stand on the bridge we shall describe by- and-bye, to examine every person as he passes; 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 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.1 This examination being passed, 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;2 wicked men being reserved to more grievous punishment: so that they shall cry out, on hearing this sentence passed 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 fate as the irrational animals, and
5 Kor. c. 23, 7, &c. 6 Midrash, Yalkut Shemuni, f. 153, c. 3. 7 Gemar. Sanhedr. f. 91, &c. 8 Exod. xxxii. 32, 33, Dan. vii. 10, Revel. xx. 12, &c., and Dan. v. 27. 1 Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 245, 401, &c. 2 Yet they say the dog of the seven sleepers, and Ezra's ass, which was raised to life, will, by peculiar favour, be admitted into paradise. See Kor. c. 18, and c. 3.
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 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.1 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 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 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.2 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 Chînavar, that is, the straight 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.3 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.1 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.2 The first which they call Jehennam, they say, will be the receptacle of those who acknowledged one GOD, that is, the wicked Mohammedans,
1 Vide Kor. c. 18. 2 Pocock. ubi sup. p. 282–289. 3 Hyde, de Rel. Vet. Pers. p. 245, 402, &c. 1 Midrash, Yalkut Reubeni. § Gehinnom. 2 Kor. c. 15.
who after having there been punished according to their demerits, will at length be released. The second, uamed Ladhâ, they assign to the Jews; the third, named al Hotama, to the Christians; the fourth named al Säir, to the Sabians; the fifth, named Sakar, to the Magians; the sixth, named al Jahîm, to the idolaters; and the seventh, which is the lowest and worst of all, and is called al Hâwiyat, to the hypocrites, or those who outwardly professed some religion, but in their hearts were of none.3 Over each of these apartments they believe there will be set a guard of angels,4 nineteen in number;5 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.6 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 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 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 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 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 opprobrious 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; 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
3 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. But all agree