Mount Qaf, or Qaf-Kuh, also spelled Cafcuh and Kafkuh (), or Jabal Qaf, also spelled Djebel Qaf (); ''Koh-i-Qaf'', also spelled ''Koh-Qaf'' and ''Kuh-i-Qaf'' or ''Kuh-e Qaf'' (); or ''Kaf Dağı'' in Turkish is a legendary mountain in the popular mythology of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. In some early Arab traditions, Mount Qaf is said to be the homeland of the

jinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...

and was made out of shining

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 ...

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

Iranian tradition

Historically Iranian power never extended over all of the Northern Caucasus and ancient lore shrouded these high mountains in mystery. In Iranian tradition this mountain could be any of the following: * The highest mountain in Qafqaz * The "unknown" mountain referred to as ''Gapkuh''''Qāf'' is the Arabized form of the Middle Persian word ''gâp'' meaning "unknown". The oldest mention of ''Gapkuh'' or the "unknown mountain" is in an inscription of Shapur I (241-272 AD) for the mountains between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The name of the Caucasus Mountains is said to have ultimately come from ''Kapkof'' or ''Kafkaz'', corrupted variant(s) of ''Gapkuh''. * The land of the Daeva (who did not follow

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

) * Saoshyant's battlefield *

Simurgh The simurgh (; ; also spelled ''senmurv, simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent bird in Persian mythology and Persian literature, literature. It bears some similarities with mythological birds from di ...

's nest The Peri and Deev kingdoms of Qaf include are Shad-u-kam (Pleasure and Delight), with its magnificent capital Juherabad (Jewel-city), Amberabad (Amber-city), and Ahermanabad ( Aherman’s city).

Arabic tradition

Mount Qaf in Arabic tradition is a mysterious mountain renowned as the furthest point of the earth owing to its location at the far side of the ocean encircling the earth. Because of its remoteness, the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

is sometimes identified with this mountain. According to Hatim Tai’s account, the Qaf Mountains were said to be composed of green emerald, peridot or chrysolite, whose reflection gave a greenish tint to the sky. It is regarded as the home of the Jinn race and the place beyond which the unseen divine world begins. In Arabic literature, Qaf was the loftiest of the mountain ranges created by Allah to support the earth and was the parent of all other earthly mountains, to which it was linked by subterranean ranges. The range is separated from the world of men by the oceans that surround the known world. Qaf, as the primeval mountain, came to symbolise the cosmic mountain where the natural and supernatural met and the link between the terrestrial and celestial worlds was established. It is said that the

anqa Anqa (), also spelled '' 'Anqa' '', or ''Anka'', or ''Anqa Mughrib'' or ''Anqa al-Mughrib'' (), is a golden mysterious or fabulous female bird in Arabian mythology. She is said to fly far away and only appear once in ages. However, it is also s ...

and rukh will come here. The emerald-made cities Jabulqa and Jabulsa, situated in darkness, are said to be contiguous to the mountain Qaf.

Zakariya al-Qazwini Zakariyya' al-Qazwini ( , ), also known as Qazvini (), (born in Qazvin, Iran, and died 1283), was a Cosmography, cosmographer and Geography in medieval Islam, geographer. He belonged to a family of jurists originally descended from Anas bin Mal ...

published

ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt ''Aja'ib al-Makhluqat wa Ghara'ib al-Mawjudat'' () or ''The Wonders of Creatures and the Marvels of Creation'' is an important work of paradoxography and cosmography by Zakariya al-Qazwini, who was born in Qazwin in 1203 shortly before the Mongol ...

("The Wonders of Creation", literally "Marvels of things created and miraculous aspects of things existing") in the 13th century, a book that was influential in early modern Islamic society. According to Qazwini's cosmology, the sky is held by

so that it does not fall on Earth. The Earth is considered flat (later Islamic scholars believed that it was round) and surrounded by a series of mountains —including Mount Qaf— that hold it in its place like pegs; the Earth is supported by the Kuyuthan that stands on Bahamut, a giant fish ( ''Bahamūt'') dwelling in a cosmic ocean; the ocean is inside a bowl that sits on top of an angel or

. According to certain authors, the ''Jabal Qaf'' of Muslim cosmology is a version of Rupes Nigra, a mountain whose ascent —such as Dante's climbing of the Mountain of Purgatory, represents the pilgrim's progress through spiritual states.

Sufi tradition

In some

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

oral traditions, as conceived by Abd al-Rahman and Attar, Mount Qaf was considered as a realm of consciousness and the goal of a '' murid'' (seeker). Hadda Sahib (d. 1903) is said to have visited Mount Qaf in one night and was greeted by the king of peris.PRIOR, DANIEL G. “TRAVELS OF MOUNT QĀF: FROM LEGEND TO 42° 0' N 79° 51' E.” Oriente Moderno, vol. 89, no. 2, 2009, pp. 425–444. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25818227. Accessed 18 Mar. 2020. Numerous narratives of ''Bahr-e Okianus'' (Ocean Sea) depict a river with no fish, but abounding with angels which greet the spiritually aware. Those without spiritual awareness cannot visit it.

In literature

''Mount Kaf'' (original ) is the title of a novel by Turkish author Muge Iplikci. Mount Qaf is frequently referenced in the ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...

'' as a home of

Notes

References

{{reflist, 2 * Arabian mythology Mythological mountains Jinn-related places History of the Caucasus Places in Persian mythology North Pole