7 Sleepers pt. 2

As promised, here is the sum of my research on Sura Al-Kahf regarding the 7 sleepers. If you see anything that is incorrect, may Allah forgive me and let me know so that it may be corrected.

Sura Al-Kahf is an astonishing compendium of human existence. Each line, each word can be analyzed and understood on many levels. My approach to understanding suras and this sura in particular stems from my training in English literature and my knowledge of Roman Catholicism along with whatever my mind can muster. Not only is the story of the sleeping youth an historical report attached to a primary lesson, it speaks to us about our natural disposition as human beings and the care, love and protection Allah wa'tallah gives us as our Father, our Lord.

I began my research by examining two historical texts: Gregorius Turonensis “Passio Sanctorum Martyrum Septem Dormientium apud Ephesum” Liber in Gloria Martyrum (6th cent.), ch. 94 and Jacobus de Voragine “Historia de Septem Dormientibus” Aurea Legenda (1275). The Christian story tells us the tale of 7 noble youth who refused to pay tribute to the pantheon of gods and by proxy disobeyed the political regime of the time. The story's factors of time span the reigns of Emperor Decius in the midst of his Christian persecutions from 250-251 A.D. And upon their awakening, the Sleepers find the Christian Emperor Theodosius II. The Qu'ran corrects and guides us by saying:

“[Some say] 'The sleepers stayed in their cave for three hundred years, some added nine more. Say [Prophet] 'God knows best how long they stayed'” (Al-Kahf lines 25-26).

Leading us to the point that historical time arguments will not bear spiritual fruit. We should consider the issue of doubt that had been kindling in the Christian populace during these two time periods. The Christian faced judgement and persecution as a minority in a larger authoritative body of nonbelievers and then discord within a Christian populace over the issue of resurrection. The 7 sleepers show as proof, dispelling doubt about the last days, judgement and the promise of resurrection. When we consider today's world events from an Islamic perspective, the juxtaposition of competing faiths and the factions occurring within the Islamic faith, we can still reap the harvest of this lesson.

When deciding how to approach my analysis, I began with the words – Seven Sleepers. As I continued, the number 7 arose quickly and frequently in the historical dialogue as well in the deep level symbolism. Without considering the number in itself, I searched for what it matched, what path it lead to. I found Shakespeare's poem, the Seven Ages of Man, the 7 names of the sleepers, and Seven stages of fetal development. So let's begin with the Seven Ages of Man. 

Shakespeare did not invent the idea of the stages of life: philosophers have been addressing it for millennia. Aristotle had four ages of man and they were extended to seven in the middle ages where philosophical and religious lists were usually in sevens. (The seven deadly sins, the seven sacraments, the seven heavenly virtues, and so on). By the time the Elizabethan age arrived it was a most familiar idea and Shakespeare’s audience would immediately have recognized the concept.

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then, the whining school-boy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like a snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then, a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the bard,
Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then, the justice,
In fair round belly, with a good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws, and modern instances,
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.’

When we consider the implications in an Islamic sense, the 7 stages of man reflects upon the meaning of the dunya. Human's natural instinct to behaviours at each stage of life. The youth fit into the age of soldiers, but are made noble by giving spiritual purpose to their efforts.

Next, examining the historical document which states there were 7 youth who were persecuted for the crime of monotheism. The sleepers names were given as: Maximillian, John, Malchus, Marcian, Serapion, Constantine and Dennis. Other texts listed the same names with their greek roots. I decided to examine the meaning of these names and found this:

Maximillian: the greatest

Malchus: my king

Marcian: hammer

Serapion: brightness, light

Contantine: constant, steadfast

John: God is gracious

Dennis: (root = dionysus = god of wine)

The 7 lines of Al-Fatiha can be matched to the meaning of the 7 names:

Maximillian: In the name of God, the infinitely Compassionate and Merciful.

Malachus: Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds

Mercian:The Compassionate, the Merciful. Ruler on the Day of Reckoning.

Serapion: You alone do we worship, and You alone do we ask for help.

Constantine: Guide us on the straight path,

John: the path of those who have received your grace

Dennis: not the path of those who have brought down wrath, nor of those who wander astray.

Another lesson in the deep symbolism of the original story reads as our daily salah. Then there is mention of the dog in the Qu'ran that doesn't show up in the Christian version. So I thought, what else was put in the cave along with the youth? The Christian story says a Sheppard placed a tablet with the youth's names on it as an epitaph to them before the pagan king sealed them in with stones. A dog, and in this case a guard dog, symbolizes protection. Dogs also symbolize loyalty and unconditional love for their master. If we can accept that the names somehow reflect the same meaning as sura Al-Fatiha, then perhaps the tablet is the dog serving to protect the youth through their journey.

The 7 stages of fetal development echo the symbolism of the cave as womb. In this sense, each of the sleepers is a stage of development. Just as sura Al-Fatiha is the opening of the book, giving birth to the Qu'ran, the sleepers become metaphor of the journey of life through death. They are in the cave (womb) the are 'born' (awaken), and sleep again (die )and go to heaven.

Lines 17-18 “And [had you been present], you would see the sun when it rose, inclining away from their cave on the right, and when it set, passing away from them on the left, while they were [laying] within an open space thereof. That was from the signs of Allah . He whom Allah guides is the [rightly] guided, but he whom He leaves astray - never will you find for him a protecting guide. And you would think them awake, while they were asleep. And We turned them to the right and to the left, while their dog stretched his forelegs at the entrance. If you had looked at them, you would have turned from them in flight and been filled by them with terror.” Firstly reminds me of a pregnancy ultrasound, how “light” is cast back and forth over a woman's belly is similar to the image of the sun passing over the cave. Allah is checking on the foetus' and making sure they are safe and well. The next image is that of rocking. It's as if Allah is cradling them to sleep like a parent rocks their child wishing for sleep. I'm really not sure about being filled with terror. I have no thoughts on that at this point.

Thanks for reading my thoughts on the 7 sleepers. Again, if I have overreached my bounds may Allah forgive and correct me.