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Seven Sleepers of Ephesus in the Quran: Difference between revisions
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Seven Sleepers of Ephesus in the Quran (view source)
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And Malchus entered first into the cave to his fellows, and the bishop next after him. And there '''found they among the stones the letters sealed with two seals of silver'''. And then the bishop called them that were come thither, and read them tofore them all, so that they that heard it were all abashed and amarvelled.}} | And Malchus entered first into the cave to his fellows, and the bishop next after him. And there '''found they among the stones the letters sealed with two seals of silver'''. And then the bishop called them that were come thither, and read them tofore them all, so that they that heard it were all abashed and amarvelled.}} | ||
Among early Qur'anic commentators, there seems to be quite a bit of disagreement on the exact nature of the word "ar-Raqim" which is translated as "inscription" by all the major English translators. Sa'id bin Jubayr, who is held in the highest esteem by scholars of the [[Shiite|Shi'ite]] and [[Sunni]] Islamic traditions, has his opinion recorded In Ibn Kathir's classic [[Tafsir]]. Ibn Kathir relates that Sa'id bin Jubayr said that the "ar-Raqim" was indeed an inscription placed at the entrance of the cave. This confirms the direct connection to the | Among early Qur'anic commentators, there seems to be quite a bit of disagreement on the exact nature of the word "ar-Raqim" which is translated as "inscription" by all the major English translators. Sa'id bin Jubayr, who is held in the highest esteem by scholars of the [[Shiite|Shi'ite]] and [[Sunni]] Islamic traditions, has his opinion recorded In Ibn Kathir's classic [[Tafsir]]. Ibn Kathir relates that Sa'id bin Jubayr said that the "ar-Raqim" was indeed an inscription placed at the entrance of the cave. This confirms the direct connection to the Syriac legend. | ||
{{Quote|Ibn Kathir, "The Story of the People of Al-Kahf"| | {{Quote|Ibn Kathir, "The Story of the People of Al-Kahf"| | ||
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===Disagreement Over Time in Cave=== | ===Disagreement Over Time in Cave=== | ||
In retellings of the | In retellings of the Syriac legend, there is some dispute about the time the sleepers were in the cave. Apparently, this disagreement among Christians was still an issue in the 7<sup>th</sup> century when this story was first told to the early proto-Islamic Believer community. The Qur'an relates that Allah has woken the sleepers as a way to test who could calculate the length of their stay the best. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|18|11}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|18|11}}| | ||
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===Day of Judgement=== | ===Day of Judgement=== | ||
Both the | Both the Syriac legend and the Qur'anic story state that the youth were awoken as a way to strengthen the faith of believers in the final Day of Judgement. | ||
{{Quote|The Seven Sleepers (par 4)| | {{Quote|The Seven Sleepers (par 4)| | ||
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===Slept for Hundreds of Years=== | ===Slept for Hundreds of Years=== | ||
Both accounts state that the youths slept for hundreds of years. The Qur'an stating that it was 300 years and the | Both accounts state that the youths slept for hundreds of years. The Qur'an stating that it was 300 years and the Syriac version stating the number was closer to 200. There is considerable variation in different versions of the Seven Sleeper legend as to the time frame that they slept. Though all of them are longer than 200 years. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|18|25}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|18|25}}| | ||
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... so they slept but two hundred and eight years. }} | ... so they slept but two hundred and eight years. }} | ||
The | The Syriac account identifies the Emperor persecuting the seven young men as Trajan Decius, who reigned from 249 - 251 CE. Since the story first originated around the middle of the 5<sup>th</sup> century (circa 450 CE) a sleep of 200 years would be the more accurate number. Given this connection, some Islamic scholars and apologists in modern times have back-peddled on the number of 300 given in the Qur'an, re-interpreting it as a number given by the people at the time and not a definitive number given by Allah. | ||
==Differences with the Syriac version== | ==Differences with the Syriac version== | ||