Did Ashab al-Kahf (the people of the Cave)

[pandora]

I never knew you had this story in Islam :) the caves were supposed to be at Kusadasi near Ephesus in Turkey, I went there some years ago as a tourist. Of course the caves of the Seven Sleepers have been said to be in other countries so I'm not sure. They were interesting though. I give a link at the bottom of this post with information on the caves with images.. In case you would like to see. Here is the story as we have it in Christianity. Not in the Bible but early Christian works.


Decius orders the walling in of the Seven Sleepers. From a 14th-century manuscript.
The story alleges that during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Decius, around 250 AD, seven young men were accused of following Christianity. They were given some time to recant their faith, but chose instead to give their worldly goods to the poor and retire to a mountain cave to pray, where they fell asleep. The emperor, seeing that their attitude towards paganism had not improved, ordered the mouth of the cave to be sealed.


Decius died in 251, and many years passed during which Christianity went from being persecuted to being the state religion of the Roman Empire. At some later time—usually given as during the reign of Theodosius II (408–450)—the landowner decided to open up the sealed mouth of the cave, thinking to use it as a cattle pen. He opened it and found the sleepers inside. They awoke, imagining that they had slept but one day, and sent one of their number to Ephesus to buy food, with instructions to be careful lest the pagans recognize and seize him. Upon arriving in the city, this person was astounded to find buildings with crosses attached; the townspeople for their part were astounded to find a man trying to spend old coins from the reign of Decius. The bishop was summoned to interview the sleepers; they told him their miracle story, and died praising God.




The Cave of the Seven Sleepers, Ephesus, Turkey.


Headstones in the Siebenschläferkirche (Rotthof), Germany
As the earliest versions of the legend spread from Ephesus, an early Christian catacomb came to be associated with it, attracting scores of pilgrims. On the slopes of Mount Pion (Mount Coelian) near Ephesus (near modern Selçuk in Turkey), the "grotto" of the Seven Sleepers with ruins of the church built over it was excavated in 1927–28. The excavation brought to light several hundred graves dated to the 5th and 6th centuries. Inscriptions dedicated to the Seven Sleepers were found on the walls of the church and in the graves. This "grotto" is still shown to tourists.


Syriac origins
The story appeared in several Syriac sources before Gregory's lifetime. It was retold by Symeon Metaphrastes. Another Syriac version is printed in Land's Anecdota, iii. 87ff; see also Barhebraeus, Chron. eccles. i. 142ff., and cf Assemani, Bib. Or. i. 335ff.


The Seven Sleepers form the subject of a homily in verse by the Edessan poet Jacob of Saruq ("Sarugh") (died 521), which was published in the Acta Sanctorum. Another 6th-century version, in a Syrian manuscript in the British Museum (Cat. Syr. Mss, p. 1090), gives eight sleepers. There are considerable variations as to their names.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sleepers



peace to you