The Koran (Al-Qur'an) Part 4

The Koran being the Mohammedans' rule of faith and practice, it is no wonder its expositors and commentators are so very numerous. And it may not be amiss to take notice of the rules they observe in expounding it.

One of the most learned commentators distinguishes the contents of the Koran into allegorical and literal. The former comprehends the more obscure, parabolical, and enigmatical pa.s.sages, and such as are repealed or abrogated; the latter those which are plain, perspicuous, liable to no doubt, and in full force.

To explain these severally in a right manner, it is necessary from tradition and study to know the time when each pa.s.sage was revealed, its circ.u.mstances, state, and history, and the reasons or particular emergencies for the sake of which it was revealed. Or, more explicitly, whether the pa.s.sage was revealed at Mecca, or at Medina; whether it be abrogated, or does itself abrogate any other pa.s.sage; whether it be antic.i.p.ated in order of time, or postponed; whether it be distinct from the context, or depends thereon; whether it be particular or general; and, lastly, whether it be implicit by intention, or explicit in words.

By what has been said the reader may easily believe this book is in the greatest reverence and esteem among the Mohammedans. They dare not so much as touch it without being first washed or legally purified; which, lest they should do by inadvertence, they write these words on the cover or label, "Let none touch it but they who are clean." They read it with great care and respect, never holding it below their girdles. They swear by it, consult it in their weighty occasions, carry it with them to war, write sentences of it on their banners, adorn it with gold and precious stones, and knowingly suffer it not to be in the possession of any of a different persuasion.

The Mohammedans, far from thinking the Koran to be profaned by a translation, as some authors have written, have taken care to have their scriptures translated not only into the Persian tongue, but into several others, particularly the Javan and Malayan, though out of respect to the original Arabic, these versions are generally (if not always) intermediary.

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SECTION IV.

OF THE DOCTRINES AND POSITIVE PRECEPTS OF THE KORAN, WHICH RELATE TO FAITH AND RELIGIOUS DUTIES.

IT has been already observed more than once, that the fundamental position on which Mohammed erected the superstructure of his religion was, that from the beginning to the end of the world there has been, and for ever will be, but one true orthodox belief; consisting, as to matter of faith, in the acknowledging of the only true G.o.d, and the believing in and obeying such messengers or prophets as he should from time to time send, with proper credential, to reveal his will to mankind; and as to matter of practice, in the observance of the immutable and eternal laws of right and wrong, together with such other precepts and ceremonies as G.o.d should think fit to order for the time being, according to the different dispensations in different ages of the world: for these last he allowed were things indifferent in their own nature, and became obligatory by G.o.d'S positive precept only; and were therefore temporary, and subject to alteration according to his will and pleasure. And to this religion he gives the name of Islam, which word signifies resignation, or submission to the service and commands of G.o.d; and is used as the proper name of the Mohammedan religion, which they will also have to be the same at bottom with that of all the prophets from Adam.

Under pretext that this eternal religion was in his time corrupted, and professed in its purity by no one sect of men, Mohammed pretended to be a prophet sent by G.o.d to reform those abuses which had crept into it, and to reduce it to its primitive simplicity; with the addition, however, of peculiar laws and ceremonies, some of which had been used in former times, and others were now first inst.i.tuted. And he comprehended the whole substance of his doctrine under these two propositions, or articles of faith; viz., that there is but one G.o.d, and that himself was the apostle of G.o.d; in consequence of which latter article, all such ordinances and inst.i.tutions as he thought fit to establish must be received as obligatory and of divine authority.

The Mohammedans divide their religion, which, as I just now said, they call Islam, into two distinct parts: Iman, i.e., faith, or theory, and Din, i.e., religion, or practice; and teach that it is built on five fundamental points, one belonging to faith, and the other four to practice.

The first is that confession of faith which I have already mentioned; that "there is no G.o.d but the true G.o.d; and that Mohammed is his apostle." Under which they comprehend six distinct branches; viz., 1. Belief in G.o.d; 2. In his angels; 3. In his scriptures; 4. In his prophets; 5. In the resurrection and day of judgment; and, 6. In G.o.d'S absolute decree and predetermination both of good and evil.

The four points relating to practice are: 1. Prayer, under which are comprehended those washings or purifications which are necessary preparations required before prayer; 2. Alms; 3. Fasting; and, 4.

The pilgrimage to Mecca. Of each of these I shall speak in their order.

That both Mohammed and those among his followers who are reckoned orthodox, had and continue to have just and true notions of G.o.d and his attributes (always excepting their obstinate and impious rejecting of the Trinity), appears so plain from the Koran itself and all the Mohammedan divines, that it would be loss of time to refute those who suppose the G.o.d of Mohammed to be different from the true G.o.d, and only a fict.i.tious deity or idol of his own creation. Nor shall I enter into any of the Mohammedan controversies concerning the divine nature and attributes, because I shall have a more proper opportunity of doing it elsewhere.

The existence of angels and their purity are absolutely required to be believed in the Koran; and he is reckoned an infidel who denies there are such beings, or hates any of them, or a.s.serts any distinction of s.e.xes among them.

They believe them to have pure and subtle bodies, created of fire; that they neither eat nor drink, nor propagate their species; that they have various forms and offices; some adoring G.o.d in different postures, others singing praises to him, or interceding for mankind. They hold that some of them are employed in writing down the actions of men; others in carrying the throne of G.o.d and other services.

The four angels whom they look on as more eminently in G.o.d'S favour, and often mention on account of the offices a.s.signed them, are Gabriel, to whom they give several t.i.tles, particularly those of the holy spirit, and the angel of revelations, supposing him to be honoured by G.o.d with a greater confidence than any other, and to be employed in writing down the divine decrees; Michael, the friend and protector of the Jews; Azrael, the angel of death, who separates men's souls from their bodies; and Israfil, whose office it will be to sound the trumpet at the resurrection. The Mohammedans also believe that two guardian angels attend on every man, to observe and write down his actions, being changed every day, and therefore called al Moakkibat, or the angels who continually succeed one another.

This whole doctrine concerning angels Mohammed and his disciples have borrowed from the Jews, who learned the names and offices of those beings from the Persians, as themselves confess. The ancient Persians firmly believed the ministry of angels, and their superintendence over the affairs of this world (as the Magians still do), and therefore a.s.signed them distinct charges and provinces, giving their names to their months and the days of their months. Gabriel they called Sorush and Revan bakhsh, or the giver of souls, in opposition to the contrary office of the angel of death, to whom among other names they gave that of Mordad, or the giver of death; Michael they called Beshter, who according to them provides sustenance for mankind.

The Jews teach that the angels were created of fire; that they have several offices; that they intercede for men, and attend them. The angel of death they name Duma, and say he calls dying persons by their respective names at their last hour.

The devil, whom Mohammed names Eblis from his despair, was once one of those angels who are nearest to G.o.d'S presence, called Azazil, and fell, according to the doctrine of the Koran, for refusing to pay homage to Adam at the command of G.o.d.

Besides angels and devils, the Mohammedans are taught by the Koran to believe an intermediate order of creatures, which they call Jin or Genii, created also of fire, but of a grosser fabric than angels; since they eat and drink, and propagate their species, and are subject to death. Some of these are supposed to be good, and others bad, and capable of future salvation or d.a.m.nation, as men are; whence Mohammed pretended to be sent for the conversion of genii as well as men. The orientals pretend that these genii inhabited the world for many ages before Adam was created, under the government of several successive princes, who all bore the common name of Solomon; but falling at length into an almost general corruption, Eblis was sent to drive them into a remote part of the earth, there to be confined: that some of that generation still remaining, were by Tahmurath, one of the ancient kings of Persia, who waged war against them, forced to retreat into the famous mountains of Kaf. Of which successions and wars they have many fabulous and romantic stories. They also make different ranks and degrees among these beings (if they be not rather supposed to be of a different species), some being called absolutely Jin, some Peri or fairies, some Div or giants, others Tacwins or fates.

The Mohammedan notions concerning these genii agree almost exactly with what the Jews write of a sort of demons, called Shedim, whom some fancy to have been begotten by two angels named Aza and Azael, on Naamah the daughter of Lamech, before the Flood. However, the Shedim, they tell us, agree in three things with the ministering angels; for that, like them, they have wings, and fly from one end of the world to the other, and have some knowledge of futurity; and in three things they agree with men, like whom they eat and drink, are propagated, and die. They also say that some of them believe in the law of Moses, and are consequently good, and that others of them are infidels and reprobates.

As to the scriptures, the Mohammedans are taught by the Koran that G.o.d, in divers ages of the world, gave revelations of his will in writing to several prophets, the whole and every word of which it is absolutely necessary for a good Moslem to believe. The number of these sacred books were, according to them, 104. Of which ten were given to Adam, fifty to Seth, thirty to Edris or Enoch, ten to Abraham; and the other four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the Koran, were successively delivered to Moses, David, Jesus, and Mohammed; which last being the seal of the prophets, those revelations are now closed, and no more are to be expected. All these divine books, except the four last, they agree to be now entirely lost, and their contents unknown; though the Sabians have several books which they attribute to some of the antediluvian prophets. And of those four the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel, they say, have undergone so many alterations and corruptions, that though there may possibly be some part of the true word of G.o.d therein, yet no credit is to be given to the present copies in the hands of the Jews and Christians. The Jews in particular are frequently reflected on in the Koran for falsifying and corrupting their copies of their law; and some instances of such pretended corruptions, both in that book and the two others, are produced by Mohammedan writers, wherein they merely follow their own prejudices, and the fabulous accounts of spurious legends. Whether they have any copy of the Pentateuch among them different from that of the Jews or not, I am not entirely satisfied, since a person who travelled into the east was told that they had the books of Moses, though very much corrupted; but I know n.o.body that has ever seen them. However, they certainly have and privately read a book which they call the Psalms of David, in Arabic and Persian, to which are added some prayers of Moses, Jonas, and others. This Mr. Reland supposes to be a translation from our copies (though no doubt falsified in more places than one); but M. D'Herbelot says it contains not the same Psalms which are in our Psalter, being no more than an extract from thence mixed with other very different pieces. The easiest way to reconcile these two learned gentlemen, is to presume that they speak of different copies. The Mohammedans have also a Gospel in Arabic, attributed to St.

Barnabas, wherein the history of Jesus Christ is related in a manner very different from what we find in the true Gospels, and correspondent to those traditions which Mohammed has followed in his Koran. Of this Gospel the Moriscoes in Africa have a translation in Spanish; and there is in the library of Prince Eugene of Savoy, a ma.n.u.script of some antiquity, containing an Italian translation of the same Gospel, made, it is to be supposed, for the use of renegades. This book appears to be no original forgery of the Mohammedans, though they have no doubt interpolated and altered it since, the better to serve their purpose; and in particular, instead of the Paraclete or Comforter, they have in this apocryphal gospel inserted the word Periclyte, that is, the famous or ill.u.s.trious, by which they pretend their prophet was foretold by name, that being the signification of Mohammed in Arabic: and this they say to justify that pa.s.sage of the Koran, where Jesus Christ is formally a.s.serted to have foretold his coming, under his other name of Ahmed; which is derived from the same root as Mohammed, and of the same import. From these or some other forgeries of the same stamp it is that the Mohammedans quote several pa.s.sages, of which there are not the least footsteps in the New Testament. But after all we must not hence infer that the Mohammedans, much less all of them, hold these copies of theirs to be the ancient and genuine scriptures themselves. If any argue, from the corruption which they insist has happened to the Pentateuch and Gospel, that the Koran may possibly be corrupted also; they answer, that G.o.d has promised that he will take care of the latter, and preserve it from any addition or diminution; but that he left the two other to the care of men. However, they confess there are some various readings in the Koran, as has been observed.

Besides the books above mentioned, the Mohammedans also take notice of the writings of Daniel and several other prophets, and even make quotations thence; but these they do not believe to be divine scripture, or of any authority in matters of religion.

The number of the prophets, which have been from time to time sent by G.o.d into the world, amounts to no less than 224,000, according to one Mohammedan tradition, or to 124,000, according to another; among whom 313 were apostles, sent with special commissions to reclaim mankind from infidelity and superst.i.tion; and six of them brought new laws or dispensations, which successively abrogated the preceding: these were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed. All the prophets in general the Mohammedans believe to have been free from great sins and errors of consequence, and professors of one and the same religion, that is Islam, notwithstanding the different laws and inst.i.tutions which they observed.

They allow of degrees among them, and hold some of them to be more excellent and honourable than others. The first place they give to the revealers and establishers of new dispensations, and the next to the apostles.

In this great number of prophets, they not only reckon divers patriarchs and persons named in scripture, but not recorded to have been prophets (wherein the Jewish and Christian writers have sometimes led the way), as Adam, Seth, Lot, Ismael, Nun, Joshua, &c., and introduce some of them under different names, as Enoch, Heber, and Jethro, who are called in the Koran, Edris, Hud, and Shoaib; but several others whose very names do not appear in scripture (though they endeavour to find some persons there to fix them on), as Saleh, Khedr, Dhu'lkefl, &c. Several of their fabulous traditions concerning these prophets we shall occasionally mention in the notes on the Koran.

As Mohammed acknowledged the divine authority of the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel, he often appeals to the consonancy of the Koran with those writings, and to the prophecies which he pretended were therein concerning himself, as proofs of his mission; and he frequently charges the Jews and Christians with stifling the pa.s.sages which bear witness to him. His followers also fail not to produce several texts even from our present copies of the Old and New Testament, to support their master's cause.

The next article of faith required by the Koran is the belief of a general resurrection and a future judgment. But before we consider the Mohammedan tenets in those points, it will be proper to mention what they are taught to believe concerning the intermediate state, both of the body and of the soul, after death.

When a corpse is laid in the grave, they say he is received by an angel, who gives him notice of the coming of the two examiners; who are two black livid angels, of a terrible appearance, named Monker and Nakir. These order the dead person to sit upright, and examine him concerning his faith, as to the unity of G.o.d, and the mission of Mohammed: if he answer rightly, they suffer the body to rest in peace, and it is refreshed by the air of paradise; but if not, they beat him on the temples with iron maces, till he roars out for anguish so loud, that he is heard by all from east to west, except men and genii. Then they press the earth on the corpse, which is gnawed and stung till the resurrection by ninety-nine dragons, with seven heads each; or as others say, their sins will become venomous beasts, the grievous ones stinging like dragons, the smaller like scorpions, and the others like serpents: circ.u.mstances which some understand in a figurative sense.

The examination of the sepulchre is not only founded on an express tradition of Mohammed, but is also plainly hinted at, though not directly taught, in the Koran, as the commentators agree. It is therefore believed by the orthodox Mohammedans in general, who take care to have their graves made hollow, that they may sit up with more ease while they are examined by the angels; but is utterly rejected by the sect of the Mutazalites, and perhaps by some others.

These notions Mohammed certainly borrowed from the Jews, among whom they were very anciently received. They say that the angel of death coming and sitting on the grave, the soul immediately enters the body and raises it on its feet; that he then examines the departed person, and strikes him with a chain half of iron and half of fire; at the first blow all his limbs are loosened, at the second his bones are scattered, which are gathered together again by the angels, and the third stroke reduces the body to dust and ashes, and it returns into the grave. This rack or torture they call Hibbut hakkeber, or the beating of the sepulchre, and pretend that all men in general must undergo it, except only those who die on the evening of the sabbath, or have dwelt in the land of Israel.

It it be objected to the Mohammedans that the cry of the persons under such examination has been never heard; or if they be asked how those can undergo it whose bodies are burnt or devoured by beasts or birds, or otherwise consumed without burial; they answer, that it is very possible notwithstanding, since men are not able to perceive what is transacted on the other side the grave; and that it is sufficient to restore to life any part of the body which is capable of understanding the questions put by the angels.

As to the soul, they hold that when it is separated from the body by the angel of death, who performs his office with ease and gentleness towards the good, and with violence towards the wicked, it enters into that state which they call Al Berzakh, or the interval between death and the resurrection. If the departed person was a believer, they say two angels meet it, who convey it to heaven, that its place there may be a.s.signed, according to its merit and degree. For they distinguish the souls of the faithful into three cla.s.ses: the first of prophets, whose souls are admitted into paradise immediately; the second of martyrs; whose spirits, according to a tradition of Mohammed, rest in the crops of green birds which eat of the fruits and drink of the rivers of paradise; and the third of other believers, concerning the state of whose souls before the resurrection there are various opinions. For, I. Some say they stay near the sepulchres, with liberty, however, of going wherever they please; which they confirm with Mohammed's manner of saluting them at their graves, and his affirming that the dead heard those salutations as well as the living, though they could not answer. Whence perhaps proceeded the custom of visiting the tombs of relations, so common among the Mohammedans.

2. Others imagine they are with Adam, in the lowest heaven; and also support their opinion by the authority of their prophet, who gave out that in his return from the upper heavens in his pretended night journey, he saw there the souls of those who were destined to paradise on the right hand of Adam, and of those who were condemned to h.e.l.l on his left. 3. Others fancy the souls of believers remain in the well Zemzem, and those of infidels in a certain well in the province of Hadramaut, called Borhut; but this opinion is branded as heretical. 4. Others say they stay near the graves for seven days; but that whither they go afterwards is uncertain. 5. Others that they are all in the trumpet whose sound is to raise the dead. And, 6. Others that the souls of the good dwell in the forms of white birds, under the throne of G.o.d. As to the condition of the souls of the wicked, besides the opinions that have been already mentioned, the more orthodox hold that they are offered by the angels to heaven, from whence being repulsed as stinking and filthy, they are offered to the earth, and being also refused a place there, are carried down to the seventh earth, and thrown into a dungeon, which they call Sajin, under a green rock, or according to a tradition of Mohammed, under the devil's jaw, to be there tormented, till they are called up to be joined again to their bodies.

Though some among the Mohammedans have thought that the resurrection will be merely spiritual, and no more than the returning of the soul to the place whence it first came (an opinion defended by Ebn Sina, and called by some the opinion of the philosophers); and others, who allow man to consist of body only, that it will be merely corporeal; the received opinion is, that both body and soul will be raised, and their doctors argue strenuously for the possibility of the resurrection of the body, and dispute with great subtlety concerning the manner of it. But Mohammed has taken care to preserve one part of the body, whatever becomes of the rest, to serve for a basis of the future edifice, or rather a leaven for the ma.s.s which is to be joined to it.

For he taught that a man's body was entirely consumed by the earth, except only the bone called al Ajb, which we name the os coccygis, or rump-bone; and that as it was the first formed in the human body, it will also remain uncorrupted till the last day, as a seed from whence the whole is to be renewed: and this he said would be effected by a forty days' rain which G.o.d should send, and which would cover the earth to the height of twelve cubits, and cause the bodies to sprout forth like plants. Herein also is Mohammed also beholden to the Jews, who say the same things of the bone Luz, excepting that what he attributes to a great rain, will be effected according to them by a dew, impregnating the dust of the earth.

The time of the resurrection the Mohammedans allow to be a perfect secret to all but G.o.d alone: the angel Gabriel himself acknowledging his ignorance on this point when Mohammed asked him about it. However, they say the approach of that day may be known from certain signs which are to precede it. These signs they distinguish into two sorts--the lesser and the greater-- which I shall briefly enumerate after Dr. Poc.o.c.k.

The lesser signs are: I. They decay of faith among men. 2. The advancing of the meanest persons to eminent dignity. 3. That a maid-servant shall become the mother of her mistress (or master); by which is meant either that towards the end of the world men shall be much given to sensuality, or that the Mohammedans shall then take many captives. 4. Tumults and seditions. 5. A war with the Turks. 6. Great distress in the world, so that a man when he pa.s.ses by another's grave shall say "Would to G.o.d I were in his place." 7. That the provinces of Irak and Syria shall refuse to pay their tribute. And, 8. That the buildings of Medina shall reach to Ahab, or Yahab.

The greater signs are: 1. The sun's rising in the west: which some have imagined it originally did.

2. The appearance of the beast, which shall rise out of the earth, in the temple of Mecca, or on Mount Safa, or in the territory of Tayef, or some other place. This beast they say is to be sixty cubits high: though others, not satisfied with so small a size, will have her reach to the clouds and to heaven when her head only is out; and that she will appear for three days, but show only a third part of her body. They describe this monster, as to her form, to be a compound of various species, having the head of a bull, the eyes of a hog, the ears of an elephant, the horns of a stag, the neck of an ostrich, the breast of a lion, the colour of a tiger, the back of a cat, the tail of a ram, the legs of a camel, and the voice of an a.s.s. Some say this beast is to appear three times in several places, and that she will bring with her the rod of Moses and the seal of Solomon; and being so swift that none can overtake or escape her, will with the first strike all the believers on the face and mark them with the word Mumen, i.e., believer; and with the latter will mark the unbelievers, on the face likewise, with the word Cafer, i.e., infidel, that every person may be known for what he really is. They add that the same beast is to demonstrate the vanity of all religions except Islam, and to speak Arabic. All this stuff seems to be the result of a confused idea of the beast in the Revelations.

3. War with the Greeks, and the taking of Constantinople by 70,000 of the posterity of Isaac, who shall not win that city by force of arms, but the walls shall fall down while they cry out, "There is no G.o.d but G.o.d: G.o.d is most great!"

As they are dividing the spoil, news will come to them of the appearance of the Antichrist, whereupon they shall leave all, and return back.

4. The coming of Anti-christ, whom the Mohammedans call al Masih al Dajjal, i.e., the false or lying Christ, and simply al Dajjal. He is to be one-eyed, and marked on the forehead with the letters C.F.R., signifying Cafer, or infidel.

They say that the Jews give him the name of Messiah Ben David, and pretend he is to come in the last days and to be lord both of land and sea, and that he will restore the kingdom to them. According to the traditions of Mohammed, he is to appear first between Irak and Syria, or according to others, in the province of Khorasan; they add that he is to ride on an a.s.s, that he will be followed by 70,000 Jews of Ispahan, and continue on earth forty days, of which one will be equal in length to a year, another to a month, another to a week, and the rest will be common days; that he is to lay waste all places, but will not enter Mecca or Medina, which are to be guarded by angels; and that at length he will be slain by Jesus, who is to encounter him at the gate of Lud. It is said that Mohammed foretold several Anti-christs, to the number of about thirty, but one of greater note than the rest.

5. The descent of Jesus on earth. They pretend that he is to descend near the white tower to the east of Damascus, when the people are returned from the taking of Constantinople; that he is to embrace the Mohammedan religion, marry a wife, get children, kill Antichrist, and at length die after forty years', or, according to others, twenty-four years', continuance on earth. Under him they say there will be great security and plenty in the world, all hatred and malice being laid aside; when lions and camels, bears and sheep, shall live in peace, and a child shall play with serpents unhurt.

6. War with the Jews; of whom the Mohammedans are to make a religious slaughter, the very trees and stones discovering such of them as hide themselves, except only the tree called Gharkad, which is the tree of the Jews.

7. The eruption of Gog and Magog, or, as they are called in the east, Yajuj and Majuj; of whom many things are related in the Koran, and the traditions of Mohammed. These barbarians, they tell us, having pa.s.sed the lake of Tiberias, which the vanguard of their vast army will drink dry, will come to Jerusalem, and there greatly distress Jesus and his companions; till at his request G.o.d will destroy them, and fill the earth with their carca.s.ses, which after some time G.o.d will send birds to carry away, at the prayers of Jesus and his followers. Their bows, arrows, and quivers the Moslems will burn for seven years together; and at last G.o.d will send a rain to cleanse the earth, and to make it fertile.

8. A smoke, which shall fill the whole earth.

9. An eclipse of the moon. Mohammed is reported to have said that there would be three eclipses before the last hour; one to be seen in the east, another in the west, and the third in Arabia.

10. The returning of the Arabs to the worship of Allat and al Uzza, and the rest of their ancient idols; after the decrease of every one in whose heart there was faith equal to the grain of mustard-seed, none but the very worst of men being left alive. For G.o.d, they say, will send a cold odoriferous wind, blowing from Syria Damascena, which shall sweep away the souls of all the faithful, and the Koran itself, so that men will remain in the grossest ignorance for a hundred years.

11. The discovery of a vast heap of gold and silver by the retreating of the Euphrates, which will be the destruction of many.

12. The demolition of the Caaba, or temple of Mecca, by the Ethiopians.

13. The speaking of beasts and inanimate things.

14. The breaking out of fire in the province of Hejaz; or, according to others, in Yaman.

15. The appearance of a man of the descendants of Kahtan, who shall drive men before him with his staff.

16. The coming of the Mohdi, or director; concerning whom Mohammed prophesied that the world should not have an end till one of his own family should govern the Arabians, whose name should be the same with his own name, and whose father's name should also be the same with his father's name; and who should fill the earth with righteousness. This person the Shiites believe to be now alive, and concealed in some secret place, till the time of his manifestation; for they suppose him to be no other than the last of the twelve Imams, named Mohammed Abu'lkasem, as their prophet was, and the son of Ha.s.san al Askeri, the eleventh of that succession. He was born at Sermanrai in the 255th year of the Hejra. From this tradition, it is to be presumed, an opinion pretty current among the Christians took its rise, that the Mohammedans are in expectation of their prophet's return.

17. A wind which shall sweep away the souls of all who have but a grain of faith in their hearts, as has been mentioned under the tenth sign.

These are the greater signs, which, according to their doctrine, are to precede the resurrection, but still leave the hour of it uncertain: for the immediate sign of its being come will be the first blast of the trumpet; which they believe will be sounded three times. The first they call the blast of consternation; at the hearing of which all creatures in heaven and earth shall be struck with terror, except those whom G.o.d shall please to exempt from it.

The effects attributed to this first sound of the trumpet are very wonderful: for they say the earth will be shaken, and not only all buildings, but the very mountains levelled; that the heavens shall melt, the sun be darkened, the stars fall, on the death of the angels, who, as some imagine, hold them suspended between heaven and earth, and the sea shall be troubled and dried up, or, according ot others, turned into flames, the sun, moon, and stars being thrown into it: the Koran, to express the greatness of the terror of that day, adds that women who give suck shall abandon the care of their infants, and even the she-camels which have gone ten months with young (a most valuable part of the substance of that nation) shall be utterly neglected.

A farther effect of this blast will be that concourse of beasts mentioned in the Koran, though some doubt whether it be to precede the resurrection or not. They who suppose it will precede, think that ll kinds of animals, forgetting their respective natural fierceness and timidity, will run together into one place, being terrified by the sound of the trumpet and the sudden shock of nature.

The Mohammedans believe that this first blast will be followed by a second, which they call the blast of examination, when all creatures, both in heaven and earth, shall die or be annihilated, except those which G.o.d shall please to exempt from the common fate; and this, they say, shall happen in the twinkling of an eye, nay, in an instant; nothing surviving except G.o.d alone, with paradise and h.e.l.l, and the inhabitants of those two places, and throne of glory. The last who shall die will be the angel of death.

Forty years after this will be heard the blast of resurrection, when the trumpet shall be sounded the third time by Israfil, who, together with Gabriel and Michael, will be previously restored to life, and standing on the rock of the temple of Jerusalem, shall, at G.o.d'S command, call together all the dry and rotten bones, and other dispersed parts of the bodies, and the very hairs, to judgment. This angel having, by the divine order, set the trumpet to his mouth, and called together all the souls from all parts, will throw them into his trumpet, from whence, on his giving the last sound, at the command of G.o.d, they will fly forth like bees, and fill the whole s.p.a.ce between heaven and earth, and then repair to their respective bodies, which the opening earth will suffer to arise; and the first who shall so arise, according to a tradition of Mohammed, will be himself. For this birth the earth will be prepared by the rain above mentioned, which is to fall continually for forty years, and will resemble the seed of a man, and be supplied from the water under the throne of G.o.d, which is called living water; by the efficacy and virtue of which the dead bodies shall spring forth from their graves, as they did in their mother's womb, or as corn sprouts forth by common rain, till they become perfect; after which breath will be breathed into them, and they will sleep in their sepulchres till they are raised to life at the last trump.

As to the length of the last day of judgment the Koran in one place tells us that it will last 1,000 years, and in another 50,000. To reconcile this apparent contradiction, the commentators use several shifts: some saying they know not what measure of time G.o.d intends in those pa.s.sages; others, that these forms of speaking are figurative and not to be strictly taken, and were designed only to express the terribleness of that day, it being usual for the Arabs to describe what they dislike as of long continuance, and what they like, as the contrary; and others suppose them spoken only in reference to the difficulty of the business of the day, which, if G.o.d should commit to any of his creatures, they would not be able to go through it in so many thousand years; to omit some other opinions which we may take notice of elsewhere.

Having said so much in relation to the time of the resurrection, let us now see who are to be raised from the dead, in what manner and form they shall be raised, in what place they shall be a.s.sembled, and to what end, according to the doctrine of the Mohammedans.

That the resurrection will be general, and extend to all creatures both angels, genii, men, and animals, is the received opinion, which they support by the authority of the Koran, though that pa.s.sage which is produced to prove the resurrection of brutes be otherwise interpreted by some.

The manner of their resurrection will be very different. Those who are destined to be partakers of eternal happiness will arise in honour and security; and those who are doomed to misery, in disgrace and under dismal apprehensions. As to mankind, they say that they will be raised perfect in all their parts and members, and in the same state as they came out of their mother's wombs, that is, barefooted, naked, and uncirc.u.mcised; which circ.u.mstances when Mohammed was telling his wife Ayesha, she, fearing the rules of modesty might be thereby violated, objected that it would be very indecent for men and women to look upon one another in that condition; but he answered her, that the business of the day would be too weighty and serious to allow them the making use of that liberty. Others, however, allege the authority of their prophet for a contrary opinion as to their nakedness, and pretend he a.s.serted that the dead should arise dressed in the same clothes in which they died; unless we interpret these words, as some do, not so much of the outward dress of the body, as the inward clothing of the mind; and understand thereby that every person will rise again in the same state as to his faith or infidelity, his knowledge or ignorance, his good or bad works.

Mohammed is also said to have farther taught, by another tradition, that mankind shall be a.s.sembled at the last day, distinguished into three cla.s.ses.

The first, of those who go on foot; the second, of those who ride; and the third, of those who creep groveling with their faces on the ground. The first cla.s.s is to consist of those believers whose good works have been few; the second of those who are in greater honour with G.o.d, and more acceptable to him; whence Ali affirmed that the pious when they come forth from their sepulchres, shall find ready prepared for them white-winged camels, with saddles of gold; wherein are to be observed some footsteps of the doctrine of the ancient Arabians; and the third cla.s.s, they say, will be composed of the infidels, whom G.o.d shall cause to make their appearance with their faces on the earth, blind, dumb, and deaf. But the unG.o.dly will not be thus only distinguished; for, according to a tradition of the prophet, there will be ten sorts of wicked men on whom G.o.d shall on that day fix certain discretory marks. The first will appear in the form of apes; these are the professors of Zendicism: the second in that of swine; these are they who have been greedy of filthy lucre, and enriched themselves by public oppression: the third will be brought with their heads reversed and their feet distorted; these are the usurers: the fourth will wander about blind; these are unjust judges: the fifth will be deaf, dumb, and blind, understanding nothing; these are they who glory in their own works: the sixth will gnaw their tongues, which will hang down upon their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, corrupted blood flowing from their mouths like spittle, so that everybody shall detest them; these are the learned men and doctors, whose actions contradict their sayings: the seventh will have their hands and feet cut off; these are they who have injured their neighbours: the eighth will be fixed to the trunks of palm trees or stakes of wood; these are the false accusers and informers: the ninth will stink worse than a corrupted corpse; these are they who have indulged their pa.s.sions and voluptuous appet.i.tes, but refused G.o.d such part of their wealth as was due to him: the tenth will be clothed with garments daubed with pitch; and these are the proud, the vainglorious, and the arrogant.

As to the place where they are to be a.s.sembled to judgment, the Koran and the traditions of Mohammed agree that it will be on the earth, but in what part of the earth it is not agreed. Some say their prophet mentioned Syria for the place; others, a white and even tract of land, without inhabitants or any signs of buildings. Al Ghazali imagines it will be a second earth, which he supposes to be of silver; and others, an earth which has nothing in common with ours but the name; having, it is possible, heard something of the new heavens and new earth mentioned in scripture: whence the Koran has this expression, "on the day wherein the earth shall be changed into another earth."

The end of the resurrection the Mohammedans declare to be, that they who are so raised may give an account of their actions, and receive the reward thereof. And they believe that not only mankind, but the genii and irrational animals also, shall be judged on this great day; when the unarmed cattle shall take vengeance on the horned, till entire satisfaction shall be given to the injured.

As to mankind, they hold that when they are all a.s.sembled together, they will not be immediately brought to judgment, but the angels will keep them in their ranks and order while they attend for that purpose; and this attendance some say is to last forty years, others seventy, others 300, nay, some say no less than 50,000 years, each of them vouching their prophet's authority.

During this s.p.a.ce they will stand looking up to heaven, but without receiving any information or orders thence, and are to suffer grievous torments, both the just and the unjust, though with manifest difference. For the limbs of the former, particularly those parts which they used to wash in making the ceremonial ablution before prayer, shall shine gloriously, and their sufferings shall be light in comparison, and shall last no longer than the time necessary to say the appointed prayers; but the latter will have their faces obscured with blackness, and disfigured with all the marks of sorrow and deformity.

What will then occasion not the least of their pain, is a wonderful and incredible sweat, which will even stop their mouths, and in which they will be immersed in various degrees according to their demerits, some to the ankles only, some to the knees, some to the middle, some so high as their mouth, and others as their ears. And this sweat, they say, will be provoked not only by that vast concourse of all sorts of creatures mutually pressing and treading on one another's feet, but by the near and unusual approach of the sun, which will be then no farther from them than the distance of a mile, or, as some translate the word, the signification of which is ambiguous, than the length of a bodkin. So that their skulls will boil like a pot, and they will be all bathed in sweat. From this inconvenience, however, the good will be protected by the shade of G.o.d'S throne; but the wicked will be so miserably tormented with it, and also with hunger, and thirst, and a stifling air, that they will cry out, "Lord, deliver us from this anguish, though thou send us into h.e.l.l fire." What they fable of the extraordinary heat of the sun on this occasion, the Mohammedans certainly borrowed from the Jews, who say, that for the punishment of the wicked on the last day, that planet shall be drawn from its sheath, in which it is now put up, lest it should destroy all things by its excessive heat.

When those who have risen shall have waited the limited time, the Mohammedans believe G.o.d will at length appear to judge them; Mohammed undertaking the office of intercessor, after it shall have been declined by Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Jesus, who shall beg deliverance only for their own souls. They say that on this solemn occasion G.o.d will come in the clouds, surrounded by angels, and will produce the books wherein the actions of every person are recorded by their guardian angels, and will command the prophets to bear witness against those to whom they have been respectively sent.

Then every one will be examined concerning all his words and actions, uttered and done by him in this life; not as if G.o.d needed any information in those respects, but to oblige the person to make public confession and acknowledgment of G.o.d'S justice. The particulars of which they shall give an account, as Mohammed himself enumerated them, are--of their time, how they spent it; of their wealth, by what means they acquired it, and how they employed it; of their bodies, wherein they exercised them; of their knowledge and learning, what use they made of them. It is said, however, that Mohammed has affirmed that no less than 70,000 of his followers should be permitted to enter paradise without any previous examination, which seems to be contradictory to what is said above. To the questions we have mentioned each person shall answer, and make his defence in the best manner he can, endeavouring to excuse himself by casting the blame of his evil deeds on others, so that a dispute shall arise even between the soul and the body, to which of them 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 G.o.d 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, pa.s.sed sentence on and punished them both. And in the same manner will G.o.d 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 a.s.sign so long a s.p.a.ce 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 than the s.p.a.ce between the two milkings of a she-camel. Some, explaining those words so frequently used in the Koran, "G.o.d will be swift in taking an account," say that he will judge all creatures in the s.p.a.ce 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 unG.o.dly will be obliged to take them against their wills in their left, which will be bound behind their backs, their right hand being tied up to their necks.

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 weighted. 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 h.e.l.l, are capacious enough to contain both heaven and earth. Though some are willing to understand what is said in the Koran concerning this balance, allegorically, and only as a figurative representation of G.o.d'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 balance 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 G.o.d suffers any good action to pa.s.s 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 Sorush, will stand on the bridge we shall describe by-and-bye, to examine every person as he pa.s.ses; that the former, who represents the divine mercy, will hold a balance in his hand, to weigh the actions of men; that according to the report he shall make thereof to G.o.d, sentence will be p.r.o.nounced, 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 pa.s.s forward to paradise; but those whose good works shall be found light, will be by the other angel, who represents G.o.d'S justice, precipitated from the bridge into h.e.l.l.

This examination being pa.s.sed, 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," G.o.d 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, G.o.d 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 h.e.l.l laden with both. This will be the method of G.o.d'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 pa.s.sed on the brutes, "Would to G.o.d 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 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 infidelity.

Wherefore some entertain a more favourable opinion, and a.s.sign 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 h.e.l.l 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 a.s.sembly 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 h.e.l.l fire will take the left; but both of them must first pa.s.s the bridge, called in Arabic al Sirat, which they say is laid over the midst of h.e.l.l, and described to be finer than a hair, and 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 Mutazalites 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 a.s.serted a falsehood, meaning their prophet; who to add to the difficulty of the pa.s.sage, 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 pa.s.s 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 h.e.l.l, which is gaping beneath them.

This circ.u.mstance Mohammed seems also to have borrowed from the Magians, who teach that on the last day all mankind will be obliged to pa.s.s a bridge which they call Pul Chinavad, or Chinavar, that is, the straight bridge, leading directly into the other world; on the midst of which they suppose the angels, appointed by G.o.d 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 h.e.l.l, which they say is no broader than a thread; but then they do not tell us that any shall be obliged to pa.s.s it, except the idolaters, who will fall thence into perdition.

As to the punishment of the wicked, the Mohammedans are taught that h.e.l.l is divided into seven stories, or apartments, one below another, designed for the reception of as many distinct cla.s.ses of the d.a.m.ned. The first which they call Jehennam, they say, will be the receptacle of those who acknowledged one G.o.d, that is, the wicked Mohammedans, who after having there been punished according to their demerits, will at length be released. The second, named Ladha, they a.s.sign to the Jews; the third, named al Hotama, to the Christians; the fourth named al Sair, 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 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 apartments they believe there will be set a guard of angels, nineteen in number; to whom the d.a.m.ned will confess the just judgment of G.o.d, 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 Koran and traditions, been very exact in describing the various torments of h.e.l.l, 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 the most lightly of all will be shod with shoes of fire, the fervour of which will cause his skull 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 ever delivered from that place, since, according to that frequent expression in the Koran, "they must remain therein for ever." It must be remarked, however, that the infidels alone will be liable to eternity of d.a.m.nation, 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 heretical; 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 an believed the unity of G.o.d 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, G.o.d will, on their prayers, take from them that opprobrious appellation. Others say he taught that while they continue in h.e.l.l 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; and 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 900 years, nor more than 7,000. 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 used 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 relieved by the mercy of G.o.d, 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 h.e.l.l, 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 circ.u.mstances relating to h.e.l.l and the state of the d.a.m.ned, 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 h.e.l.l, though they vary in other particulars. The former place an angel as a guard over each of these infernal apartments, and suppose he will intercede for the miserable wretches there imprisoned, who will openly acknowledge the justice of G.o.d 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; and believe those of their own religion shall also be punished in h.e.l.l 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. The Magians allow but one angel to preside over all the seven h.e.l.ls, who is named by them Vanand Yezad, and, as they teach, a.s.signs 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 d.a.m.ned beyond their sentence.