Al-Kahf holds a distinctive place in devotion: many Muslims recite it every Friday on the strength of hadith promising light between the two Fridays, and its opening and closing verses are associated with protection from the trial (fitna) of the Dajjal in the end-times tradition. Its four stories are commonly read as guarding against four trials, of faith, wealth, knowledge and power.
The hadith behind the Friday custom, transmitted through multiple chains and treated as reliable by hadith scholars including al-Hakim, promises light between the two Fridays to whoever recites the surah, and practice varies between reciting it in full or reading only its opening and closing ten verses, both attested in different hadith. Its association with protection from the Dajjal draws on verses describing the trial that will test faith at the end of days, and the story of the sleepers of the cave, who kept their religion by withdrawal rather than confrontation, is read by commentators as a model for how believers should respond to the Dajjal's deception, patience and refuge rather than argument. The surah's parable of the two garden owners (18:32-44), one boastful of his wealth and permanence, the other trusting God, is separately cited in sermons as a warning against pride in worldly security.