Tradition: Turkish Mythology, Arab Mythology
Alternative Names: Almiraj, ٱلْمِعْرَاج, ʿArāj, Baqrāj, Horned Hare, Miraculous Hare
Category: Rabbit
The Myth
Al-Mi’raj is a mythical animal resembling a yellow or golden hare with a single black horn. Its shiny golden coat and strange appearance make it feared by other animals. According to the stories, any wild beast that sees it immediately flees, whether it is a predator, another mammal, or even a bird.
The creature appears in stories about Iskandar, also known as Alexander the Great. In one account, Al-Mi’raj lives on Dragon Island in the Indian Ocean, where a terrible dragon or giant serpent has been killing livestock. Iskandar helps the island’s inhabitants defeat the monster by using bait that ignites a fire inside its body. Grateful for his help, the inhabitants give him the miraculous horned hare as a gift.
Other versions place the dragon’s island in western Africa and give the creature different names. Some accounts describe it simply as a horned hare, while others portray it as a fierce, dog-like hybrid. Despite these differences, the creature remains extraordinary for its single black horn and its ability to make other animals flee at the sight of it.
Sources
“Al-Mi’raj.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Mi%27raj