246 ZOROASTRIAN ELEMENTS IN THE QUR'AN

grant him admission by promising to teach him a prayer, the repetition of which would keep him from ever growing old, from rebelling against God, and from ever being driven forth from Paradise. On this the Peacock flew down from the battlement and told the Serpent what he had heard. This led to the fall of Eve and afterwards of Adam. When, therefore, God Most High cast Adam, Eve, the Tempter and the Serpent down from Paradise to the earth, he hurled down the Peacock 1 with them.

It is noteworthy that the Zoroastrians also believed in a connexion between Ahriman and the Peacock. The Armenian writer Ezniq, whom we have already quoted in a different connexion, informs us of the Zoroastrians of his day that "They 2 say that Ahriman said, ‘It is not that I cannot make anything good, but I will not.’ And, in order to prove what he said, he made the Peacock."

If the Peacock in the Zoroastrian legend is a creature of Ahriman, we are not surprised at its helping Iblis in the Muhammadan one, and being expelled from Paradise along with him.

4. Legend of the "Light of Muhammad."

Though not mentioned in the Qur'an, the story of the Light of Muhammad, which shone on his
1 Qisasu'l Anbiya, pp. 16, 17. 0
2 Refutation of Heresies, Book ii.
AND TRADITIONS OF ISLAM. 247

forehead and was his pre-existent essence, so to speak, occupies a very important place in the Traditions. Whole pages are filled with such traditions in such books as the Raudatu'l Ahbab. There we read that "When Adam was created, God placed that light upon his forehead, and said, ‘O Adam, this light which I have placed upon thy forehead is the light of the noblest and best son [of thine], and it is the light of the chief of the prophets who shall be sent.’" Then the narrative goes on to say that the light passed on from Adam to Seth, and from Seth to the noblest of his descendants in each generation, until in due course it reached 'Abdu'llah ibn Al Muttalab. From him it passed to Aminah when she conceived Muhammad 1. It may be that Muhammadans have intended in their account of this light of Muhammad to exalt their master so as to match what is said of
1 Another tradition mentions the following facts which are of interest as showing the importance of this light. Muhammad said, "God Most High divided that light" (before the creation of the world, for "The first thing that he created was my Light," Qisasu'l Anbiya p.2, vide also p. 282) "into four sections, and He created the Throne" (or Highest Heaven, Al 'Arsh) "out of one section, and from one section He created the Pen, and from one section He created Paradise, and from one section He created the Believers. He again divided these four sections into four other parts. Out of the first, the choicest and most honourable, He created me, who am the Apostle, and from the second part He created Reason and placed it in the Believers' head, and out of the third part He created modesty and placed it in Believers' eyes, and out of the fourth part He created Desire, and placed it in Believers' hearts." (Qisasu'l Anbiya, p.2.)