Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese Vol II. - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/186

 works he cannot be wholly overthrown! And Musa faithfully follows this diabolical advice of Allah.

Raja Jōmjōmah (LIX).

The story of King Skull, whose skull speaks to Jesus, and who is restored to a new and sanctified life by that prophet, exists in Achehnese in hikayat form. I have never seen a copy of it, but it may well be assumed that its contents do not differ greatly from the Malay version of the story.

From the Orientalische Bibliographie (VI: 2119 and VII: 1571) it appears that this legend is also to be found in the Persian and the Georgian. An Afghan version is mentioned in the catalogues of the Fathul Kareem Press at Bombay.

Hikayat Tamlikha or Èëlia tujōh (LX).

The story of the seven sleepers is dealt with in the 18$os$ chapter of the Qurān. The Moslim tradition calls one of them Jamlīchā = Jamlichus, from which the Achehnese have formed Tamlikha.

The names of the other six are still more corrupted. The names of these "seven saints" and that of their dog are regarded in Acheh as ajeumats or charms which avert all evil things and bring a blessing.

Besides the legend about the seven saints and their dog, this hikayat furnishes the story of the three devout men in the cave, which has been made up by the commentators on the Qurān on the strength of a text from the sacred book (ch. 18, verse 8). In addition to the alteration of the names the Achehnese version presents two other notable peculiarities.

In the first place the story is put in the mouth of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, who tells it at the request of a Jew who has just been converted to Islam, after the solution by Ali of a number of theological catch-questions which he has propounded, and which Omar to his shame has proved unable to answer.

Secondly the "quarrel" spoken of in chapter 18 verse 20 of the Qurān is explained as a war between a Mohammedan prince who desires to erect a mosque close by the cave where the seven saints repose, and