i b o The Preliminary Dijhoutfe. &edt. IV.
eeeding whatever mortals have heard; to which will be joined the
found of the bells hanging on the trees, which will be put in motion
by the wind proceeding from the throne of G od, fo often as the
bleffed wifh for mufic: nay, the very clalhing of the golden-bodied
trees, whofe fruits are pearls and emeralds, will furpafs humane imagination;
fo that the pleafures of this fenfe will not be the leaft of
the enjoyments o f paradife.
The delights we have hitherto taken a view of, it is faid,. will fee
common to all the inhabitants of paradife, even thofe of the loweft
order. What then, think we, mull they enjoy who lhall obtain a
fuperior degree of honour and felicity ? To thefe, they fay, there are
prepared, befides all this, fucb things as eye hath not feen, nor hath ear
heard, nor hath it entred into the heart o f man to conceive-, an expref-
fion moll certainly borrowed from feripture That we may know
wherein the felicity of thofe who lhall attain the highell degree will
eonfilt, Mohammed is reported to have faid, that- the meaneft of the
inhabitants of paradife will fee his gardens, wives, fervants, furniture,
and other poffelfions take up the fpace o f a thoufand years journey (for fo
far and farther will the bleffed fee in the next life); but that he will be
in the highell honour with G od, who lhall behold his face morning
and evening: and this favour al' Ghazali fuppofes to be that additional
or fuperabundant recompenfe, promifed in the Koran \ which
will give fuch exquifite delight, that in refpedl thereof all the other
pleafures of paradife will be forgotten and lightly elleemed; and not
without reafon, fince, as the fame author fays,, every other enjoyment
is equally tailed by the very brute beaft who is turned loofe into
luxuriant pallure 5. The reader will obferve, by the. way, that this is
a full confutation of thofe who pretend the Mohammedans adrnit of
no fpiritual pleafure in the next life; but make the happinefs of the
bleffed to confill wholly in corporeal enjoyments 4.
Whence. Mohammed took the greatell part of his paradife, it is eafy
to Ihew. The Jews conllantly deferibe the future manfion of the
juft as a delicious garden, and make it alfo reach to the feventh heaven
J; They, alfo fay it has three gates6, or, as others will have it,
two * and four rivers, (which laft circumftance they copied,., to be
fure, from thofe of the garden of Eden 8) flowing with milk, wine, balfam,
1 Ifaiah, .liw. 4- i Corinth, ii. 9. * Chap. 10, & (. 3 V. Poc. in not. ad Port. Mods, p. 305.
* V. Reland. de Rel. Moh. 1. 2. f. 17. ’ V. Gemar. Tanith, f. 25. Beracoth, f. 34. & Midralh '
rabboth, f. 37. 6 MegtUih, Amkoth,- p. 78.- 7 Midrafh. Yalkut Shemuni. s Gcnef. ii. ‘
»0,. &c.
and
Se£l. IV. The Preliminary Difcourfp.
■ and honey \ Their Behemoth and Leviathan, which they pretend will be
fhin for the entertainment of the bleffed 2, are fo apparently the Ba-
him and Nun of Mohammed, that his followers themfelves confefs he
is obliged to them for both 3. The Rabbins likewife mention feven
different degrees of felicity 4, and fay that the highell will be of thofe
who perpetually contemplate the face of G o d ’ . The Perfian Magi
had alfo an idea of the future happy eftate of the good, very little
different from that of Mohammed: Paradife they call Behi/ht, and
Mims which fignifies cfyfial, where, they believe the righteous* lhall
e„jby’ 'all manner of delights, and particularly the company of the
liurdni behijht, or black-eyed nymphs o f paradife6, the care of whom
they fay is committed to the angel Zamiydd7 and hence Mohammed
feems to have taken the firft hint of his paradiliacal ladies.
It is -not improbable, however, but that he might have been
obliged, in fome refped:, to the Ghrijlian accounts of the felicity of
the good in the next life. As it is fcarce poflible to convey, especially
to the apprehenfions o f the generality o f mankind, an idea ot
fpiritual pleafures without introducing fenfible objects, the fenptures
have been obliged to reprefent the celeftial enjoyments by corporeal
images- and to deferibe the manfion of the bleffed as a glorious and
magnificent city, built of gold and precious Hones,'with twelve gates;
through the ftreets of which there runs a river of water of life, and
Having on either fide the tree of life, which bears twelve forts of
fruits and leaves of a healing virtue *. Our Saviour likewife fpeaks
of the future ftate of the bleffed as of a kingdom, where they fhall jj
eat and drink at his table 9. But then thefe deferiptions have none
of thofe puerile imaginations 30 which reign throughout that of Mohammed,
much lefs any the moll diftant intimation of fenfual delights,.
which he was fo fond o f ; on the contrary, we are exprefly affured,
that in the refurrehtion they will neither marry nor be gtvenm marriage,
but will be as the angels o f G o d in heaven*'. Mohammed, however,
3 Midralh, Yalk. Shem. > Gemar. Bara Bathra. f. 78. Rabbin Job i. 3 V. Poc. not. an
Port Mofis.V 298. * Nilhmat hayim, f. 32. ' Midralh, Tehilhm, f. 11. Sadder,
porta 7 Hyde, de rel. vet. Perf. p. 265. 8 Revel, x x l. 10, £*. and ™ . 1, 2: nuke,
xxii 20 30 & c 10 I would not, however, undertake to defend all thnChnJha n writers in this
particular- witnefs that one paffage of Ireneeus, wherein he introduces a tradition of St. Job », that
our Lord Ihould fay, l i e d a p /b a ll come, in which there p a l l be vines, which p a U have each ten thou-
faiid branches, and ev en o f thefe branches p a l l have ten thoufand lejjlr branches, and every o f thefe ■
branches (hall have ten thoufand twigs, and every one o f thefe tw ig s p a ll have ten thoufand dufters o f
■ . - ... _.r* jL.r. .i..a Ua-*n*e T/itid rrmfifit. and eVAT.’i one Or thefe Prates-
10 1
to .1