32 THE RELIGION OF THE CRESCENT.

of Mecca. "When 1 Adam fell in Ceylon, he kept on weeping and wailing and lamenting for his offence for 200 years (or, according to another account, for 300 years) so that from his tears rivers began to flow, and on their banks there grew dates and cloves and nutmeg-trees.

"From Eve's tears were produced henna and collyrium and indigo. Every one of their tears which fell into the sea became a pearl, and these her daughters take as their heritage." Gabriel, by GOD'S command, directed Adam to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, where, on the mount, thence called 'Arafat, he met and recognized Eve. Although Adam's offence was serious enough to cause his expulsion from Paradise, yet the Muhammadans call it not a sin but merely an error

Adam did not sin.

( زِلَّةُ ), holding as they do that all the Prophets are sinless. The doctrine of Original Sin accordingly finds no place in their theology, although they hold that all men are descended from Adam and Eve.

Angels.

§ 9. The Muslims believe in the existence of a great multitude 2 of Angels. They were all created

1 "Qisasu'l Anbiya"; Qissat-i Hazrat-i Adam, p. 19 (Persian edition).
2 "'Abdullah bin 'Abbas says that God Most High created a light in the midst of each heaven, and from that light He made innumerable angels," "Qisasu'l Anbiya," Persian edition, p. 6. And in speaking of the 'Night Journey,' Thabit represents Mubammad as saying of Gabriel:

وصعد بي الىا السماء السابعة فاذا بابرهيم مسنداً لخهره الىا البيت المعمور واذا هو يدخله كل يوم مبعون الف ملك لا يعودون
THE STRENGTH OF ISLAM. 33

by GOD ages before the creation of the world, and were made out of fire; whence the superiority of their nature to that of Man, who partakes of the nature of the earth whence he was created. They are, however, capable of falling into 1 sin. They are appointed to various offices and are

Their
number.

of different ranks. GOD uses many of them as His messengers to Mankind. The Muslims, on the authority of one of their Traditions, assert that there is not a particle of matter in the universe which is not guarded by an angel specially appointed for the purpose. "There is 2 a hierarchy of angels. In the highest rank are those nearest to GOD. These are the four 3 supporters of His Throne, and they receive the homage of the others. On the Day of judgment four other angels will be added to these, because in the Qur'an it is written 4 that on that

Heavenly
Hierarchy

occasion eight angels will sustain the throne of GOD. After these come the angel named Ruh (spirit), thus named because every breath he breathes creates a soul; Israfil, the messenger of GOD, whose office it is to conduct souls to the

1 As Harut and Marut did (Surah ii. 96): cf. also Surah xxiv. 31. 
2 Osborn, "Islam under the Khalifs of Baghdad," p. 64, Ibid. 
3 Hamilatu'l 'Arsh. The Muhammadan idea that four angels surround God's throne is taken from the Jewish book Zohar, in which their number is given as four; their names as given in that book are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel (R. Bechai). 
4 Surah lxix. 17.