So the youngsters take refuge in the cave and ask Allah to have mercy on them, and straighten their affair for them (they were on the run from the polytheist king).
إِذْ أَوَى الْفِتْيَةُ إِلَى الْكَهْفِ فَقَالُوا رَبَّنَا آتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا
alKahf – 10
[Mention] when the youths retreated to the cave and said, “Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance.”
Allah accepted their Dua and sent His mercy upon them.
But how did this mercy materialize? They were put to sleep for 309 years after which they woke up only for their story to come out in open and then they died shortly afterwards.
From a materialistic point of view their fate didn’t turn out to be much different from what they were running from. They lost their families and their future anyway. They didn’t live to a ripe age, secured with financial freedom, never got around to marry or have families, never saw the world, didn’t get any retirement filled with travel and joy.
But Allah has mentioned them in His last book and billions of people throughout the centuries have been advised to take them as role models, to read their story every week. And the biggest thing is that Allah Himself declares them the guided ones.
Sometimes Allah may accept our Dua but it may materialize in a completely different way than what we imagined. And Allah’s mercy may not conform to our limited understanding of a blessing.