anter paradise without any previous examination; which seems to be con. tradictory to what is said above. To the questions it is said each person shall answer, and make his defence in the best manner he can, endeavour:ng to excuse himself by casting the blame of his evil deeds on others; sc that a dispute shall arise even between the soul and the body, to which of hem their guilt ought to be imputed: the soul saying, "O Lord, my body I received from thee; for thou createdst me without a hand to lay hold with, a foot to walk with, an eye to see with, or an understanding to apprehend with, till I came and entered into this body; therefore punish it eternally, but deliver me." The body on the other side will make this apology, "O Lord, thou createdst me like a stock of wood, having neither hand that I could lay hold with, nor foot that I could walk with, till this soul, like a ray of light, entered into me, and my tongue began to speak, my eye to see, and my foot to walk; therefore punish it eternally, but deliver me. ." But God will propound to them the following parable of the blind man and the lame man, which, as well as the preceding dispute, was borrowed by the Mohammedans from the Jews. A certain king having a pleasant garden, in which were ripe fruits, set two persons to keep it, one of whom was blind, and the other lame, the former not being able to see the fruit, nor the latter to gather it; the lame man, however, seeing the fruit, persuaded the blind man to take him upon his shoulders; and by that means he easily gathered the fruit, which they divided between them. The lord of the garden coming some time after, and inquiring after his fruit, each began to excuse himself; the blind man said he had no eyes to see with; and the lame man that he had no feet to approach the trees. But the king ordering the lame man to be set on the blind, passed sentence on and punished them both. And in the same manner will God deal with the body and the soul. As these apologies will not avail on that day, so will it also be in vain for any one to deny his evil actions, since men and angels and his own members, nay the very earth itself, will be ready to bear witness against him.

Though the Mohammedans assign so long a space for the attendance of the resuscitated before their trial, yet they tell us the trial itself will be over in much less time, and, according to an expression of Mohammed, familiar enough to the Arabs, will last no longer than while one may milk an ewe, or then the space between two milkings of a she-camel. Some, explaining those words so frequently used in the Korân, " God will be swift in taking an account," say that he will judge all creatures in the space of half a day, and others that it will be done in less time than the twinkling of an eye.

At this examination they also believe that each person will have the book wherein all the actions of his life are written delivered to him; which books the righteous will receive in their right hand, and read with great pleasure and satisfaction; but the ungodly will be obliged to take them against their wills in their left, which will be bound behind their back, their right hand being tied up to their necks.8

To show the exact justice which will be observed on this great day of trial, the next thing they describe is the balance, wherein all things shall be weighed. They say it will be held by Gabriel, and that it is of so vast a size, that its two scales, one of which hangs over paradise, and the other over hell, are capacious enough to contain both heaven and earth. Though

⚫ Gemara, Sanhedr. chap. xi. R. Jos. Albo, Serm. 4. chap, xxxiii. See also Epiphan. in Ancorat. sect. lxxxix. The Arabs use, after they have drawn some milk from the camel, to wait awhile, and let her young one suck a little, that she may give down her nilk more plentifully at the second milking. Pocock Not. in Port. Mosis, p. 278-282 See also Kor. chap. 2. p. 24 Kor. chap. 17, 18, 69, and 84. Jallalo'ddin.

some are willing to understand what is said in the Korân concerning this balance allegorically, and only as a figurative representation of God's equity, yet the more ancient and orthodox opinion is that it is to be taken literally; and since words and actions, being mere accidents, are not capable of being themselves weighed, they say that the books wherein they are written will be thrown into the scales, and according as those wherein the good or the evil actions are recorded shall preponderate, sentence will be given; those whose balances laden with their good works shall be heavy will be saved, but those whose balances are light will be condemned.' Nor will any one have cause to complain that God suffers any good action to pass unrewarded, because the wicked for the good they do have their reward in this life, and therefore can expect no favour in the next.

The old Jewish writers make mention as well of the books to be produced at the last day, wherein men's actions are registered,' as of the balance wherein they shall be weighed; and the scripture itself seems to have given the first notion of both. But what the Persian Magi believe of the balance comes nearest to the Mohammedan opinion. They hold that on the day of judgment two angels, named Mihr and Sorûsh, will stand on the bridge we shall describe by and by, to examine every person as he passes; that the former, who represents the divine mercy, will hold a halance in his hand, to weigh the actions of men; that according to the report he shall make thereof to God, sentence will be pronounced, and those whose good works are found more ponderous, if they turn the scale but by the weight of a hair, will be permitted to pass forward to paradise; but those whose good works shall be found light will be by the other angel, who represents God's justice, precipitated from the bridge into hell."

This examination being past, and every one's works weighed in a just balance, that mutual retaliation will follow, according to which every creature will take vengeance one of another, or have satisfaction made them for the injuries which they have suffered. And since there will then be no other way of returning like for like, the manner of giving this satisfaction will be, by taking away a proportionable part of the good works of him who offered the injury, and adding it to those of him who suffered it. Which being done, if the angels (by whose ministry this is to be performed) say, "Lord, we have given to every one his due; and there remaineth of this person's good works so much as equalleth the weight of an ant," God will of his mercy cause it to be doubled unto him, that he may be admitted into paradise; but if on the contrary his good works be exhausted, and there remain evil works only, and there be any who have not yet received satisfaction from him, God will order that an equal weight of their sins be added unto his, that he may be punished for them in their stead, and he will be sent to hell laden with both. This will be the method of God's dealing with mankind. As to brutes, after they shall have likewise taken vengeance of one another, as we have mentioned above, he will command them to be changed into dust; wicked men being reserved to more grievous punishment: so that they shall cry out, on hearing this sentence pronounced on the brutes, "Would to God that we were dust also!" As to the genii, many Mohammedans are of opinion that such of them as are true believers will undergo the same

Kor. chap. 33, 7, &c. Sanhedr. 1. 91, &c.

chap. 3. 2 Gemar. Rev. xx. 12, &c. and Yet they say the dog will, by peculiar favour,

Midrasn, Yalkut Shemuni, fol. 153, Exod. xxxii. 32, 33. Dan, vii. 10. Dan. v. 27. Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 245, 401, &c. of the seven sleepers, and Ezra's ass, which was raised to life, be admitted into paradise. See Kor. chap. 18, and chap. 3.

fate as the irrational animals, and have no other reward than the favour of being converted into dust; and for this they quote the authority of their prophet. But this, however, is judged not so very reasonable, since the genii, being capable of putting themselves in the state of believers as well as men, must consequently deserve, as it seems, to be rewarded for their faith, as well as to be punished for their infidelity. Wherefore some entertain a more favourable opinion, and assign the believing genii a place near the confines of paradise, where they will enjoy sufficient felicity, though they be not admitted into that delightful mansion. But the unbelieving genii, it is universally agreed, will be punished eternally, and be thrown into hell with the infidels of mortal race. It may not be improper to observe, that under the denomination of unbelieving genii, the Mohammedans comprehend also the devil and his companions.

The trials being over and the assembly dissolved, the Mohammedans hold, that those who are to be admitted into paradise will take the right hand way, and those who are destined to hell-fire will take the left, but both of them must first pass the bridge, called in Arabic, al Sirât, which they say is laid over the midst of hell, and describe to be finer than a hair, an! sharper than the edge of a sword; so that it seems very difficult to conceive how any one shall be able to stand upon it: for which reason most of the sect of the Mótazalites reject it as a fable, though the orthodox think it a sufficient proof of the truth of this article, that it was seriously affirmed by him who never asserted a falsehood, meaning their prophet; who, to add to the difficulty of the passage, has likewise declared that this bridge is beset on each side with briars and hooked thorns; which will however be no impediment to the good, for they shall pass with wonderful ease and swiftness, like lightning, or the wind, Mohammed and his Moslems leading the way; whereas the wicked, what with the slipperiness and extreme narrowness of the path, the entangling of the thorns, and the extinction of the light which directed the former to paradise, will soon miss their footing, and fall down headlong into hell, which is gaping beneath them."

This circumstance Mohammed seems also to have borrowed from the Magians, who teach that on the last day all mankind will be obliged to pass a bridge which they call Pûl Chînavad, or Chinavar, that is, the strait bridge, leading directly into the other world; on the midst of which they suppose the angels, appointed by God to perform that office, will stand, who will require of every one a strict account of his actions, and weigh them in the manner we have already mentioned. It is true the Jews speak likewise of the bridge of hell, which they say is no broader than a thread; but then they do not tell us that any shall be obliged to pass it, except the idolaters, who will fall thence into perdition."

As to the punishment of the wicked, the Mohammedans are taught that hell is divided into seven stories, or apartments, one below another, designed for the reception of as many distinct classes of the damned. The first, which they call Jehennam, they say will be the receptacle of those who acknowledged one God, that is, the wicked Mohammedans, who, after having there been punished according to their demerits, will at length be released. The second, named Ladhâ, they assign to the Jews; the third, named al Hotama, to the Christians; the fourth, named al Säîr, to the Sabians; the fifth, named Sakar, to the Magians; the sixth, named al Jahim, to the idolaters; and the seventh, which is the lowest and worst of all, and Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. Kor. c. 15,

• Vide Kor. c. 18. pp. 245, 402, &c.

Pocock, ubi sup. p. 282-289.
Midrash, Yalkut Reubeni, sect. Gehinnom.

is called al Hawiyat, to the hypocrites, or those who outwardly professed some religion, but in their hearts were of none. Over each of these apart ments they believe there will be set a guard of angels,3 nineteen in num ber; to whom the damned will confess the just judgment of God, and beg them to intercede with him for some alleviation of their pain, or that they may be delivered by being annihilated.

Mohammed has, in his Korân and traditions, been very exact in describing the various torments of hell, which, according to him, the wicked will suffer both from intense heat and excessive cold. We shall however enter into no detail of them here, but only observe that the degrees of these pains will also vary, in proportion to the crimes of the sufferer, and the apartment he is condemned to; and that he who is punished most lightly of all will be shod with shoes of fire, the fervour of which will cause his scull to boil like a cauldron. The condition of these unhappy wretches, as the same prophet teaches, cannot be properly called either life or death; and their misery will be greatly increased by their despair of being delivered from that place, since, according to that frequent expression in the Korân, "they must remain therein for ever." It must be remarked, however, that the infidels alone will be liable to eternity of damnation, for the Moslems, or those who have embraced the true religion, and have been guilty of heinous sins, will be delivered thence after they shall have expiated their crimes by their sufferings. The contrary of either of these opinions is reckoned horetical; for it is the constant, orthodox doctrine of the Mohammedans that no unbeliever or idolater will ever be released, nor any person who in his lifetime professed and believed the unity of God be condemned to eternal punishment. As to the time and manner of the deliverance of those believers whose evil actions shall outweigh their good, there is a tradition of Mohammed that they shall be released after they shall have been scorched and their skins burnt black, and shall afterwards be admitted into paradise; and when the inhabitants of that place shall in contempt call them infernals, God will, on their prayers, take from them that oppro brious appellation. Others say, he taught that while they continue in hell they shall be deprived of life, or (as his words are otherwise interpreted) be cast into a most profound sleep, that they may be the less sensible of their torments; an that they shall afterwards be received into paradise, and there revive on their being washed with the water of life; though some suppose they will be restored to life before they come forth from their place of punishment, that at their bidding farewell to their pains, they may have some little taste of them. The time which these believers shall be detained there, according to a tradition handed down from their prophet, will not be less than nine hundred years, nor more then seven thousand. And as to the manner of their delivery, they say that they shall be distinguished by the marks of prostration on those parts of their bodies with which they ased to touch the ground in prayer, and over which the fire will therefore have no power; and that being known by this characteristic, they will be

Others fill these apartments with different company. Some place in the second, the idolaters; in the third, Gog and Magog, &c.; in the fourth, the devils; in the fifth, those who neglect alms and prayers; and crowd the Jews, Christians, and Magians together in the sixth. Some again will have the first to be prepared for the Dahrians, or those who deny the creation, and believe the eternity of the world; the second, for the Dualists, or Manichees, and the idolatrous Arabs; the third, for the Bramins of the Indies; the fourth, for the Jews; the fifth, for the Christians; and the sixth for the Magians. They all agree in assigning the seventh to the hypocrites. Vide Millium, de Mohammedismo ante Moham. p. 412. D'Herbel. Bibl. Orient. p. 368. &c. Ibid. c. 46, 43

'Kor. c. 40, 42, 74, &c.

• Ibid. c. 74.

released by the mercy of God, at the intercession of Mohammed and the blessed; whereupon those who shall have been dead will be restored to life, as has been said; and those whose bodies shall have contracted any sootiness or filth from the flames and smoke of hell will be immersed in one of the rivers of paradise, called the river of life, which will wash them whiter than pearls.

For most of these circumstances relating to hell and the state of the damned, Mohammed was likewise in all probability indebted to the Jews, and in part to the Magians; both of whom agree in making seven distinct apartments in hell,' though they vary in other particulars. The former place an angel as a guard over each of these infernal apartments, and sup pose he will intercede for the miserable wretches there imprisoned, who will openly acknowledge the justice of God in their condemnation. They also teach that the wicked will suffer a diversity of punishments, and that by intolerable cold as well as heat, and that their faces shall become black;1 and believe those of their own religion shall also be punished in hell hereafter, according to their crimes, (for they hold that few or none will be found so exactly righteous as to deserve no punishment at all), but will soon be delivered thence, when they shall be sufficiently purged from their sins, by their father Abraham, or at the intercession of him or some other of the prophets.2 The Magians allow but one angel to preside over all the seven hells, who is named by them Vanánd Yezád, and, as they teach, assigns punishments proportionate to each person's crimes, restraining also the tyranny and excessive cruelty of the devil, who would, if left to himself, torment the damned beyond their sentence. Those of this religion do also mention and describe various kinds of torments, wherewith the wicked will be punished in the next life; among which though they reckon extreme cold to be one, yet they do not admit fire, out of respect, as it seems, to that element, which they take to be the representation of the divine nature; and therefore they rather choose to describe the damned souls as suffering by other kinds of punishments: such as an intolerable stink, the stinging and biting of serpents and wild beasts, the cutting and tearing of the flesh by the devils, excessive hunger and thirst, and the like.

Before we proceed to a description of the Mohammedan paradise, we must not forget to say something of the wall or partition which they ima. gine to be between that place and hell, and seems to be copied from the great gulf of separation mentioned in scripture. They call it al Orf, and more frequently in the plural, al Arâf, a word derived from the verb arafa, which signifies to distinguish between things, or to part them; though some commentators give another reason for the imposition of this name, because, say they, those who stand on this partition will know and distinguish the blessed from the damned, by their respective marks or characteristics: and others say the word properly intends any thing that is high raised or elevated, as such a wall of separation must be supposed to be." The Mohammedan writers greatly differ as to the persons who are to be found on al Arâf. Some imagine it to be a sort of limbo, for the patriarchs and prophets, or for the martyrs and those who have been most eminent for

Poc. Not. in Port. Mosis, p. 289-291. Nishmat hayim, f. 32. Gemar, in Arubin, f. 19. Zohar. ad Exod. xxvi. 2, &c. and Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 245. Midrash, Yalkut Shemuni, part 11. f. 116. Zohar, ad Exod. xix. Yalkut Shemuni, ubi sup. f. 86. Nishmat hayim, f. 82. Gemar. Arubin, f. 19. Vide Kor. c. 2, p. 11, and 3, p. 38, and notes there. Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 182. • Vide Eundem, ibid. p. 399, &c. Luke xvi. 26. Jallalo'ddin, Vide Kor. c. 7. "Al Beidawi.