Jabulqa and Jabulsa ( ar, جابلقا وجابلسا) or Jabalq and Jabars ( ar, جابلق وجابرس), are two legendary cities mentioned in
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. They are said to be made of
emerald
Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...
and visited by the
Prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
in his
Night Journey
The Israʾ and Miʿraj ( ar, الإسراء والمعراج, ') are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632) took during a single night around the year 621 (1 BH – 0 BH). With ...
.
In a conversation between the Prophet Muhammad and his cousin
Ali ibn Abi Talib
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
, a description of the cities are given. They are said to be situated in darkness and contiguous to the primeval
Mount Qaf
Mount Qaf, or Qaf-Kuh, also spelled Cafcuh and Kafkuh ( fa, قافکوه), or Jabal Qaf, also spelled Djebel Qaf ( ar, جبل قاف), or ''Koh-i-Qaf'', also spelled ''Koh-Qaf'' and ''Kuh-i-Qaf'' or ''Kuh-e Qaf'' ( fa, کوہ قاف) is a legen ...
. Jabulqa is located in the eastern-most corner of the world and Jabulsa on the western-most one. The figure
Dhu al-Qarnayn
, ( ar, ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْن, Ḏū l-Qarnayn, ; "He of the Two Horns") appears in the Quran, Surah Al-Kahf (18), Ayahs 83–101 as one who travels to east and west and sets up a barrier between a certain people and Gog and Mago ...
, mentioned in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
, is said to have tried to visit the cities but gave up halfway. However, he was successful in seeing the rising and setting spots of the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
. Each city is 12,000 parasangs (at least 36,000 miles) long and wide, with 12,000 gates, and each are guarded by 12,000 men until the
Day of Resurrection
In Islam, "the promise and threat" () of Judgment Day ( ar, یوم القيامة, Yawm al-qiyāmah, Day of Resurrection or ar, یوم الدین, italic=no, Yawm ad-din, Day of Judgement),
when "all bodies will be resurrected" from the dead, ...
, when the Qa'im will appear.
In the early ''
Basa'ir al-darajat
''Baṣāʾir ad-Darajāt fi ʿUlūm ʾĀle Muḥammad wa-mā khaṣṣahumu--Allāh'' ( ar, بَصَائِر ٱلدَّرَجَات فِي عُلُوم آل مُحَمَّد وَمَا خَصَّهُم ٱلله بِهِ), alternatively known as ...
'', these cities were inhabited by archetypal male believers who are neither human, jinn nor angels (but their service to God is similar to those of angels). They appear to be part tellurian and part angelic yet enjoy mystical communion with all the Imāms while awaiting the appearance of the
Qa'im. The cities are guarded by 1,000 men each night for a year for each of the 12 fortresses. This is due to the enemy people, called ''Tharis'' and ''Taqil'', who behave like the
Yajuj & Majuj. The Prophet visited the cities in his
Night Journey
The Israʾ and Miʿraj ( ar, الإسراء والمعراج, ') are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632) took during a single night around the year 621 (1 BH – 0 BH). With ...
.
In the (8th–11th century CE), transmitted by Nasayri Shi'a, the sixth
Imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
al-Sadiq states that the Qa'im will live in these cities.
Later Shi'i scholars, including Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi (d. 1659) and Muhammad Baqir al-Bahai al-Hamadani (d. 1915), have used these two cities to support the story of the Green Island, the place where the last Imam is hiding. The cities also appear in the works of
Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi
"Shihāb ad-Dīn" Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardī ( fa, شهابالدین سهروردی, also known as Sohrevardi) (1154–1191) was a PersianEdward Craig, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "al-Suhrawardi, Shihab al-Din Yahya (1154-91)" Rou ...
and
Shaykh Ahmad
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
.
Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, in his ''
Javáhiru’l-Asrár'' (''Gems of Divine Mysteries'') and other works, interprets Jabulqa and Jabulsa symbolically.
Notes
References
*{{cite book, last1=Mir-Kasimov, first1=Orkhan (editor), last2=Ghaemmaghami, first2=Omid, title=Unity in Diversity: Mysticism, Messianism and the Construction of Religious Authority in Islam, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IoxWAgAAQBAJ, year=2014, publisher=BRILL, isbn=978-90-04-26280-5, chapter=To the Abode of the Hidden One: The Green Isle in Shi'i, Early Shaykhi, and Babi-Baha'i Sacred Topography
Islamic eschatology
Mythological populated places