Al-mi'raj

Page depicting an Al-Miraj with a serpent, most likely from the tale of Alexander the Great defeating the serpent and receiving the Al-Miraj as a gift. From page 131 of the Bavarian Manuscript.[1]

Al-mi'raj or Almiraj (Arabic: المعراج al-mi'raj) is a mythical beast said to live on a mysterious island called Jezîrat al-Tennyn (Sea-Serpent Island) within the confines of the Indian Ocean. According to legend, the beast was a gift given to Alexander the Great from the inhabitants of the island after he killed a large dragon that had been eating the livestock of the people there.[2] It is mentioned in Zakariya Ib Muhammad Al-Qazwini's Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing (often times shortened to The Wonders of Creation).[1][3]

From the Walters Manuscript - Walters Museum of Art Baltimore, MD [3]

Pop culture references

Al-Mi'raj has been occasionally featured in video and role-playing games.

  • Al-Mi'raj has been adapted into Dungeons & Dragons, as part of the 1st edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Fiend Folio.
  • An enemy in the Dragon Quest series (アルミラージ ... arumirāji), first appearing in Dragon Quest III, where it is a low-level monster with a sleep attack used to render players helpless while it attacks. In U.S. localizations it has usually been renamed to "Spiked Hare", but its name is preserved in the Game Boy Color version [4] Unlike the normal legendary Miraj, this Mi'raj is purple with a white horn and white cheeks. Its standard treasure is eight gold and a Leather Hat. In Dragon Quest VIII, it carries Medicinal Herbs and Bunny Tails.[5]
  • In Episode 10 of the anime Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? the first floor of the mid level contains multiple white rabbits that walk on two legs. Two of the main characters Lilly and Welf claim that they are the protagonist Bell Cranel due to the matching red eyes and white hair the rabbits are then identified as al-mi'raj by Bell before being interrupted as the rabbits attack.
  • In the animated short "Red" (2010) the little wolf-boy protects Red from an Al-Mir'aj that can grow to a monstrous size, and kills it.
  • The Yu-Gi-Oh Breakers of Shadow booster pack has released a card based on this mythical creature called Al-Lumi'raj.
  • The game Rage of Bahamut (and subsequently the Shadowverse CCG, which is based on it) contains a character called Moon Al-Mir'aj, a humanoid rabbit with a black horn called Ramina.
  • In the Donald Duck story "Mythological Menagerie", written and drawn by Don Rosa, Donald tries to fool Huey, Dewey and Louie by painting a rabbit yellow and attaching a horn to it, but the nephews identify it as a Mi'Raj.
An Al-Mir'aj from Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing by Zakariya Ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (1203-1283 AD)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Qazwini, Zakariya Ibn Muhammad (1260–1280). The Wonders of Creation. p. 131.
  2. ↑ Ettinghausen, Richard (1950). Studies in Muslim Iconography I. The Unicorn (PDF). Washington, D.C. Smithsonian. pp. 66–67. ISBN 9781258518929.
  3. 1 2 Qazwini, Zakariya Ibn Muhammad; Nathani, Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Shakir Ruzmah-i (Scribe) (Ottoman Empire). The Wonder's of Creation (Walter's Manuscript). Turkey. Check date values in: |year= (help)
  4. ↑ Dragon Warrior 3 Monster List]
  5. ↑ Dragon Quest 3 Monster List
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