Some Notes On the Seven Sleepers
- philhoraia
- Sep 30, 2023
- 2 min read
S 18:11 So we struck over their ears in the cave a number of years.
Why couldn't 'Allah' give the number?
S 18:18 And you think them awake while they are asleep. And we turn them to the right and to the left and their dog stretching his arms at the threshold. Had you looked at them you would have turned away from them in flight and been filled with terror because of them.
Does a dog have arms? 'Their dog' is probably a result of a misreading of an unpointed text, which had something like kaliuhum 'their protector' rather than kalbuhum 'their dog'. The 'protector' would likely have been an angel with his arms outstretched. Now, had there been an angel standing there then this would more likely fill people with terror, rather than a few boys.
S 18:22 They will say: Three, the fourth of them their dog; and they say: Five, the sixth of them their dog. A conjecture about the ghayb. And they say: Seven, and the eighth of them their dog. Say: My lord knows their ‘iddah. None knows them but a few. So do not argue about them except with a clear argument. And do not enquire about them from anyone among them.
Why is the author counting the dog? The author goes on to say: "Five, the sixth of them their dog.", when he should have said: 'Four, the fifth of them their dog.' and he continues in that vein. As this is evidently a known story, why doesn't 'Allah' give the correct number? What's the big open secret? And is the author trying to dissuade his audience from enquiring into the accepted number?
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