Shared story · 5 min
The Sleepers in the Cave
Young people who slept for centuries, and woke.
Shared Stories · The Sleepers in the Cave
Christians and Muslims both remember young believers who fled persecution, slept in a cave for centuries, and woke to a changed world. Their story became a sign of resurrection.
In the Gospels and Christian tradition
Syriac and Latin writers of the 5th and 6th centuries tell of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, who fled the persecution of Decius and woke under Theodosius II. The number of years differs between versions.
In the Qur'an
The Qur'an tells of “the People of the Cave”, with their dog stretched at the threshold (18:18). It says not to argue about how many there were (18:22): “my Lord knows best their number”. They slept “three hundred years, and added nine” (18:25), and when they woke they thought they had slept “a day or part of a day” (18:19).
Same and different
Faith protected, and a sign that God raises the dead. The Christian versions fix a number; the Qur'an deliberately leaves it open: “God knows best.”
We never picture any prophet or Mary. Each panel is checked by a reader from that tradition before this page goes public.
