The Cave of The Seven Sleepers

On the outskirts of Amman, the capital of Jordan, there is a historic site where it is believed that seven young men hid in a cave to escape religious persecution from their tyrant ruler. They fell asleep for what they thought to be a day or so, but turned out to be for a much longer period. Upon rising from their slumber, one of the youths went out to the nearby town to buy food and when he wanted to pay for his purchase, the shop owner discovered that the coins offered came from a time when a different emperor ruled many years earlier.

This story of the People of The Cave or As-habul Kahfi, is well-known in Islamic teachings and even has a parallel in Christian tradition. The story is mentioned in Surah 18 of the holy Al-Qur'an, beginning from Verse 9 to Verse 26. While popular accounts put the number of the young men at 7, the Qur'an does not give an exact figure. Verse 22 indicates the possible number at 3 or 5 or 7, but with a gentle reminder from the Almighty that such an uncertainty should not be leading us to arguments amongst ourselves. Only the Lord knows... plus a few others. And who might these few others be, I wonder.

Another interesting aspect of this story is that the young men had a dog with them. This pet canine kept watch at the cave's entrance, possibly deterring any unwanted parties from venturing into the cave and discovering the hiding place. Such a loyal trait that has been recorded in divine revelation.

Within those 18 verses that tell the story of the cave-sleepers is perhaps another important lesson for the Muslim faithful. Verse 23 and 24 are translated as such :

23 - And never say of anything, "Indeed, I will do that tomorrow,"

24 - Except [when adding], "If Allah wills." And remember your Lord when you forget [it] and say, "Perhaps my Lord will guide me to what is nearer than this to right conduct."

The said verses impart to us the need to cite the phrase `Insha Allah', meaning `if Allah wills' whenever we mention our intention to carry out something in the future. There is an interesting backstory to this.

Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa-sallam) faced a lot of scepticism and doubters during his early days of preaching to the people of Makkah. The leaders of Makkah sent two of their men to check with the Jewish rabbis of Madinah on Muhammad's claim of being a prophet. Since the Jews are people of the book, they would have more knowledge about such matters. The men described the new prophet and his teachings to the rabbis who then told them to ask Muhammad (s.a.w.) three questions, the answers to which would reveal the proof of authenticity.

 "Ask him about three things which we will tell you to ask, if he answers them then he is a Prophet who has been sent (by Allah); if he does not, then he is saying things that are not true, in which case how you will deal with him will be up to you. Ask him about some young men in ancient times, what was their story? For there is a strange and wondrous tale. Ask him about a man who traveled a great deal and reached the east and the west of the earth. What was his story? And ask him about the Ruh (soul or spirit), what is it?"

The men returned to Makkah and relayed the questions to the Prophet (s.a.w.) who accordingly replied, "I will tell you tomorrow." He had neglected to add, "Insha Allah".

The Prophet (s.a.w.) waited for Allah's revelation to enable him to give the answers. A whole day passed and the revelation did not come. As more days went by without any divine assistance, the people of Makkah made more fun of him and accused him of not keeping to his word. The Messenger of Allah was very sad to face such ridicule. It was only after 15 days that the angel Jibreel (alaihi-salam) came to the Messenger with the revelation of Surah Al-Kahfi which had the answers to questions posed by the rabbis. Indeed, also contained within the surah is the subtle reminder on the proper etiquette when promising to do something. Allahu-akbar!

And so my friends, what about the questions concerning the man who traveled a great deal or about the Ruh? Perhaps I will explore the answers to these questions in future postings... insha 'Allah.

Signboard at the cave site

Entrance to the cave located at a hill slope

Footnote : Apart from this place in Jordan, another site in Turkey called Ephesus also claims to be the Cave of the 7 Sleepers.

Tujuh petala langit

In the Holy Al-Quran, there are a number of verses which mention the numerical value of heaven. The heaven referred to here is the sky (the Malay translation `langit') as opposed to paradise (`syurga'). It could well be seven separate and distinct heavens or seven layers of the same heaven. No definitive answer on that yet.

In Surah Nooh (71st surah), the 15th verse is translated as such : "Do you not consider how Allah has created seven heavens in layers."

Some Islamic writers have connected this concept of 7 heavens to the scientific findings that the Earth's atmosphere is made up of seven layers, thereby using recent fact to reinforce the miracle of the Quran that was revealed 1,400 years ago.I believe this is over-simplifying it somewhat. If we are to read other verses referring to this particular subject, it is quite clear that the heavens refer to a larger universe rather than just the atmosphere encircling our planet.

"And He completed them as seven heavens within two days and inspired in each heaven its command. And We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps (stars) and as protection. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing." (Surah Fussilat 41:12).

I do not think the present scholars and researchers have fully established what the 7 heavens mentioned in those verses actually refer to. It remains as one of the many hidden secrets contained within the Holy Book for future generations to discover. Indeed, Allah swt is All-Knowing.

Before I delve further on the title of this horrendously long overdue post, I must make a quick mention of the effort being spearheaded by veteran blogger Kak Teh aka Zaharah Othman and her friend Ailin Abdullah, to get dormant blogs (such as this one) to be revived and rejuvenated as in the days before Facebook and Twitter came into being. Quite a number of blogger-friends are being encouraged to get out of their slumber and simultaneously publish a new post on 6 May 2015. I am cheating a bit by putting up this one before the target date because I need to do it in this month of April (somewhat like submitting our income tax returns by the deadline). But fear not... I promise to join the spirit of mass blogger revival by writing another post for that particular day.

Ok then... April 2015 marks the 7th year of cyberspace existence for Just Observations...

My first post was made on 8 April 2008. In April of every year since then, I would write something to mark the occasion. Except for last year, that is. When my blogging mindset was entirely somewhere else.

Thank you to all readers and friends for the delightful company over the years. With this new impulse, I hope to rekindle the warm friendship with you all again.God-willing.

Early morning sun at Teluk Iskandar in Mersing, Johor

Al Qamar

The full moon as captured tonight Tuesday 07.02.12

Blessed is He who has placed in the sky great stars and placed therein a (burning) lamp and luminous moon - Surah Al-Furqan : Verse 61.