The
length of
the laft
day.
The cir*
eumitan-
oes of th<
reiurrec-
àon.
dies fhall fpring forth from their graves, as they did in their mother’s
womb, or as corn fprouts forth by common rain, till they become
perfect; after which, breath will be breathed into them, and they will
fleep in their fepulchres till they are raifed to life at the laft trump.
As to the length of the day o f judgment, the Koran in one place
tells us that it will laft 1000 years ', and in another 50000 To reconcile
this apparent contradiction, the commentators ule feveral fliifts:
fome faying, they know not what meafure of time G od intends in
thofe paffages; others, that thefe forms of fpeaking are figurative and
not to be ftridtly taken, and were defigned only to exprefs the terri-
blenefs of that day, it being ufual for the Arabs to defcribe what they
diflike, as of long continuance, and what they like, as the contrary;
and others fuppofe them fpoken only in reference to the difficulty of
the bufinefs of the day, which if G o D fhould commit to any of his
creatures, they would not be able to go thro’ it in fo many thoufand
years; to omit fome other opinions which we may take notice of
elfewhere.
Having faid fo much in relation to the time of the refurredlon, let
us now fee who are to be raifed from the dead, in what manner and
form they fhall be raifed, in what place they fhall be affembled, and
to what end; according to the dodtrine of the Mohammedans.
That the refurredtion will be general, and extend to all creatures,
both angels, genii, men and animals, is the received opinion, which
they fupport by the authority of the Koran-, tho’ that paffage which-
is produced to-prove the refurredtion of brutes. be otherwife interpreted
by fome 3-
The manner of their refurredtion will be very different. Thofe
who are, deftined to be partakers o f eternal bappinefs will arife in
honour and fecurity; and thofe who are doomed to mifery, in dif-
grace and under difmal apprehenfions. As to mankind, they fay, that
they will be raifed perfedt in all their parts and members, and in.the
fame ftate as they came out o f their mothers wombs, that is, barefooted,
naked, and uncircumcifed; which circucaftances when Mohammed
was telling his wife Ayejha, fhe, fearing the rules of modefty
might be thereby violated, objeded that it would be. very indecent for
men and women to look upon one another in that condition; but he
anfwered her, that the bufinefs of the day would be too weighty and,
feficms to allow them the making ufe of that liberty. Others however
alledge the authority^ o f their prophet for a contrary opinion as
to their nakednefs, and pretend he afferted that the dead fhould arife
dreffed in the fame cloaths in which they died 1 ; unlefs we interpret
thefe words, as fome do, not fo much of the outward drefs of the
body, as the inward cloathing of the mind; and underftand thereby
that every perfon will rife again in the fame ftate as to his faith or
infidelity, his knowledge o r’ignorance, his good or bad works. Mohammed
is alfo faid to have farther taught, by another tradition, that
mankind fhall be affembled at the laft day, diftinguifhed into three
claffes. The firft, of thofe who go on foot; the fécond, of thofe who
ride; and the third, of thofe who creep groveling with their faces on
the ground. The firft clafs is to confift of thofe believers whofe good
works have been few; the fécond' of thofe who are in greater honour
with G od, and more acceptable to him ; whence Alt affirmed that
the pious when they came forth from their fepulchres, fhall find ready
prepared for them white winged camels, with faddles of gold,;,
wherein are tobeebferved fome footfteps of the dodtrine of the ancient"
Arabians and the third clafs, they fay, will be compofed of the
infidels, whom G od fhall caufe to make their appearance with their
faces on the earth, blind, dumb and deaf. But the ungodly will not
be thus only diftinguifhed ; for according to a tradition of the prophet,
there will be ten forts of wicked men on whom G od fhall on
that day fix certain difcretory marks. The firft will appear in the
form of apes; thefe are the profeffors o f Zendicifm: the fécond in
that of fwine ; thefe are they who have been greedy of filthy lucrè, and
enriched themfelves by public oppreffion: the third will be brought
with their heads reverfed, and their feet diftorted ; thefe are the
ufurers ; the fourth will wander, about blind ; thefe are unjuft judges :
the fifth will be deaf, dumb and blind, underftanding nothing ; thefe
are they who glory in their own works: the fixth will gnaw their
tongues, which will hang down upon their breads, corrupted blood
flowing from their mouths like fpittle, fo that every body fhall detefif
them; thefe are the learned men and dodtors, whofe a dirions contradict
their fayings: the feventh will have their hands and feet cut off;
thefe are they who have injured their neighbours: the eighth will be
fixed to the trunks of palm-trees or flakes of wood; thefe are the
falfe accufers and informers: the ninth will ftink worfe than a corrupted
corps ; thefe are they who have indulged their paffions-and:
1 Tn this alfo they follow their old guides, the Jews', who fay that if the wheat which is fown .
naked rife cloathed, it is no wonder the pious who are buried in. their cloaths fhould rile withthem*.
Gemar. Sanhedr. fol. 90. % See before, . Sett. I. p. 21..
VO