Seven Sleepers of Ephesus in the Quran: Difference between revisions

While it is impossible to know the exact details of how the author(s) of the [Qur'an] came to know the story of the Seven Sleepers, we do know that according to the Islamic narrative itself [Muhammad] had ample opportunities to hear it during his 62 year life. According to the traditional sources, Muhammad traveled to Syria while he was a caravan trader and he may have heard the story there. Visitors to Mecca would have included Syrian Christians, who would have known this popular story as well. Muhammad's followers also could have related this story after contact with Christian communities near the Mediterranean and in Arabia. In short, there were numerous ways in which this story could have be told to Muhammad during his lifetime.