Seven Sleepers of Ephesus in the Quran: Difference between revisions

The author of these verses in the Qur'an does not provide a definitive answer for the number of sleepers, stating the possibility that there were three, five, or seven. The Syrian legend clearly and emphatically states in the first sentence that the story is about seven sleepers. However Reynolds (2020), citing Griffith notes that there was indeed a dispute in other Syriac traditions over the number of sleepers: ''“According to the mêmrâ of Jacob of Serugh and the Ecclesiastical History of John of Ephesus, the number is consistently eight … while the Ecclesiastical History of Zacharias of Mitylene speaks of ‘their leader Akleides and his six companions.’ In other early Christian language traditions the youths are usually called the ‘Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.’.''<ref name=":0">Reynolds, Gabriel Said. ''Christianity and the Qur'an: The Rise of Islam in Christian Arabia (p. 92).'' Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.