Al Miraj

 


The al-miraj is one of those monsters who's on the edge of being well known. More and more people have heard of it as of recently, but few people know anything about it other than being the 'unicorn bunny'.

The al miraj comes from the Arabic translations of the tale of Alexander the Great. In this account Alexander travels to Jazirat Al-Tinnin, or Sea Serpent Island. There the locals are being tormented by a serpent like dragon who is devouring their livestock. Alexander defeated the dragon by filling a cow hide with poisonous substances. The dragon subsequently swallowed the decoy and was killed. For his efforts the islanders gave Alexander the al miraj as a gift.

The al-miraj is always depicted as a horned rabbit or hare that's golden yellow in color. It tends to vary more in image then it does in written description. Occasionally the al miraj is drawn with leopard spots, or a gazelle stripe, while other times it's left plain. The texts always describe the al miraj with one horn, yet the occasional picture depicts it with two gazelle like horns. Still, the one horned version is far more common.

In earlier copies of the Arabic translation of Alexander's exploits the Al Miraj is not named. It's only later in Qazwini's Wonders of Creation, from 1279 that the al miraj is given a name. In fact the dragon received a name in Idrisi's earlier account of Alexander, being named Mustashiayn. While the al miraj was simply known as a wondrous beast.


I don't usually share my personal opinion here, but I believe the al miraj was intended to be a joke. It's a small harmless rabbit, yet it has the unicorn horn of the mighty karkadann. It's supposed to frighten away all wild beasts yet it didn't frighten away the dragon. The al miraj also wasn't considered important enough to be given a name until much later text. Furthermore, Alexander isn't always depicted as the good guy in near and middle eastern accounts of him, where he's seen as a western invader. In Idrisi's account Alexander is referred to as Dhu'l-Quarnyan, or the two horned one. So it would make sense that the al miraj would be added as a joke at Alexander's expense.


Comments

  1. Helena Ribeiro8 March 2024 at 16:56

    I had heard of it in relation to Alexander the Great, but I had no idea how it was supposed to look, nor about the story and joke. Thank you for sharing this information!

    ReplyDelete

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