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THE PRINCE OF THE WORLD |
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accord with what the Muslims say regarding Azzl, who came to dwell in the
Second heaven. But the rest of the tale about him belongs to the Zoroastrian
books, which will be noticed in our Fifth chapter.
In Surah xix. vv. 69-73 we have the following passage:—
By the Lord! we shall surely assemble them round about Hell on their knees.
Then will we draw forth from every Sect such of them as shall have been most
rebellious against the Merciful; and we best know which of them are the more
deserving to be burned therein. There are none of you but shall descend into the
same. It is an established decree with thy Lord. Then we will deliver the pious
ones; but will leave the wicked ones therein upon their knees.
In explaining this passage Tradition varies. Some say that all believers will
descend into Hell, but will not be touched by the flames; others that it refers
to the Bridge Sirt, over which all must pass, and which is over Jehannam. It
is just possible that the words, "There are none of you but shall descend
into it," may be borrowed from the way in which some ignorant Christians
interpreted the "Trying with fire," mentioned in the Gospel,1 as if it
meant that they were thus to be purified of their sins. But if the Qur'an here
refers to the Bridge Sirt, the idea cannot be from any of them, but from the
Zoroastrian books, to be noticed below.
The BALANCE is mentioned in two passages of the Qur'an, Surah xlii. 16:— It is
God who hath sent down the Scripture with truth, and the Balance; and what shall
inform thee whether the time be near at hand?
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And Surah ci. 5, 6:— Moreover, he whose Balance shall be heavy will lead a
pleasing life; but he whose Balance shall be light, his dwelling-place shall be
Hell.
We need not enter into the vast store of Tradition devoted to this great Balance, but simply enquire whence the notion arose. There is a fictitious work
called "The Testament of Abraham," written originally in Egypt, and
thence translated into Greek and Arabic; and what is there said of the weighing
of deeds, good and bad, we shall compare with what is in the Qur'an. In this book
we are told that when the Angel of Death wished to seize the soul of Abraham,
the patriarch desired that before his death he might see the wonders of the
heavens and of the earth. Having obtained permission, he ascended and beheld all
the scenes around him. After a time he ascended the Second heaven, and there saw
the Balance by which angels try the deeds of mankind. The following is an
extract from this work:—
Betwixt the two doors there stood a throne...and upon it was seated a
wonderful Man...Before him stood a Table, like as of crystal, all covered with
gold and linen. And upon the Table a book lay, its length six fingers, and
breadth ten fingers. On the right hand of it and on the left, stood two angels
having paper and ink and pen. In front of the Table sat a brilliant angel
holding in his hand a Balance. On the left sat an angel, as it were all of fire,
merciless and stern, having in his hand a trumpet, in which was flaming fire,
the touchstone of sinful men. The wonderful Man seated on the throne was judging
the souls and passing sentence upon them. And the two angels on the right and on
the left were writing down, the one on the right, righteous deeds, and he on the
left, sinful ones. And he that stood before the Table holding the Balance was
weighing the souls, and the angel holding the fire,
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