the former we need say nothing here. But we must remind our Muslim friends of two matters in connexion with Hell. One is the verse in Surah Maryam (Surah xix. 72) which says: "And there is no one of you but goeth down into it; unto thy Lord it has become a determined decision." Many attempts to explain this away have been made by commentators. The other matter is, the Tradition that only one of the many sects into which Islam is divided is that which will be saved. These two points would render us, if we were Muslims, full of terror all our lives at the prospect of death and the Day of Judgement. Hence perhaps it is that true Christians look forward with joy to the Resurrection-Day, while Muslims fear and dread its coming. With regard, however, to the pleasures which, the Qur'an tells us are reserved in Paradise for the saved, we must not pass over them without some consideration of their nature. Descriptions of them are given in Surahs ii. 23; iv. 60; xiii. 35; xxxvi. 55-58; xxxvii. 39-47; xlvii. 16, 1 7; lv. 46-78; lvi. 11-37; lxxvi. 5, 11-22; lxxvii. 31-36; lxxxiii. 22-28. Besides all this, in Ghazzali's Ihya 'Ulumi'd Din, in the 'Ainu'l Hayat, in the Tafsir i Tibyan and other books much fuller details are given, on the authority of Traditions. Al Bukhari in As Sahih sums up all the genuine Traditions that he could find on this and other subjects. But one of the fullest accounts is given in the Mishkatu'l Masabih,¹ under the heading "Description of Paradise and its People". When we study all this, we learn that, according to the Qur'an and the Traditions, the future bliss of Muslims will consist in being clad in splendid garments, reclining on gorgeous couches, eating sumptuous viands and delicious fruits, drinking exquisite wines which produce no headache, and in familiar intercourse with

hosts of beautiful women. Such a Paradise is material, furnished with everything suitable for the gratification of men's sensual appetites, but there is no place in it for holy and pure-minded men and women. Pure-minded people would flee from it, as they would on earth from places of gluttony, drunkenness, and profligacy. A Paradise of this description is not such as would be provided by God, who is Holy, and whose Nature is averse from sin and all impurity. How can the human spirit, created to know and serve God, which should ever seek spiritual joy in the Love of its Maker and in nearness to Him, be gladdened and satisfied with such earthly delights as these? Even on earth debauchees finally discover that sensual pleasures in the end produce loathing, not happiness. The description of Paradise given in the Qur'an cannot therefore be said to prove that the book has come from God. The commentator Muhiyyu'ddin, perceiving this, endeavours to show that all these descriptions have a mystical sense.¹ But the great mass of Muhammadans regard him as a heretic, and rightly consider that the Qur'an means exactly what it says, as do the Traditions also.

In considering the contents of the Qur'an we must not omit to call attention to the fact that it does not satisfy the spiritual needs and yearnings of mankind, which is one of the main reasons why a Divine Revelation is required. For God has implanted these desires in man's heart in order that he may never be able to find rest, until he find it in God. Some Muslim writers claim that the Qur'an terrifies men and makes them weep, as the Tradition informs us that the Negus (النّحاشى) of Abyssinia (though doubtless ignorant of Arabic) did when a part of the Qur'an was recited