Purchase with Your Leaf

so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.

[The Bible, Greek Text 13:17, Revelation 13:17]

The Bible warns of a future time when people will not be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast on their right hand or upon their forehead. It warns against receiving the mark of the beast! It calls for patient endurance and faithfulness. 

The Quran, Surah alKahf warns of great violence from near Allah. Ayat 19 of Surah alKahf contains the middle word of The Quran. The word is وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ. It is generally written a little bigger. It derives from the word subtle, and some translate it as to be cautious, others as courteous. I think subtle and cautious are the better translations, because, as the next ayat explains, if they are discovered, their life and their faith are at risk! Earlier in the surah, we read that they had already taken a stand for their faith, before they went and hid in the cave. Curiously, this ayat contains a term  بِوَرِقِكُمْ which literally translates as 'with your leaf', or 'with your paper': 

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Purchasing with a personalised 'leaf' would provide the purchaser's identity! 

The following is an excerpt from Detailed Guidance in Surah alKahf  

Currency Notes or Personal Card?    

وَكَذَٰلِكَ بَعَثْنَاهُمْ لِيَتَسَاءَلُوا بَيْنَهُمْ قَالَ قَائِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ قَالُوا لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ قَالُوا رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ فَابْعَثُوا أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَٰذِهِ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ فَلْيَنظُرْ أَيُّهَا أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُم بِرِزْقٍ مِّنْهُ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا

And in like manner We awakened them that they might question one another. A speaker from among them said: How long have ye tarried? They said: We have tarried a day or some part of a day, (Others) said: Your Lord best knoweth what ye have tarried. Now send one of you with this your silver coin unto the city, and let him see what food is purest there and bring you a supply thereof. Let him be courteous and let no man know of you.

[Al-Quran 18:19, Translation: Pickthal]

Screenshot from corpus.quran.com

Though several translators have translated بِوَرِقِكُمْ as silver coin, yet The Quran uses this word for leaf: twice in the story of Adam, once to state that not any leaf (وَرَقَةٍ) falls without Allah's knowledge, and once in this ayat. Q3:75 uses the words قِنطَارٍ for great wealth or a hoard of gold, and دِينَارٍ  for single coin (gold or silver). Q12:20 also mentions the دَرَاهِمَ that Joseph was sold for. It appears that the currency that these young men had at that time in history was some leaf-like currency, be it notes or even card perhaps, or some other paper-based banking instrument, as it doesn't just say waraq (وَرِقِ) but rather specifies with your waraq (بِوَرِقِكُمْ). Or may be some document (supplementary card?) indicating their owner, on whose account they could charge the things they purchased.

In modern history, we know that since fiat currency has replaced gold or gold-backed currency, interest-based banking has flourished. Allah has declared a war against those who continue to deal in usury knowingly that its prohibited. Surah al-Kahf begins with a warning of a great war from near Allah. The cleansing of the temple narrative is well-known to Christians. This action against commercial activities within the temple occurs around a week before Jesus was allegedly crucified.

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If the Ashab-ul-Kahf (Companions of the Cave) existed somewhere around Jesus' time, then The Bible already informs us of the census/registration of all people by the Roman Emperor. In The Gospel of Luke 2:1, it mentions:

New International Version:  

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

New Living Translation: 

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.

English Standard Version: 

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

Berean Study Bible: 

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.

However, now that I am beginning to understand Q18:17 better, the Ashab-ul-Kahf (Companions of the Cave) may have existed somewhere in ancient times, as per a reading from ancient Egyptian records and celestial diagrams, and the recently found evidence of TPW (true polar wander) in the Earth's crust, which is thought to have happened much, much earlier. For more on this, please read: When the Sun rose from the West. 

It is not a wonder if the ancients also had their own monetary systems, such as in use now, or perhaps even more complex. After all, The Quran does inform us that the ancients were far mightier than us: 

The Mighty Ancients! 

The Mighty Ancients (presentation) 

Last updated on: August 7, 2022