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ABRAHAM'S ASCENT TO HEAVEN |
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and groaning, at times happy and rejoicing; of which in the Mishkât we
have this account:
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When he opened, we went up to the lower heaven. Lo! a man seated, on his right
hand were dark figures, and on his left dark figures. When he looked to his
right, he laughed; when to the left, he wept. And he said, Welcome to the
righteous Prophet, and to the excellent Son. I then asked Gabriel, Who is
this? It is Adam, he said, and these dark figures on his right, and on his
left, are the spirits of his sons. The people on his right hand are the
inhabitants of Paradise; and the dark figures on his left are those of the
Fire; when he looks to his right, he smiles; and when he looks to the left,
he weeps.
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The same tale we find in the ancient "Testament of Abraham," as follows:
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So Michael turned the chariot, and took Abraham towards the east through
the first gate of heaven. There Abraham saw two roads; one strait and difficult,
the other wide and easy. He beheld also two gates, one wide like its road,
and another narrow like the other road. Outside the two gates they beheld
a Man sitting on a golden throne, his aspect terrible like unto the Lord.
They saw a multitude of souls driven by the angels through the wide gate,
but few souls led by the angels through the narrow one. And when the great
Man seated on the golden throne saw but few passing through the narrow
gate, and so many through the wide gate, forthwith he grasped the hair of
his head and his beard on either side, and cast himself weeping and
groaning from his throne upon the ground. But when he saw many souls
entering in by the narrow gate, he arose from the ground, and with joy and
rejoicing seated himself again upon the throne.
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Then Abraham asked the Captain of the Host: My Lord Commander! Who is
that great Man adorned with so much grandeur, who sometimes weeps in great
distress, and sometimes rejoices and is glad? Then the Spirit (Michael)
answered: This is Adam, the first created man, adorned with so
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much glory; and here he beholds the world and the multitudes who derive their
existence from himself. When he beholds many souls passing the narrow gate, then
rising up he seats himself upon his throne in joy and gladness, because the
narrow gate is for the righteous and leadeth unto life eternal. Those passing
through it are on the way to Paradise, and hence the first created Adam
rejoiceth, because he seeth souls that are saved. But when he beholds many
passing through the wide gate, then he seizes the hair of his head, beats and
casts himself to the ground crying bitterly. For the wide gate leadeth the
wicked to everlasting destruction.
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It were easy to shew that many other passages in the Qur'an are in close
accord with the tales of ignorant Christians, or of heretical writers, anterior
to the Prophet; but the examples given above may amply suffice . Before closing
the chapter, however, it seems proper to ask whether Muhammad, having borrowed so
much from fictitious works, has taken anything at all from the Gospel, or
Apostolic writings. In answer to this serious question; we reply that throughout
the Qur'an only one verse is quoted from the Gospel; and by a well-known
Traditionist possibly one verse from St. Paul.
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First. In Surah vii. 38 it is written:- They that charge our signs with
falsehood and proudly reject them, the gates of heaven shall not be opened to them,
nor shall they enter Paradise until a camel pass through the eye of a needle:
compared with this in three of the Gospels: "It is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom
of God." 1
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Second. Abu Hureira tells in the Mishkât of the Prophet having stated that
God Almighty had said as
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