have been from their childhood”.
Quran
“That thou mayest warn a people whose fathers were not warned and who live in negligence (Our) sentence hath justly been pronounced against a greater part of them”.
Plato
“And have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads”.
Quran
“We have put yokes on their necks which (come) upto (their) chins, and they are forced to hold up their heads”.
Plato
” Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way, and you will see, if you look a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets”.
Quran
“And we have set a bar before them and a bar behind them, and (thus) have covered them with darkness, wherefore they shall not see”.
Plato
” To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images”.
Quran
“It shall be equal unto them, whether thou preach unto them, or do not preach unto them, they shall not believe. But thou shalt preach (with effect) unto him only who follwoeth the admonition, and feareth the Merciful in secret”.
Plato has assayed the intellectual level of mankind regarding their ability in comprehending the ultimate reality, whereas the Quran has alluded to their ability to accept faith, although the ability of accepting faith may also be taken to mean the ability to judge the ultimate reality, for faith itself is the truth of ultimate reality. Plato has shown no exception, and has judged them all appropriately quite unable to know anything but shadows as the nature of his topic implied. The Quran has shown exceptions although some of them may not be endowed with the quality to accept faith , yet some there are. There seems to be difference of application only between the view expressed by Plato, and that by the Quran. In the last resort indeed man’s knowledge even of the most certain kind is only a shadow of the true reality. A reality which will appear to man only after he has expired and is outside this walled fortress of material body, this cave Great indeed is the Quran and marvellous. Never in a book so much knowledge was found packed in so few pages. The best answers to the modern complex problems of humanity could be had from this book, the Quran. And now before we bring our discussion of the unscientific philosophy of the scientist to a close, we consider it our duty to warn that such a philosophy shall surely, work the destruction of science, and indeed much sooner than generally is expected, and that of Mankind along with it.
Allama Muhammad Yousuf Gabriel
http://www.oqasa.org
yousuf_gabriel21@yahoo.com