THE BIBLICAL MIRACLE

It is one of the Bible's most famous wonders: the sea divides itself from Moses and his people and allows them to flee from the Egyptians. Researchers have now discovered how this is actually possible.

The flight of the Israelites through the Red Sea on their exodus from Egypt is a key scene in the Bible. The division of the water masses described as a divine miracle certainly holds up to scientific scrutiny: as reported by US climate researchers in the online journal "PLoS One", strong easterly winds in the region could in fact temporarily expose a broad ford. However, this scenario was not possible in the Red Sea, but north of it in the Nile Delta near the Mediterranean coast.

It is one of the most famous miracles described in the Bible: When leaving Egypt, the Red Sea blocks the Israeli persecuted by the Pharaoh's troops. Then come at night strong easterly winds, divide the sea and allow the fleeing the train through the sea. The pursuers, on the other hand, drown under the backwaters.

East winds can expose dry passage

Using satellite imagery and archaeological data, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) at the University of Colorado at Boulder identified a potential site for the wondrous natural spectacle. According to this, the scenario could have taken place 3,000 years ago in the Nile Delta near the city of Port Said. At that time, probably about two meters deep Nile arm ended in an elongated arc in a coastal lagoon, the lake of Tanis.

According to the researchers' calculations, at this bend east winds about 100 kilometers per hour could clear a dry passage within 12 hours. This approximately four kilometers long and five kilometers wide ford was walkable for about four hours, according to the study. When the storm subsided, the masses of water were able to return quite abruptly.

The miracle only a physical law?

"People were always fascinated by the history of the Exodus and wondered if it was based on historical facts," says study leader Carl Drews. "The described division of water is actually based on physical laws and can be understood with the help of fluid dynamics."

WHAT IS A MIRACLE?

The difference between miracles, karamahs and magic.

Islam defines a miracle as an extraordinary act or event that contradicts the laws of nature, and can only come about through the direct intervention of God, the Almighty Self. The Arabic word for miracles is Mu'jizah. It comes from the word Ajz, which means something that disenfranchises, that can not be resisted, unique. According to Islam, miracles are accomplished with the permission of God, by the prophets of God. Miracles are neither magic, which is defined as a trick or illusion, nor is a miracle an event produced by learned, righteous people who are not prophets of God. These events are called Karamahs. So we distinguish three categories: miracles, karamahs and sorcery.

God has sent the prophets and messengers first and foremost to guide humanity. They were people of extraordinary character, pious and trustworthy, so that people can take them as role models and follow them. They were not gods, demigods, or saints with divine attributes, but simple mortals entrusted with a difficult task. They had extraordinary qualities because they had to endure extraordinary trials and temptations to convey the message that God is to be worshiped alone.

In order for every prophet to be credible in his particular time and place, God has granted him miracles relevant, authoritative, and understandable to the people to whom they were sent. In the time of Moses, magic and magic were spread before the miracles of Moses appealed to the people that he was sent to guide them. In the time of the Prophet Muhammad, even though the great majority of them were illiterate, the Arabs were masters of the spoken word. Their poetry and poetry were considered outstanding and a model of literary superiority, and the miracles of Prophet Muhammad, God's peace and blessings be upon him, were of that nature and many more. The miracle granted to Prophet Solomon was his unique kingdom. At the time of Jesus, the Israelites were well known for their knowledge in the field of medicine. Accordingly, the miracles he accomplished were of this nature, and included the replaying of the eyesight, the healing of leprosy, and the bringing to life of the dead.

A Karamah is an extraordinary event or matter brought by the hand of a believer who obeys God, refrains from sin, and whose piety is very high from God's point of view. Unlike a miracle done in public so that people recognize the truthfulness of a prophet, a karamah usually only uses the one given it. A Karamah could contain things, such as knowledge, power, or something amazing, like the Karamah granted to Usayd ibn al-Hudayr, a Companion of the Prophet Muhammad. A group of angels in a cloud of light donated Usayd shadow when he recited the Qur'an. A Karamah also appeared for Maryam, the mother of the Prophet Jesus.

A miracle yields only good and is given by the prophet of the Almighty as a sign of its credibility. This is associated with extraordinary morality and good character, as well as a message of kindness.

Magic can also produce something extraordinary, but magic can not produce good. It is practiced by bad people and it is accomplished by claiming and approaching the devils' help. Miracles can not be learned or undone while magic can be learned, destroyed and undone.

The meeting of the Prophet Moses with the wizards at Pharaoh's court explains the difference between magic and miracles.

The sorcerers understood that Moses did not perform any trick or illusion as they had done. They got on well with deceptions and knew that Moses performed a miracle. Therefore, they accepted the truth and fell before God, knowing that this would bring them death because they had disobeyed Pharaoh.

There are two types of miracles: those that occur at the request of men who demand a sign of the credibility of the prophet who was sent to them, and the second type that occurs without being requested. An example of the first kind is when the people of the prophet Saleh demanded that from behind the mountain a camel mare with her foal emerge. And just as the unbelievers in Mecca asked the Prophet Muhammad to show them a miracle, he showed them the splitting of the moon. One of the companions of Prophet Muhammad mentioned this event when he said, "We were at the Messenger of God in Mina when the moon was split in two, one part was behind the mountain and the other part was on that side of the mountain God's Messenger said to us: "Be witnesses for this."

An example of the second type is what happened when the tree trunk wept and longed for the Prophet Muhammad. He, the Prophet, used to do his Friday sermon, leaning against the palm trunk. One of his followers suggested building a pulpit for him and they did. Then the tree began to whine after him like a child when the Prophet stood in the pulpit the following Friday.

Muslims believe that the Qur'an itself is a miracle. The Prophet Muhammad said, "Every prophet has been given miracles by which their people believed them, but I have been given a divine revelation that Allah has revealed to me, so I hope that my followers will surpass the followers of other prophets on the Day of Judgment . " The Prophet Muhammad indicated that the Qur'an itself is the greatest miracle of all time; he is a wonderful book full of wonders of all kinds. His revelation, his literary excellence and his content, including scientific, prophetic and historical information, all contribute to the status of the Qur'an as a miracle.

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Little Red Riding Hood

An urban legend includes another ending to the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf". In the original, a hunter released Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother from the wolf's belly and filled it with stones, so that the wolf could not escape and died.

In this other end, Little Red Riding Hood visited the grandmother again some time later to give her something baked. Another wolf spoke to her, but this time she stopped and told her grandmother. Grandmother locked the door so the wolf could not get inside.

Soon the wolf knocked and pretended to be Little Red Riding Hood. When no one opened the door, the wolf jumped to the roof to wait for Little Red Riding Hood and eat her when she went home. But the grandmother sensed that the wolf was lurking on Little Red Riding Hood. In front of her house stood a trough and the grandmother asked Little Red Riding Hood to fill it with water, in which she had cooked sausages the day before.

When the trough was full, the wolf smelled the sausages, slipped off the roof, fell into the trough and drowned. Little Red Riding Hood happily went home without anything happening.

SPRING HEELED JACK

Spring Heeled Jack is an English urban legend.

He is said to have looked devilishly, with claws on his hands and bulging eyes. He wore a helmet and a tight black cloak reminiscent of oilskins. Spring Heeled Jack was tall and strong and could jump very well, hence his name. According to some witnesses, he was able to spit blue and white flames.

In September 1837, he jumped over a cemetery enclosure and landed in front of a businessman who got scared because of Jack's devilish appearance but was not attacked.

Later, Jack attacked women. He tore open her clothes, grabbed her breasts and scratched her stomach. Then he fled and left his victims unconscious and bleeding, but alive. Often he jumped into the carriage of a carriage, whereupon the coachman lost control of the coach and seriously injured in the following accident. Witnesses said that Jack escaped by jumping over a wall nearly three meters high.

Spring Heeled Jack became more and more popular. In 1845, he threw a girl into a ditch, where she drowned. When someone shot him in the Aldershot barracks, it had no effect. After 1904, there were alleged, but unconfirmed sightings.

It was thought that a madman had disguised himself and spit fire to scare and harass women. However, Spring Heeled Jack was still active long after the death of the suspect nobleman. It has also been suggested that Spring Heeled Jack is a kangaroo disguised by a tamer. By other assumptions, he is a demon, an extraterrestrial or comes from another dimension.

THE BLAIR WITCH

Here is an American urban legend.

The mysterious story about the Blair Witch or "Blair Witch" goes back to the time of the colonial wars in the USA (1775-1783).

Later, at regular intervals, the myth reappeared about every 60 years. The incident happened in an area called the Black Hills Forest in Maryland. In 1630, a colonel named Blair undertook an expedition to this area. He asked a native-native tribal chief to assist him in his endeavor. This, however, threatened sabotage and disappeared. Despite this setback, Blair and his men set up a fort to defend the colonies of Lord Calvert against Indian tribes from the East.

About 150 years later, in 1785, Blair children accused Irish-born Elly Kedward of witchcraft. She was convicted and banished to the Black Hills Forest in the middle of winter. It was believed that she froze or starved to death. The following winter, 1786, all her prosecutors and half the children from the city had disappeared. As the weather improved, the rest of the people fled Blair for feeling haunted by the witch's curse. It was vowed never to pronounce the name Elly Kedward again.

What remained was a kind of ghost town for 40 years. During this time, a handwritten book called The Blair Witch Cult was also published. There is only one surviving copy of this book, which was in the Baltimore Historical Museum until 1991 and is now privately owned.

In 1820, the city of Blair returned to its center of interest when a man named Burkitt bought up the remnants of the government. He renovated the remaining buildings and rebuilt some of them. Burkittsville was founded in 1820. Four years later, an incident occurred around a little girl named Eileen Traecle. The girl walked through a very shallow river on the outskirts when suddenly a "white spirit hand" appeared and she pulled underwater. This incident was witnessed by dozens of witnesses. Although the water at this point was only half a meter deep, the girl disappeared. Her body was never found ...

4 weeks after this incident strange wooden figures appeared in the forest. The river's water had become thick and inedible.

In 1886, a little girl named Robin Weaver disappeared as she walked through the woods. A hundred were sent to look for them. After the men left for the forest, the girl returned to the city. It reported how it met in the forest of a woman who seemed to float. She took Robin by the hand and brought her to her house in the woods. She brought the girl to the basement, told her that she would return soon and disappeared. Robin waited a long time in the dark basement, but the woman did not come back. Finally, Robin got scared and ran away. Eventually she was able to reach Burkittsville again. The search team did not have that much luck; she never returned to the city. Another group was sent to search for the missing. They found the men at Coffin Rock, near the river where Eileen Traecle once disappeared. They were undressed and tied to the rocks. Someone had taken their bodies from their bodies and severely mutilated them. On hands, arms, legs and chest cryptic symbols were carved into the skin. They hurried back to town for reinforcements, but on their return the bodies had disappeared. Only remnants of fetters, blood and the smell of death remained behind ...

In 1940, children from the area around Burkittsville began to disappear again; the police were at a loss. There were no useful witnesses or references. At that time there was a hermit named Rustin Parr. He was repeatedly abused by his father and decided to live as a hermit in the solitude of the Black Hills Woods.

The Blair Witch

One day Rustin came to town and told everyone he met, "I'm done!".

When asked what he meant, he kept repeating this sentence.

Finally, the sheriff intervened and Rustin led the authorities to his old cabin in the Black Hills Woods. In the cellar the authority found numerous indications for torture and killing offenses. At a short distance from Parr's hut were found seven small tombs marked with flagstones. The graves were opened and found the bodies of the children. They were as degenerate and mutilated as the victims of Coffin Rock. Symbols were carved deep into their faces, bodies, hands and feet, organs were torn out.

Parr admitted, but said that the voice of an old woman had forced him to the murders and then told him that he was now free. He was sentenced to death by hanging and his house was burned to the ground.

But one question remained: Why was the eighth child not killed? Could this child have been involved in the killings? After a closer look at Brody's life, some interesting facts came to light; none of the children knew the other, except for Brody, who knew everyone. As a teenager, he quickly got on the wrong track and became a criminal. He was convicted and spent a decade in the institution for "schizophrenic criminals" in Maryland.

In 1969, a documentary film ("White Emanel") was shot, which had the living conditions of some mental hospitals in the US on the subject. However, the focus of the report was on the same clinic in which Brody was inmate. In old recordings that were used for this film, there is a spot that Brody showed while singing "Never Given". The same words Parr screamed the night before his execution. Other parts of the film show Brody writing and painting on a large sheet of paper. As he zoomed closer, he could see that he was writing in "Transitus Fluvii" - the "language of witchcraft". This was later confirmed by an expert. In the picture Kyle can be seen how he writes this language correctly - from right to left.

Finally, in 1999, the movie "The Blair Witch Project" was released. Of course, the film is purely fictional, but among other things served him the facts presented here as a basis.

Ironically, the cameraman of the Blair Witch Project, Neal L. Fredericks, drowned in 2004 when filming his new movie Cross Bones.

BLOODY MARY

BLOODY MARY

Mirror, Mirror on the wall .... who's the deadest one of all?

With a mirror summon you should be able to call a ghost named Bloody Mary. "Stand alone with a lighted candle in the dark bathroom and say 3 times her name in the mirror." Something like it has every time heard and so this game is played by people at parties worldwide, to each other their courage to prove.

However, the legend about Bloody Mary is described differently from website to website. There are now countless versions of this horror story. The American narrative researcher Janet Langlois was able to identify as many as 100 variations of the ritual as early as 1978, which differed as much from the result as the expected result. Also the number of candles varies from version to version.

Appearance

Bloody Mary, which appears in the mirror, is often described differently. Nevertheless, there are some parallels to their appearance in the descriptions:

A woman, often with dark hair, appears in the mirror and stares at the person. Often the woman has a scarred face, sometimes it is also mutilated. Your look should be very empty; and the sight of the bloody Maria should be frightening. She is supposed to kill her summoner in a very brutal way.

In other versions, their appearance is very different. One half of her face is said to be beautiful, like a pretty young woman. The other half is a naked skull. In this guise, she appears in front of a mirror after saying "I hate Mary" three times. She will then kill the person at midnight or the next night while sleeping.

Origin and identities

Even the earthly identity of the ghost woman is unclear and is slightly modified by everyone. Here are some versions:

Maria I. Tudor

The origin of Bloody Mary could be traced back to Maria I. Tudor.

She was the Queen of England and Ireland from 1553 to 1558. Her father was King Henry VIII, who had separated the English church from the Roman Catholic. During her reign she tried to re-establish Catholicism as a state religion. It resulted in the execution of nearly three hundred Protestants. Posterity, therefore, described them, according to religious views, as nicknamed "the Catholic" or "the bloody"

Another legend that goes about Mary Tudor across the globe:

Mary Tudor had several miscarriages and suffered the pain of a bereaved mother. Then she wished that she could see her dead children again someday. This version refers to forms of the ritual in which one speaks in the mirror "Bloody Mary, I have your child". However, this sentence is spoken 5 times because she had 5 miscarriages.

Erzsébet Báthory

Erzsébet Báthory would be another candidate. But she could fall out of the scheme by name.

Erzsébet Báthory (German: Elisabeth Báthory), called blood countess, was a Hungarian countess and serial killer. She most of the time lived her sadistic torture practices on young girls. She is said to have bathed or drunk in the blood of her sadistically murdered victims in order to keep herself young.

Legend from Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania one speaks about the following legend of Bloody Mary:

Once upon a time, a woman lived deep in the forest in a small house and sold herbal remedies for her livelihood. People lived nearby in a city. They called the woman Bloody Mary and said she was a witch. No one dared to approach the old woman, fearing that the cows would not give any more milk, their crops would not give a good yield for the winter, the children would get sick and many other terrible things a wicked witch could do.

One day, little girls from the village suddenly disappeared. One girl after another. No one could find out the whereabouts of the disappeared. The affected families searched the forest, local buildings, all the houses and barns, but found no evidence of the whereabouts of the girls. A few brave souls even went to the witch to see if she had kidnapped the children. However, she said she did not know where the girls were.

You could see that the witch had changed. She looked much younger and more attractive than before. The people suspected them, but they found no evidence against them.

Then came the night, when the miller's daughter got out of bed and went outside, following the mysterious sound no one else could hear. At the time, the miller's wife was in the kitchen to treat her toothache. When she saw her daughter outside the house, she immediately called her husband and they both followed their child into the forest. They tried to stop the girl, but failed.

The desperate cries of the miller and his wife woke the other inhabitants. Immediately, they ran out to help the couple until someone saw a red light on the edge of the forest. Everyone followed the shimmer until they saw the old woman on an oak tree. With a (magic) wand, she lured the miller's daughter to her. The villagers took their weapons to catch the witch. When she spotted the angry crowd, she let go of the girl and tried to escape. But a resident shot her in the hip with a silver bullet. Everyone rushed on them and carried them into a field. There they built a pyre and burned the old woman.

As she burned, Bloody Mary screamed a curse on the villagers. If anyone ever mentions their name aloud in front of a mirror, their minds would avenge themselves for their terrible death. After their death, the villagers went to the house in the forest and found the unmarked graves of the little girls the evil witch had murdered.

She used the blood of the young girls to become younger again.

From that day, when someone is stupid enough to call Bloody Mary's name three times in front of a dark mirror, invites the witch's vengeful spirit. It is said that she rips the person's body to pieces and steals the soul from their mutilated bodies. The soul of the unfortunate should burn, like Bloody Mary used to. Then they should be trapped in the mirror forever.

Legend from Jackson, Michigan

Long ago, a young woman / girl named Mary got into an accident and fell into a coma. Because the doctors did not know any coma at the time, they considered Mary dead and buried her alive. Every night since the funeral, Mary's mother heard her daughter's screams coming from the direction of her grave. Nobody believed her.

At some point, she managed to persuade the others to dig Mary's grave. When the grave was dug, they discovered traces of scratches on the inside of the grave and the body's nails were bloody. Since then, she has been walking around the world as a vengeful spirit, killing anyone who summons her. Sometimes armed with a kitchen knife - holding a rose or a bear in their hands. In the latter 2, she will not kill her Summoner.

Hell Mary

The following is not a person, but it might explain the origin. The fact that the name Hell Mary is also known under the name Bloody Mary could have been linguistically modified from the Catholic Marian prayer "Hail Mary" to "Mary Mary" (Hell Mary).

Other potential identities

Mary was accused of witchcraft 100 years ago, sentenced to death for carrying black arts, and burned at the stake.
Rarely does one speak of a child murderer whose urge to murder goes beyond her demise. Usually this variant is missing a local background.

In more modern variations, she was involved in a car accident that terribly mutilated her face, so that she never again went to a mirror to see her ugly face. The cause of the accident was never identified after the escape from the scene of the accident and brought to justice, whereupon Mary vowed bitter revenge.

In some modifications, Mary is said to have been pregnant during the accident and lost her child. This refers to forms of the ritual in which one in the mirror "Bloody Mary. I have your child "speaks.

In another version, Bloody Mary is the ghost of a pregnant woman who was murdered right after her wedding. This refers to forms of the ritual in which one speaks in the mirror "Bloody Mary, I killed your child". She will then appear and either talk about the summoner's future or kill him.

A pretty young girl named Mary Worth got involved in a terrible accident (in another version, she's purposely inflicted wounds on a celebration by jealous people). This deformed her previously beautiful face. From then on, they avoided the people. Now she is taking revenge on the people whose face is undamaged, like the people back then who had made fun of themselves.

Once upon a time, a young woman named Mary with her step-sister and her boyfriend lived together in a castle. The two stepsisters hated each other. One day Mary stole her sister's wedding ring and ran away. The nurse sent guards to look for Mary. When they found the girl, they immediately took her to her stepsister. Mary's sister and friend were sitting comfortably by a hearth. After Mary removed the ring, the step-sister pushed Mary into the fire. There she burnt agonizingly and all that was left of her was the esophagus. From that night, Mary, as a vengeful spirit, seeks her sister to kill her. Her sister is dead long ago, but Mary's spirit still exists. If her name is pronounced on a Friday the 13th in a February, no matter where, then Mary will appear and give the person a restless and terrible night. She died on this date.

There was once a girl / woman named Veronica. She used a witch board and scissors as a planchette and was maddened by the ghosts she called until she killed herself with the scissors. If you pronounce your name 3 times in front of a mirror at midnight, you will see her motionless with scissors in her neck in the mirror. However, if you call her through a witch's board without having taken the necessary security precautions, then she will come and kill you with her scissors.

A woman named Mary had noticeable scars on her face. The children living in the same village annoyed them by calling the woman "Bloody Mary". One day, like many other women in the village of witchcraft, she was accused and hung. A few years passed, and the group of children who annoyed poor Mary gathered around a mirror and spoke 99 times the despicable nickname "Bloody Mary" in the mirror (for whatever reason). Mary appeared - her face was much more scarred than it was then - and killed all the children.

Variants of implementation

The most popular room in the different versions is apparently the bathroom. Probably because in the bathroom mostly large mirrors hang for the conjuration and because the room is pretty easy to darken, as there were no windows in the bathroom at that time.

To lure the mind into our dimension, some girls go into a dark room, stare into a mirror and 13 times in a kind of sing-song, "Bloody Mary".

The young people gather in a pitch-black room, light a candle and sing 3, 6, 9 times, sometimes 100 times in the choir: "Bloody Mary".

The teenagers meet in a darkened room, spinning like little spinning tops, calling for the ghost of Mary and glancing in the mirror after every full turn.

Again, no daylight should fall into the premises, but this time the speaking ritual differs slightly. The girls sing, "I believe in Mary Worth - I do not believe in Mary Worth - I hate Mary Worth - Bloody Mary, come to me - Bloody Mary, I have your baby," while in the background a Christian prayer is mumbled.

A small group believes that the success of the ceremony depends on the day of the week and celebrate Variant 1 only on a Friday.

It is spoken five times at midnight "Bloody Mary" in the mirror.

It just just once "I stole your baby, Bloody Mary" is spoken in the mirror.

It is only once spoken in the mirror "I killed your baby, Mary Worth".

There is a single saying "I believe in Mary Worth" in the mirror.

The summoner turns to the bathroom without light, pulls on the bath curtain, sets a few candles and speaks 50 times "Bloody Mary" in the mirror. Then you should open the bath curtain again and finds Bloody Mary in the bathtub.

The summoner places a mirror in front of the bathtub and pulls the bath curtain closed. After the name "Bloody Mary" has been pronounced in front of the mirror 3 times, "Mary" appears as a kind of corpse behind the curtain in the bathtub. Her face is covered by her hair because she does not want to show it to anyone.

The Summoner says "Bloody Mary" 13 times in front of a mirror. The vengeful Mary is to appear on it.

The Summoner speaks 7 times "Hell Mary" in front of a mirror in some dark room. One will then see in the mirror a satanic face. After 3 times the mirror should turn red, after 5 times a face should begin to take shape.

The summoner goes into a room and clears all the lights there. Then he is to recite 13 times "Bloody Mary" in front of the mirror while he looks in the mirror and turns it. He should start whispering and then get louder and louder.

The summoner stands in front of a mirror in the bathroom, places a lighted black candle on the right and left of the mirror, and switches off the light. Either he says 40 times "Bloody Mary" directly in the mirror or 20 times "Bloody Maria".

The Summoner looks into a mirror in an empty dark room, lights a candle, and says "Bloody Mary" 100 times.

The summoner hangs all mirrors in the whole house down to a single one. Before that, he then turns to point 00:00 clock and pronounces her name "Bloody Mary" 3 times.

The summoner stands in front of a mirror with a lighted candle and speaks 3 times "Holy bloody Mary" in the mirror.

The summoner stands in front of a mirror. There must be a window behind the summoner. It is pronounced either 40 times "Bloody Mary" in front of the mirror or 20 times "Bloody Maria".

The summoner stands in front of a mirror in a dark room and pronounces 12 times "Bloody Mary" at the witching hour.

The summoner lights six candles and writes the number "666" on the mirror with something red (such as a lipstick). "Bloody Mary" is then pronounced 6 times.

According to another version, she appears bloodied with her baby in her arms when the summoner, as always in a dark room, pronounces "Bloody Mary, Bloody Baby" in front of a mirror.

It is painted with red paint a staircase on the mirror and "Bloody Mary" is pronounced several times.

THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SLEEPERS

The legend of the dormouse in the Koran

Seven sleepers

Young men save themselves from persecution of Christians in a cave where they are sheltered by God for centuries to sleep. So goes the legend of the dormouse. The ancient motif of long sleep, which incidentally also applies to Sleeping Beauty, is also found in the Koran - to bring the idea of resurrection to the young Islamic community.

"You keep them awake while they sleep."

This summary represents an elementary theological question of the time of early Islam - and also of Christianity: that of the truthfulness of the resurrection.

The Legend of the Seven Sleepers

The series Koran explains as a multimedia presentation

They, those who sleep, are the Ashab al-kahf, the companions of the cave. In Christianity, they are known as the "holy dormouse".

It is the tale of seven young men fleeing into a cave for fear of persecution by the Roman emperor. There they fall into a centuries-long sleep, until they awaken at the time of the Christian emperor Theodosius the Second.

When one of the companions with outdated coins is sent to get bread in the city, he is recognized there as a stranger and presented to the ruler. He sees in the reawakening of the seven youths a proof of the resurrection of body and soul.

In this legend, the ancient motif of the "long sleep", which is also found, for example, in Sleeping Beauty, was re-processed. And just as the Christian tradition, the Koran took this story to teach the young Islamic community the idea of ​​the resurrection that is the reward for orthodoxy in Islam.

The statement that one believes they are awake while actually asleep does not only express simultaneity, but also an apparent contradiction: on the one hand the sleepers, neither dead nor alive, on the other hand the viewers who regard them as awake. So, was the resurrection an intermediate stage and had to be interpreted metaphysically, or was it really a kind of waking sleep?

This is the case, for example, of the Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir, reminiscent of the wolf, who opened his eyes during sleep to protect himself from harm. The mystic Rûmî, on the other hand, regards this sleep "with a warm heart and open eyes" as proof of the greatest divine presence.

A sign that the youths were indeed asleep was, for the commentators of the Qur'an, that in the remainder of the verse, it is said, "Whereby we turn them to the right and to the left."

For the mystic Ibn Arabî, however, turning the sleeper corresponds to the recent judgment, in which man's good deeds, to the right, and evil deeds, to the left, are judged.

The entire Koranic legend in the 18th sura covers verses 9 to 26. It is closely related to its Christian model, even though it is fragmentary, as is often the case in the Koran.

Nevertheless, there are deviations: for example, in terms of the number of sleepers and a dog mentioned. Verse 22 says, "They say three with their dog four, and five with their dog six."

The assumption is obvious that the Islamic tradition deliberately wanted to distance itself from the Christian of the seven sleepers. Later Islamic traditions also name groups of up to nine people.

The dog as watchman of the sleepers does not know the Christian legend at all.

The duration of sleep differs. According to Christian tradition, it lasted 190 or 372 years. In verse 25 it says, "And they lingered for 300 years and nine".

Also, the place of action, Ephesus in the Christian version, is not fixed. During the period of Islamic conquest, where there were caves in the newly conquered areas, Islamic pilgrimage sites were created in honor of the cave's companions. Today, however, only Tarsus is of supraregional importance in Turkey.