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467 the Story of the Seven Sleepers Is As Follows Ithasbeenrelated:Intheromanempiretherewasaking.Hewasverytyranni the seven sleepers 467 The Story of the Seven Sleepers is as Follows It has been related: In the Roman Empire there was a king. He was very tyranni- f.178r1 cal, and his name was Daqyānūs1. He had a huge realm and an immense army. He became the enemy of another king, and they went to war. That king was defeated, and Daqyānūs killed him. The defeated king had six sons. Daqyānūs took them with him as prisoners of war. He caused them to worship him. Claim- ing to be a god—may his mouth be filled with dust!—he made them prostrate themselves before him. One day the message arrived that an enemy was approaching. Daqyānūs heard this and trembled in fear. It has been related: While Daqyānūs was sitting on the throne in the palace, two cats that were fighting and howling at each other fell through the palace window. Daqyānūs was frightened by the noise the cats made and he fainted. The six brothers saw this and said: “And he is supposedly a god? How can he be afraid of cats? Let us leave this place and look for the true God.” And they decided to run away. Tamlīkhā said: “The time for flight will be when we’re playing polo. When we ride toward the palace, we must strike the ball gently; when striking it in the direction of the open field, let’s strike the ball hard.” f.178r11 During the game Daqyānūs would watch from a tribune. Whoever struck the ball well, to him he would give a robe of honour. One day, while employing this ruse, they struck the ball and went off to a distance of two parasangs. They threw off their clean clothes and put on worn clothes that they had secretly brought with them. They then walked on, now with bare feet, and eventually met a shepherd. He asked: “Where are you going?” They replied: “We’re on our way to look for God.” The shepherd said: “I’ll join you as well. Have a little patience while I return these sheep to their owner.” They halted, and the shepherd gave back the sheep to their owner. And the shepherd had a dog named Qazqazīn that also followed after them. It has been related: Their names were Tamlīkhā, Maksalmīnā, Marṭūnīs, f.178r17 Yanūyis, Sāwrīnūs and Dhawānūs.2 The shepherd’s name was Konsṭaṭinūs and the dog’s name Qiṭmīr. The dog’s coat was speckled.3 1 The emperor Decius (249–251ad). 2 Thaʿlabī, 561, gives the following names: Tamlīkhā, Maksalmīnā, Maḥsalmīnā, Marṭaliyūs, Kashtūs and Sādniyūs. Cf. also Thaʿlabī, 563; Busse, 525; Ṭabarī I, 777; ei, s.v. Aṣḥāb al-Kahf. 3 A learned detail; cf. Thaʿlabī, where ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib is questioned on this point by the Jews. There the dog’s name is also given as Qiṭmīr, and its coat is said to be “speckled black and white”, or “speckled like a leopard”; cf. Busse, 527. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2015 | doi: 10.1163/9789004294837_121 468 stories of the prophets—translation They told the shepherd: “Beat your dog. Make it go back; don’t let it follow us. If the dog barks when we’re hiding, someone will hear it and come.” He tried to send it back; it wouldn’t leave. They pelted it with stones and clods of earth, but it wouldn’t turn back. The Lord, He is exalted, granted speech to the dog. It asked: “Why do you want to send me back? I’m also seeking the God you seek.” When they heard these words, they lifted the dog onto their backs. They entered a cave, lay down and fell asleep. The dog fell asleep after placing its forepaws on the threshold. f.178v1 Daqyānūs searched for them but couldn’t find them. One day he went out hunting. From afar he saw the cave where they were sleeping. In His words, He is exalted: “We made them sleep in the cave for many years.”4 Daqyānūs went and entered the cave. He saw them: Their feet were swollen and dust had settled on them. Daqyānūs thought they were dead. He said: “Had all the people assembled, they couldn’t have done to them what they’ve done to themselves.” And he left. At the Lord’s command they stayed in the cave three hundred years and nine months. In His words, He is exalted: “They stayed in the cave three hundred years and nine.”5 It has been related: It was nine months. It has been related: It was nine days. f.178v7 When that amount of time had passed, they woke up. They said: “How long have we been lying here?” Tamlīkhā said: “For one day.” But they looked at the sun: When they had lain down, the sun was on this side; now it had turned back and proceeded on the other side. In His words, He is exalted: “‘How long have you been here?’ asked one of them. ‘A day, or but a few hours’, replied some.”6 Again they said: “The Lord, He is mighty and glorious, knows best how long it has been.”InHiswords,Heisexalted:“Otherssaid:‘YourLordknowsbesthowlong you have stayed [here].’”7 Then they said: “Send one of us to town with money.” In His words, He is exalted: “Send one of you to the city with this silver coin.”8 They said: “Whoever goes must find out which food is the most plentiful and bring it. He must speak with them in their own language; no one must know who we f.178v12 are.” In His words, He is exalted: “Let him seek the purest food and bring you back some nourishment; let him conduct himself with caution and not disclose your whereabouts to anyone.”9 4 q. 18/11. 5 q. 18/25. 6 q. 18/19. 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid..
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