The Holy Land (Ardh-al Anbia): "Ass-haab-e-Kahf" -- Seven Sleepers Of The Cave

The Holy Land (Ardh-al Anbia)

(Part 1 of 5)

"Ass-haab-e-Kahf"

Seven Sleepers Of The Cave

In Philadelphia

(Now Amman/Jordan)

(Part 1 of 5)

(M. Javed Naseem)

“(Some) say they were three, the dog being the fourth

among them; (others) say they were five, the dog being

the sixth,- doubtfully guessing at the unknown; (yet

others) say they were seven, the dog being the eighth.

Say you: "My Lord knows best their number.

It is but few that know their (real case).”

(al-Quran 18:22)

Welcome to the ancient city of Philadelphia (now called Amman, the capital of Jordan)! This blessed city is part of the Holy Land (Ardh-al Anbia or the Land of the Prophets). We (me and my wife) consider ourselves very fortunate and blessed to visit these town-and-desert areas where many Prophets of Allah wandered, lived or traveled (on foot) through, to deliver the message of Allah to the nations of the world.

(Entrance to the original cave – the building was constructed on the original cave and was added centuries later. The original shrine/mosque was destroyed by time.)

There is a whole chapter (Surah) in the Quran called Surah al-Kahf that tells us the story of the People of the Cave (5-7 Sleepers of the Cave plus their dog. The Quran doesn’t tell us the exact number of the people (dwellers of the cave) who slept there for 309 years and when they woke up, the whole town of Philadelphia, belonging to the Roman Empror, had been converted to Islam due to the teachings of Prophet Jesus. The modern followers of Jesus Christ don’t agree with this narration as they insist that there were seven sleepers (plus their dog) of the cave and they were all Christians who were persecuted by the Romans.

There must have been another name in Hebrew language for their religion which was monotheism – worshiping One and Only God. The Greek translators and later Pagan converts named it Christianity after the name of Jesus Christ. The truth is that Jesus, the sone of Mary, had only one name – Jesus – while Christus or Christ (meaning the anointed one) was not even his name. It was an attribute given to him by the Greek and people started calling the followers of Jesus: The Christians. Christianity was not the name of the God-given religion followed by Jesus, the son of Mary or Moses or other Prophets. The Arabic name of that religion is Islam. It might have been called something else in other languages during different eras of time.

Popularly called the ‘Seven Sleepers of the Cave’, the historic site is in the city of Amman, the capital of modern Jordan. In ancient times, the city was called Philadelphia. During the Islamic era of Salah-ad Din Ayyubi, the place was recovered, renovated or reconstructed. Originally, the sleepers died while in their sleep on the floor of the cave. Later on, their bones were collected; removed from their original place; and put into a small chamber with a small glass window. You can see them only through the glass window with artificial lights (torch, lighter, mobile lamp or camera flash-light, etc.).

(The small chamber with a glass window in which the bones of the sleepers are preserved.)

The token graves are also constructed – like four raised platforms on one side and three on the other side of the room. This is one of the very few monuments where you don’t have to pay to enter or to see. But the Guardian (or official Guide) sells you the copies of DVD for $11.00 each. Every other historical site or monument is a rip-off site where you have to pay big money to enter or to visit. Same thing goes in Egypt too where you pay enormous amounts to visit the Pyramids or to enter the Museums. There are different rates for Arabs and non-Arabs. They refuse to admit that this is discrimination!

(The token graves – a few on one side and a few on the other side of the room – a few feet away from the original spot. The Jewish Star of David was added later.)

 No Palestine, Only Israel

We arrived in Jordan on Wednesday (6^th November, 2019) and will be staying here one week to visit other sites belonging to Prophets Jesus (Isa), John The Baptist (Yahya, the son of Zakaria), Moses (Musa), Aaron (Haroun), Shuayb, Saleh, Aad, etc.). There are sites/monuments belonging to other Prophets of God but they are in Palestine – in other words in Israel. Since I don’t accept Israel, We’ll not be stepping inside Israeli territory. That means I am not going to visit al-Quds, Jerusalem, Jericho, Kenaan, etc.

(This is the River Jordan where Jesus Christ was baptized by John The Baptist (Prophet Yahya, a.s. In front of me is Israel or Palestine, just across the narrow river. See the picture below!)

(We are on the Jesus Christ's baptism site on the River Jordan, on No-Man's Land between Jordan and Israel/Palestine. We are in Jordan; the building in front (about 10 yards) is Israel or Palestine. You cannot touch it without Israeli visa.)

To tell you the truth, there is no Palestine. It exists on paper only. All those Palestinian areas are now part of Israel. Hebrew is the official language of all those Palestinians area. Israeli Shekal is the official currency of those Palestinian areas. No foreigner can go inside Palestine without Israeli visa/permit (or permission). So, practically, there is NO Palestine! On the contrary, the Zionist Israel has claims over Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and some areas of Egypt. And they’ll eventually annex those areas.

(The original place where the bodies (or bones) were found; then moved to the small chamber.)

The Quran Narrates

Here’s the story of the People of the Cave – excerpts from the Quran:

“We relate to you their story in truth: They were

youths who believed in their Lord, and We advanced

them in guidance. We gave strength to their hearts.

Behold, they stood up and said: "Our Lord is the

Lord of the heavens and of the earth; never shall

we call upon any god other than Him. If we did,

we should indeed have uttered an enormity!”

(al-Quran 18:13-14)

(A new mosque, with a pretty garden, has been added to the site of Kahf.)

“You would have deemed them awake, whilst they

were asleep, and We turned them on their right and

on their left sides; their dog stretching forth his two

fore-legs on the threshold. If you had come up on to

them, you would have certainly turned back from

them in flight, and would certainly have been filled

with terror of them. Such (being their state), we

raised them up (from sleep), that they might question

each other. One of them said: "How long have you

stayed (here)?" They said, "We have stayed (perhaps) a

day, or part of a day." (At length) they (all) said, “Allah

(alone) knows best how long we have stayed here....”

(al-Quran 18:18-19)

“So they stayed in their Cave three hundred

years, and (some) add nine (more).”

(al-Quran 18:25)

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