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Quran · Surah 18:9–25

The sleepers in the cave

EvidenceDocumentedThe text exists and is quoted from a published translation. What it describes is a separate question.What this means
ReferenceSurah 18:9–25
Written610–632 CE
SetRoman persecution, c. 250 CE
And (it is said) they tarried in their Cave three hundred years and add nine.

Translation: Pickthall, 1930 · About the translator

Read it literally

'Add nine' is exactly the difference between 300 solar years and 309 lunar years. Someone kept careful time.

What scholars say

The Christian legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.

Strange time
People and places hereEphesus

Quick answers about Surah 18:9–25

Where is Surah 18:9–25 found?

Surah 18:9–25 (Quran). Translation quoted: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930).

When was Surah 18:9–25 written?

610–632 CE.

What do scholars say about Surah 18:9–25?

The Christian legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.

Rabbit holes in this passage

PersonPeople of the Cave (Seven Sleepers)Young believers hide in a cave, and the Quran says they slept "three hundred years and add nine," their dog stretched at the entrance. That odd extra nine matches the gap between 300 solar years and 309 lunar years almost exactly; then one of them walks into town with an old silver coin. What happens next?

Sources

  1. Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930)Primary text
  2. Quran 18:9–26, trans. Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930)Primary text

Scholarly dates are rounded. The wording follows the named public-domain translation.

Updated