CHAPTER-41

STORIES OF AL-QUR’AN

1- Adam and Iblees

The Qur’an, in its various passages, throws light on the story of Adam (the father of humankind) and Iblees (a jinn who had been included among the angels) in an interesting manner. Briefly speaking the story told by the Qur’an is that Allah intended to create Adam out of potter’s clay and appoint him viceroy (caliph) in the earth. The angels objected to it as they perceived that such a creation (having a large freedom of action) would (create a big disorder in the earth and would) shed blood. According to a tradition their this perception was based on their past experience of previous Adams (humanbeings) or adam-like creations who had been given independence of thought and action and who had made mischief in the earth. However, the angels were satisfied when Allah taught Adam the names of various things, showed them to the angels and they could not tell their names but Adam did. Then Allah asked the angels to prostrate to Adam. All did save Iblees. When Iblees was asked why he had not obeyed, he said that he was created from fire while Adam was created from mud and therefore he was superior. At this God declared him outcast and expelled him from heaven. However, Iblees challenged that if he is given respite, he would beguile Adam and his off-spring from the right path of God. Allah accepted this challenge and gave him reprieve till the Day of Judgement. So the first action which Iblees took in this way was taken against Adam whom God had allowed to live in Paradise with his wife and eat everything he wished except fruit of a particular tree. Iblees approached Adam and his wife and made them eat fruit of the forbidden tree and thus got them expelled from Paradise for their disobedience to God’s commandment.

Here are some of the passages of the Holy Qur’an which tell various aspects of this story:

·        And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not. And He taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, saying: Infrom me of the names of these if ye are truthful. They said: Be glorified! We have no knowledge saving that which Thou hast taught us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower, the Wise. He said: O Adam! Inform them of their names, and when he had informed them of their names, He said: Did I not tell you that I know the secret of the heavens and the earth? And I know that which ye disclose and which ye hide. And when we said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever. And We said: O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden and eat ye freely (of the fruits) thereof where ye will; but come not nigh this tree lest ye become wrongdoers. But Satan caused them to deflect therefrom and expelled them from the (happy) state in which they were; and We said: Fall down, one of you a foe unto the other! There shall be for you on earth a habitation and provision for a time. Then Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He relented toward him. Lo! He is the Relenting, the Merciful. We said: Go down, all of you, from hence; but verily there cometh unto you from Me a guidance; and whoso followed My guidance, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. But they who disbelieve, and deny our revelations, such are rightful owners of the Fire. They will abide therein.   (2:Al-Baqarah:30-39)

·        And We created you, then fashioned you, then told the angels: Fall ye prostrate before Adam! And they fell prostrate, all save Iblis, who was not of those who make prostration. He said: What hindered thee that thou didst not fall prostrate when I bade thee? (Iblis) said: I am better than him. Thou createdst me of fire while him Thou didst create of mud. He said: Then go down hence! It is not for thee to show pride here, so go forth! Lo! thou art of those degraded. He said: Reprieve me till the day when they are raised (from the dead). He said: Lo! thou art of those reprieved. He said: Now, because Thou hast sent me astray, verily I shall lurk in ambush for them on Thy Right Path. Then I shall come upon them from before them and from behind them and from their right hands and from their left hands, and Thou wilt not find most of them beholden (unto Thee). He said: Go forth from hence, degraded, banished. As for such of them as follow thee, surely I will fill hell with all of you. And (unto man): O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden and eat from whence ye will, but come not nigh this tree lest ye become wrong-doers. Then Satan whispered to them that he might manifest unto them that which was hidden from them of their shame, and he said: Your Lord forbade you from this tree only lest ye should become angels or become of the immortals And he swore unto them (saying): Lo! I am a sincere adviser unto you. Thus did he lead them on with guile. And when they tasted of the tree their shame was manifest to them and they began to hide (by heaping) on themselves some of the leaves of the Garden. And their Lord called them (saying): Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you: Lo! Satan is an open enemy to you? They said: Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If Thou forgive us not and have not mercy on us, surely we are of the lost!   (7:Al-A’raf:11-23)

The above story has also been told in a bit different words but with the same theme in verses 61 to 65 of Surah 17, in verses 116 to 123 of Surah 20 and in verses 71 to 85 of Surah 38 of the Holy Qur’an.

2- Cain and Abel

The story of Cain (Qaabil) and Abel (Haabil) has been told by the Qur’an in verses 27-31 of its Surah (Chapter) 5 very briefly without even mentioning the names of these two sons of Adam. Cain was elder and was a farmer while Abel was younger to him and was engaged in the profession of rearing sheep. Both the brothers offered sacrifice (or gift) to Allah. Cain offered some carn from his tilth and Abel offered a sheep. It so happened that Abel’s offering was accepted whereas Cain’s offering was rejected. At this Cain became very angry and he threatened Abel to kill him. But Abel did not lose his calm and only said: “Allah accepts gifts from those who are righteous. If you stretch out your hand against me to kill me, I shall not stretch out my hand to kill you as I fear Allah”. However, these nice words could not pacify the wrath of Cain who attacked his younger brother Abel and killed him merely out of jealousy. He thus became a wrongdoer and a loser.

Now Cain did not know what to do with his brother’s dead body. So Allah sent a raven who started digging up the ground to show him how to hide his brother’s naked corpse. Seeing this Cain was ashamed and with regrets he said: “Woe unto me! Am I not able to be as this raven and so hide my brother’s naked corpse!” So he became repentant.

This was the first murder of a human being. A brother had killed a brother. Since Allah had made the life of a human being very sacred, so He decreed at this human murder: “Whosoever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind- (Al-Qur’an 5:32). Killing an innocent human being is as big a crime as the crime of killing all humankind, and since Cain was the first one to commit this crime, he shares the burden of crime of every murder committed after him according to a tradition.

The moral of the story is that murder of a human being is a big offence and so one should not commit it for any cause whatsoever except in the course of justice.

3- Joseph and his brothers

The story of Prophet Joseph has been described by the Qur’an in its Surah 12 which has been named after him and it has been called the best of the narratives (Ahsanal Qasas). According to a version, this story is stated to have been revealed to Muhammad (PBUH) to enable him to answer a question put by the pagans of Makkah at the suggestion of the Jews that how did the Israelites go to Egypt. The story has been narrated by the Qur’an in a very very beautiful and vivid manner and it can neither be abridged successfully nor it can be reproduced with its original beauty. This is perhaps the only story of a Prophet which has been told by the Qur’an in detail and in chronological order and in one Surah. I would try to reproduce this story very briefly and would request the reader to condone my lapses.

Joseph was son of Prophet Jacob (also named Israel), grandson of Prophet Isaac and great grandson of Prophet Abraham. He had eleven brothers, ten step and one real and he lived with his parents and brothers in his ancestral home in the land of Cannan. While a child in his teens he saw a dream that eleven stars, the sun and the moon were prostrating to him. He related his dream to his father Jacob who told him that God would choose him a Prophet, give him knowledge of interpretation of dreams and perfect His favours on him. But Jacob forbade him not to mention his dream to his brothers lest they devise a plot against him. However, Joseph’s handsome stature, amiable manners and the special love and affection which he enjoyed of his father had already aroused jealousy and ill-feelings in the hearts of his brothers. So they devised a plot to get rid of Joseph and, therefore, they convinced their father to let Joseph go with them on a picnic so that Joseph could enjoy sport and play. Jacob yielded to their demand unwillingly. They took Joseph out of the home and according to an already agreed scheme they threw him down to the bottom of a well. Then the brothers returned home weeping and told their father that they engaged in racing and left Joseph with their luggage when a wolf came and devoured him. It was a great shock for Jacob but he could do nothing except to remain patient and have trust in God.

Meanwhile a caravan of merchants which was going to Egypt came to the place where Joseph’s brothers had thrown him in the well. They picked up Joseph and sold him as a slave in an Egyptian market. The Egyptian who purchased Joseph was a big officer (Aziz) in the court of Pharaoh. He instructed his wife (whose name was Zulaikha according to some scholars) to keep Joseph with honour as he may prove useful to them or they may adopt him as a son. But Zulaikha developed passion for young and handsome Joseph. One day she closed the door of the room and asked Joseph of evil act. But Joseph refused and ran towards the door to escape from her. At the door they found the husband of Zulaikha. Though Zulaikha strongly tried to put blame on Joseph but the enquiry revealed that Zulaikha was guilty. The news of this event spread in the town specially among ladies who started ridiculing Zulaikha for her madness for a slave. Zulaikha arranged a feast for the ladies and ordered Joseph to come before them. The ladies were so impressed by Joseph’s wonderful personality that they cut their hands with the knives which had been provided to them to cut fruits.

The men in the city were, however, alarmed at the mad craving which Joseph’s charm had aroused among their ladies. In order to remove Joseph from the eyes of their women, they put Joseph in a prison for few years although they were convinced of his innocence. In prison Joseph met two prisoners. One of them was king’s cup-bearer and the other was king’s baker. Joseph interpreted their dreams, informing the former that he would be released and telling the latter that he would be hanged. Joseph also asked the former to mention him to the king, but he forgot when he was released and reinstated in his post in the king’s court. Meanwhile the king saw in a dream seven fat cows whom seven lean cows were eating, and he also saw seven green ears of corn and seven others which were dry. He asked his courtiers to interpret his dream which none could do. King’s cup-bearer, however, immediately remembered Joseph and told the king that Joseph could interpret it. Joseph interpreted the dream of the king and asked him to beware of the coming famine and make arrangements to offset its impact. The king was so impressed by Joseph that he appointed him as his grand minister for treasury and stores and handed over to him full authority and power.

Soon the foretold famine seized Egypt and its neighbouring countries in its grip. Due to Joseph’s wise and in-time planning, Egypt was, however, saved from the horrors of the great famine. Rather it became a market for supply of corn to the famine-hit neighbouring lands. Driven by famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy corn. They could not recognize Joseph but Joseph at once recognized them. Joseph treated his brothers well and gave them good measure. He also inquired about the members of their family and asked them to bring their youngest brother with them next time, otherwise they would not get corn. Joseph’s brothers returned home and when they opened their saddle-bags, they found that the money which they had paid for purchase of corn had been returned to them. With a lot of pleading they succeeded in convincing their father Jacob to let their youngest brother Benjamin to accompany them. But Jacob exacted a solemn promise from them to bring Benjamin back to him and to that promise he called Allah to witness.

Thus Joseph’s eleven brothers including Benjamin arrived in Egypt for the second time for purchase of corn. Joseph received them with more kindness and affection which he had shown them in their first visit as they had fulfilled their pledge and had brought Benjamin with them. He secretly disclosed to Benjamin that he was his brother Joseph When the saddle-bags of Joseph’s brothers were being filled by corn, a drinking cup of the king was placed in Benjamin’s saddle bag so that Benjamin should be held responsible for its theft and should be detained under Hebrew law. This was scheme of Joseph to retain his brother with him and the scheme succeeded remarkably. The request of the brothers that one of them should be detained in place of Benjamin was rejected. So Joseph’s brothers returned to their home in Cannan and could not explain to their aged father Jacob as to why they had failed to honour their pledge and bring back Benjamin to him. Loss of Benjamin added much to Jacob’s grief and having hope for Allah’s mercy he directed his sons to go to Egypt again and search for Joseph and his brother Benjamin.

Thus Joseph’s brother again came to Egypt and this time they expressed their extreme helplessness to Egypt’s grand minister Joseph. They even begged him of charity. At this Joseph’s heart was so softened that he revealed his identity, forgave them all their wrongdoings and directed them to return to Cannan and bring their father Jacob and all family members to Egypt. As soon as Joseph’s shirt was put on the face of Jacob, his eyesight recovered. All the family reached Egypt and Joseph provided them dwellings and fertile lands with Pharaoh’s permission and settled them with honour and dignity in Egypt. Joseph’s childhood dream was also fulfilled when his parents and his eleven brothers paid homage to him by falling in prostration before him. In this way the children of Israel migrated to Egypt and settled there for a very long period till their exodus from that country under Moses.

4- Moses and the learned man

The Qur’an tells the story of Moses and the learned man in verses 60-82 of its Chapter 18 i.e. Surah Al-Kahf. However, the emphasis of the Qur’an is on the moral aspects of the story and not on its form or details, as usual. The Qur’an neither provides us the name of the learned man, the name of the servant of Moses, nor it informs us as to why Moses met the learned man. However, some information regarding this story is available in Hadith literature. If this is added to the information given by the Qur’an then the following story emerges:

One day Moses was giving a sermon to the Israelites. Impressed by the profoundity of his knowledge, one of the audience asked: “Is there any more knowledgeable person than you? To this question, Moses was expected to say: “Allah knows better.” But he said: “None”. At this Moses incurred displeasure of Allah who told him to go to a place where two rivers (or two seas) meet. There he would find a slave of Allah who knows more than him. Thus Moses set upon a long journey, accompanied by his young servant (whose name the Quranic scholars have given as Joshu’a), to meet the said learned slave of Allah (whose name has been reported as Khidher) in order to learn some knowledge from him. Moses had his meal and a fried fish with him which was being carried by his servant in a basket. When they reached the junction of the two seas, they decided to rest a while near a rock where Moses fell asleep. His servant saw that the fish miraculously slipped and made its way into the sea. But when Moses got up, the servant forgot to mention the escape of the fish to him. So they resumed their journey. After some time, Moses felt tired and hungry and so he asked his servant to give him his meal. At this the servant remembered and told Moses what had happened to the fish they had brought to eat. Moses at once remarked that the place where the miracle of the fish had happened was in fact the place which they were looking for. So they went back to the place where Moses found Khidher. Moses said to him: “May I accompany you so that you may teach me the wisdom which Allah taught you?” Khidher replied: “You cannot bear with me as you cannot have patience regarding a matter of which you have no knowledge”. However, when Moses promised to be patient and not to ask any question, Khidher agreed to take him in his company. So they proceeded. When they entered into a boat to cross the river, Khidher made a hole in it. At this Moses got annoyed and said: Have you made hole in it so that all who are in it should drown? Khidher said: Did I not tell you that you can have no patience to bear with me? At this Moses remembered his promise and kept quiet. When they went further, they met a young boy whom Khidher killed. At this Moses became angry and remarked: Have you killed an innocent person who had done no crime? Khidher reminded him of his promise and so Moses again became silent. After some time, they reached a village whose people refused to entertain them. There Khidher saw a wall which was about to fall. He repaired the wall without any remuneration. At this act of kindness to the rude people, Moses protested and said to Khidher: If you had wished you could have asked wages for the repair of this wall? Khidher declared it parting of the ways with Moses and then he revealed the mystery of the events at which Moses could not keep patience. He said: As for the boat, it belonged to the poor people who earned their livelihood through plying it on hire. I made a hole in it so that a king who was taking every good boat by force on the other side of the river may not take it considering it a defective boat. And as for the boy, his parents were believers and I feared he would be rebellious and disbeliever. I killed him so that Allah bless them with a better child in his place. And as for the wall, it belonged to orphan boys whose father was a righteous person. Beneath it there was treasure. I repaired it so that they should bring forth their treasure when they come to their strength. I did not do these acts on my own. It is the mercy of Allah on His creatures that He commanded me to perform these acts.

5- Solomon and the Queen of Saba

Prophet Solomon, son of Prophet David, succeeded his father as the king of Israel which was great empire in the ancient times. Allah had bestowed many favours on him, He taught him language of the birds and subjugated winds to his control. His rule was not only on men but also on jinn, beasts and birds. His name has been mentioned in the Qur’an many times while some of the events of his life have been referred to in verses: 21:78-82, 27:15-44, 34:12-14 and 38:30-40 of the Qur’an.

The story of Solomon’s meeting with the Queen of Saba (called Shehba in the Old Testament) has been narrated by the Qur’an in verses 20-44 of its chapter 27 (called Surah An-Naml). As Solomon’s rule was also on birds and he had assigned to birds various duties, he checked the attendance of the birds one day and found hoopoe missing. He said: “I will punish him with hard punishment if he does not explain his absence.” A little later the hoopoe came and informed him that in Saba (region of Yemen) there was a queen (whose name has been mentioned as Bilquis in Jewish literature) ruling over the people and she had a beautiful throne. She and her people worshipped the sun instead of Allah and the Satan had debarred them from the right way. Solomon said: “I shall see whether you are speaking truth or telling lie. Go with this letter and throw it to her and come back with her reply”. When the letter was dropped near Queen Bilquis and she read the letter, she said to her courtiers: “O Chiefs! There has been thrown to me a noble letter. It is from Solomon. It starts in the name of Allah and it says: Exalt not yourselves against me, but come to me as those who submit”. She further said: “O Chiefs! I always consult you in my decisions. Give your opinion what I should do in this matter.” They said: “We are ready to fight as we are mighty people and strong warriors. However we shall do what you command us to do.” At this answer of her courtiers, she said: “War is destructive. When the kings enter a town, they ruin it and make its noble people low. We should avoid war. Let me send some presents to Solomon and see with what answer the envoys return.”

When the envoys of the Queen with valuable gifts arrived in Solomon’s court, Solomon rejected the gifts and said to them: “Do you want to give me wealth? Allah has given me more wealth as compared to what you have. Take back your gifts. Tell the queen and your people to surrender. Otherwise I shall send my troops who will destroy you.” When the envoys returned and told the queen about Solomon’s power, she decided to submit to his call. When Solomon heard that the queen had set out to appear before him, he told his courtiers that he wanted queen’s thrown to be brought to him before she arrived. One of the courtiers who had knowledge of the Scripture brought the throne in as little a time as twinkling of the eye. Solomon found the throne near him. Then he ordered some changes to be made in the throne as he wanted to test whether the queen would recognize it or not.

The queen came to the court with great pomp and show in the company of a large delegation. She was asked about the throne which she recognized at once and said: It looked as if it were her throne. Then she was invited in the palace to royal banquet which Solomon had hosted in her honour. The floor of the palace was paved with pieces of polished glass and crystal looking as if clear water was flowing. She thought it was really water, so she tucked up her clothes and uncovered her feet and ankles to set foot in it. Solomon told her that there was no water and the floor was made of glass. Impressed by the grandeur of Solomon’s court and his control over winds, jinn, beasts and birds, she acknowledged Solomon as a man of God. She declared her belief in God, embraced Islam and became Muslim. Some commentators of the Bible and of the Qur’an have tried to give the story a romantic touch and hold that Solomon married her and the Abyssinians claim to be their offspring, but this view has no reliable historical evidence in its support.

6- Zulqarnain and Yajuj Majuj

The Qur’an relates this story in verses 83 to 98 of its Surah Al-Kahf. This story is also stated to have been revealed to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to provide him an answer to the question asked by the pagans of Makkah at the instance of the Jews as a test of his prophethood. The question was: Ask him of a much traveled man who reached the sunrise and the sunset regions of the earth, what was his history? In response to this question the story of Zulqarnain was revealed. It is briefly stated in the light of the Qur’an as under: Allah established power of Zulqarnain on earth and blessed him very vast resources. His expeditions to far off places in the West and the East have been briefly mentioned. In the West he found a people on whom Allah gave him power and told him that he was authorized to either punish them or show them kindness. He said that he would punish the wrongdoers only but to those who believed and performed good deeds he would give kind treatment. This shows that Zulqarnain was great king and conquerer and he believed in God and was a righteous person.

Then the Qur’an tells us about his expeditions in the East. In the East he comes to a place between the two mountains where he meets a people who complain to him about Gog and Magog who spoil their land and bring havoc upon them. So they request him to set a barrier between them and their enemies. Their offer of kharaj (aid in money) is rejected by Zulqarnain. However, he asks them to provide him labour and material and thus he builds a strong wall or barrier leveling the gap between the two mountains. The wall was strong enough to check the onslaught of the Gog and Magog as they were unable to surmount it or pierce into it. After building it, Zulqarnain declares: “This (the construction of a strong wall) is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will level it to the ground.” His this statement also shows that he believed in God and had full trust in Him.

The Qur’an, however, does not tell us as to who was Zulqarnain, where and when he lived, which wall he built and who were Gog and Magog. About these questions there is a lot of difference of opinion among the scholars and the commentators. Some scholars say that Zulqarnain was Alexander the Great of Greece who conquered a substantial part of the world. But majority of the scholars identify him with Cyrus the Great. He was a ruler of ancient Persia in the sixth century B.C., described in the Bible as a noble king. He conquered Babylon and liberated the Jews and settled them again in Jerusalem when Jerusalem had been completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, a Babylonian king, in 587 B.C. and about six hundred thousand Jews had been taken in captivity to Babylon. About the wall he built, there is also a difference of opinion. To identity the wall built by Zulqarnain, Maulana Hafiz-ur-Rahman Sevharvi in his book Qasas-ul-Qur’an, has discussed the following four walls in the region where Gog and Magog used to attack: 1) The Great Wall of China; 2) The Wall of Derbend near Bukhara; 3) Wall near Daghistan called Babul Abwab or Al-Bab; 4) Wall near Daryal pass called Caucasus Wall. And he identifies the fourth one as the wall built by Zulqarnain. The view of the Maulana is supported by many. This wall has been built with iron and molten copper and was constructed by Cyrus to protect the people from the brutal invasions of Scythian tribes.

The question that who are the Gog and Magog has also irritated many a mind throughout ages. Very interesting legends have been woven by the historians around them. However, according to most of the Muslim historians and commentators, Gog and Magog are just like other human beings having no extraordinary or superhuman physique or features or qualities. They are the two tribes from the children of Japeth, son of Noah. Hafiz Ibn Kathir in his book al-Bidaya-wal-Nihaya writes: “And Japeth is the ancestor of the Tartars. Therefore, Gog and Magog are a branch of the Tartarians and are the Mongolian tribes, and are much more strong, savage and brute than the (other) Tartars.” These were the wild tribes of North Eastern Asia and their chain starts from the Northern Asia and spreads through Tibet and China and towards the west it expands up to Turkistan.

7- The Companions of the Cave

The story of the companions of the cave has been related by the Qur’an in verses 9 to 26 of its Chapter 18 which is named Surah Al-Kahf after this event. According to a tradition, this story was revealed to the Prophet of Islam to provide him answer to the question of the pagans of Makkah which they had asked at the instance of the Jews. The question was: Ask him of some youth of old, what was their fate, for they have a strange story. The Jews had assured the pagans that Muhammad (PBUH) would not be able to answer this question and thus his claim of Prophethood would be exposed. However, Allah revealed the answer to His Prophet in the above mentioned verses of the Qur’an and he recited it before the Makkans. The story is briefly stated as under in the light of the Qur’an.

According to the Qur’an a few youngmen, who believed in Allah, rose up and declared. “Our Lord is One Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. We will not invoke any other god beside Him. Our people have adopted other deities. Since we have forsaken their deities, we should (in order to escape their oppression and persecution) take refuge in a cave.” So they left their people and took refuge in the cave. There Allah lulled them to a deep sleep for a number of years. If an outsider had seen them, it would appear to him as if they were awake, whereas in fact they were asleep. Allah turned them to the right and to the left sides. And their dog was sitting at the entrance of the cave with outstretched forelegs. After a long period, Allah raised them up. They asked one another for how long they had remained in that condition. Some of them said that they might have stayed for a day or a part of a day. But the others said that only Allah knew for how long they stayed. Then they sent a man of them with a silver coin to purchase some food for them warning him to be careful lest their cruel people discover them and put them to death or force them back into their faith. Thus Almighty Allah revealed their secret to the people so that the people should know that Allah’s promise of raising them after their death and the coming of the Day or Resurrection is true.

The Qur’an has neither disclosed the exact number of the persons who took refuge in the cave nor it has told the exact number of years they stayed in the cave. It merely quotes the people about the number of the persons and the number of the years and at the end says that Allah knows best.

This story is identified by the Western writers (particularly by Gibbon) with legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. Emperor Decius, who ruled the Roman Empire from 249 to 251 A.D., was mercilessly persecuting the Christians. So during his reign seven young Christians left the city and hid themselves in a cave where they fell into sleep. After about 200 years or so, they woke up in 445 or 446 A.D. when Emperor Theodosius was ruling the Roman Empire and the whole of nation had embraced Christianity.

 

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