Therein
lies a particularly ethereal glass painting, seated in the window panels of
Rouen Cathedral in France. Perched upon a bright royal blue background lies a
scenery depicting an ancient legend, a biblical story, and one of God’s most
miraculous signs.
As Dr. Michael began to piece together and examine each fragmented panel of the painting, a picture resembling biblical origins began to reveal itself as the Christian legend of Seven sleepers of Ephesus. An episode in this story is portrayed through 11 panels. This legend is embroiled with historical events that allude to a contextual understanding of this miraculous story, whilst the Islamic version is rather brief and uses this story to not only showcase the existence of God and his powers but also drive home lessons, the strength of faith and its rewards and dangers that lie unseen in this world.
Ephesus was an ancient port city, whose well-preserved ruins are located in the province of Izmir, in modern-day Turkey.
It is thought that in the 1st century AD, noteworthy Christians visited the city and rebelled against the pagan cults worshipping the Greek Goddess, Artemis. This act convinced many Greek idol worshippers to adopt Christianity as their new faith. Over time, this city became a stronghold of Christians, even going as far as being mentioned in the New testament.
In
the olden days of kings and Emperors, Religion and politics were not secular
but intermingled. Religion was used as a tool to instill fear, control the
masses, play politics and implement the whims and fancies of its ruler and
government. At its core, the adoption and practice of either emperor’s or the
King’s religion was seen as a test of loyalty and the requirement of legal
citizenship. Following another faith was seen as disloyalty to the throne and
considered as heresy or treason. Such were the times when the story of the
sleepers of Ephesus takes place.
According
to Christian theology, this story takes place in the highly turbulent times of
Christian persecution. The Roman empire was in the mode of expansion, under its
ruler king Decius. They belonged to Greek faith and was an idol worshipper,
particularly of main Greek Gods of Zeus, Apollo, and Armedies. Before his
arrival into the flourishing and Christian city of Ephesus, huge statues of
these idols were erected and placed by the local government, in the middle of
the city square to pay homage to the new king. The city residents were to
pledge loyalty to the king and worship these Greek Gods.
A few young men, who were allegedly new Christian converts are greatly disturbed by this turn of events, refusing to bow down and align themselves with these Gods. Their act of defiance leads to their arrest.
Upon finding the cave,
they find this group of young men sleeping. Upon finding this information, the
vengeful king orders his forces to not awaken and arrest them, but rather build
an entire wall over the cave opening and bury them alive. Hence, a wall was
erected and the youths were caved in their restful sleep.
When
the Ephesians came to know of the king’s cruelty, they put an inscription over
the cave wall that described who were these youths, their brave act and who
caved them in. Some say there was a dog with them as well, but none know for
sure. As several centuries went by, the roman empire expanded, even more,
however, the state religion became Christianity rather than Hellenism (Greek
Gods). The youths still lay there, their courage and act of faith forgotten as
the inscription on the cave faded away.
It
was at this time, that a local shepherd was looking for rocks to build a
shelter. As he made his way around trying to find sturdy solid rocks, he
chanced upon the cave wall that was used built to bury them. He started to pick
apart the wall rock by rock, as he was doing so he unveiled the cave opening
and saw these youths sleeping inside. It is unknown as to what happened to the
shepherd at this point in time. However, a certain time later, the sleeping men
are awakened from their deep slumber. Confused and dazed as to how long they
have slept, they concluded that it may have been a few hours or the entire
afternoon. Eventually, hunger coursed through their veins and they discussed
whether to venture out of the cave or not. Unaware of how long the time had
passed and what changes had taken place in the last centuries. Hence, they were
under the impression that they were still ostracized by king Decius and his
forces were still at large searching for them.
In
the end, deciding to risk capture, they sent one of their companions (Malchus)
out to the city to buy some food. Upon reaching the city, he notices the city
is covered in Christian symbolism and rather than the Greek Gods of King
Decius. He reached a local bakery and handed over a few coins to the baker to
buy some break as depicted by the glass painting in Rouen Cathedral. The baker
and the people surrounding Malachus noticed that he was wearing outdated
clothes and was paying for the bread in a currency that no longer existed. Concerned
they escort Malchus to the authorities. Confused and scared for his safety,
Malchus tells them the story of him and his companions and how they sought
refuge from King Decius in a cave.
The
news of this shocking story traveled from these authorities to the ruler of the
empire, King Theodosius. He invited these young men to the empire’s capital but
they refuse. Instead, they declared that their awakening after centuries and
preservation of their youth is a sign of resurrection from God. Then all men chose to return back to the cave
and thereupon died a normal death. Christians chose to view the sleepers of the
cave as holy and upheld them as saints. Thus, painting them as martyrs who may
absolve humanity of their sins by their holy acts.
The
Islamic version is rather brief, revealed by God to his Prophet (PBUH). The
number of men, the city, their names, and the length of the number of years of
slumber are not mentioned rather Allah reinforces his core message of
resurrection. In this version as mentioned in Surah-Al-kahf, a certain number
of men refused to bow down to false gods. They then ran away from the city and
when sure no one was following them anymore they decided to take rest in a cave
they know of. They went inside the cave and Allah puts them to sleep for a
certain number of years. Thus, being known as companions of the cave.
Eventually, they woke up and thought they were asleep for a day or less than a
day, only Allah knows for certain. One of them goes out for food and is noticed
by people because of his outdated clothes, currency, and mannerisms. People
realize they are the youths from that old inscription and discover these men.
The men don’t leave the cave, deliver the message of resurrection and then die
a normal death.
In
addition, these youths were not scholars of the faith or saintly as Christian
theologians proclaimed. Rather they were normal citizens who believed that
Allah is one and none is to be associated with him. For believing in their
faith, Allah honors their integrity by mentioning their act in the last Holy
book (The Quran). The importance of unembellished and unmodified version of the
Islamic story is that it steers its believers to the core story, doesn’t allow
them to dispute the details as Allah knows them best, focuses on the main
message of Allah, and shows that Allah honors the integrity of faith or just
not the righteous and scholars but of average believers as well. It refreshes
and further boosts one’s faith in Allah with the knowledge that keeping the
integrity of faith, no matter how small or big never goes unnoticed and will
always be rewarded according to Allah’s will.
To conclude, stories passed down through legends, folklore or historical symbolism allude to part of the story and not the whole story with its original intention. In the passage of time, they are subjected to human perceptions and modifications, resulting in further erosion of the true events that occurred. History as always is victim to those who tell it, ergo it's essential to not get lost in the glorification of history but rather pay heed to its morals and lessons. Otherwise, the efforts and sacrifices of those involved are nullified and lost in time.
This article has been produced by, Mahnoor Khan, one of the contributors to the SOL Community.
