is reported to have said, "I beheld Paradise, and lo,! I saw one of its pomegranates as large as the back¹ of a camel laden with a pack-saddle, and lo! its birds were like Bactrian camels!"

The tales which Muhammad told of the delights of Paradise were equalled by the ghastly

Hell.

horrors with which he surrounded the future state of all who should reject his claims. A few particulars have been already quoted from the Qur'an, and it is unnecessary to add to this what the Traditions say. The picture is not so much terrible and grand as horrible and disgusting, especially as the "Prophet" gloats—nay, we may almost say that he represents GOD as gloating with him—over the infinitude of the tortures of the damned.² From all this we gladly turn away, merely observing that the hearts of all learned Muslims have long been troubled by one passage in the Qur'an in which, speaking of hell, GOD is represented as saying to Muhammad,³ "There is none of you but shall arrive at it; it has become a determined decree

upon thy Lord." Many explanations are given of the verse, but none seems satisfactory, and hence every Muhammadan has to face the terrible prospect of going once to hell, even though he may ultimately be delivered from it. For, although it is very frequently asserted in the Qur'an that the lost shall endure eternal¹ torment in hell, yet it is believed that all Muslims, even those guilty of the most terrible crimes,² after a period varying in proportion to their guilt, will

All Muslims ultimately Saved.

ultimately be in some manner delivered from hell-fire³ and admitted into Paradise, there to enjoy in varying degrees that peculiar kind of pleasure most in accord with their carnal nature.

Mystics'  explanations of Delights of Paradise.

We must confess that many learned and pious Muslims⁴ have endeavoured to explain away the sensual colouring of the Paradise described by Muhammad. Al Baidhawi,⁵ for example, endeavours