Tradition II

Abraham brought with him his wife (Hagar) and his son (Ishmael),

Whom she (Hagar) suckled.

And they both placed the child close by the spot where the Kaaba now stands under a bush.

Near the well of Zamzem, near the lofty side of the temple—and in those days Mecca was uninhabited and without water—and they deposited the child in the above place.

And Abraham placed beside them a bag full of dates,

And a skin full of water.

Then returned Abraham, and Ishmael’s mother ran after him,

And said, “Abraham, whither goest thou, and wherefore leavest thou me here?

“In this wilderness, where there is no one to pity me, neither is there anything to eat?” This she repeated several times, but Abraham hearkened not unto her. Then she asked him, “Has God commanded thee to do this?”

He answered, “Yes.”

“Then,” said she, “God will cause no harm to come unto me.”

Thereupon she returned back.

And Abraham went away, and when he reached Saneoa, he could not see those he had left behind him.

Then he turned towards Mecca, and prayed thus: “O Lord, I have caused some of my offspring to settle in an unfruitful valley, near thy holy house, O Lord, that they may be constant in prayer. Grant, therefore, that the hearts of some men may be affected with kindness towards them; and do thou bestow on them all sorts of fruits, that they may give thanks.”

And the mother of Ishmael began to suckle her child, and to drink water out of the skin until it was emptied.

And she and her son felt thirsty. And when she saw that her child was suffering from thirst, she could not bear to see it in such a plight, and retired, and reached the mountain of Safā, that was near, and ascending it, looked at the plain, in the hope of seeing someone; but, not perceiving anyone, she came down from the mountain.

When she reached the desert, she girded up her loins and ran as one mad, until she crossed the desert, and ascended Mount Marvā; but she could not see anyone.

She repeated the same seven times.

It is related by Ibn ʿAbbās, that the Prophet said that this was the origin of the custom of true believers running between these mountains during the Haj.

And when she ascended the Marvā mountain, she heard a voice.

She was startled thereat; and upon hearing it again, she said, “Wherefore callest thou on me? Assist me if thou canst.”

She then saw an angel near the Zamzem.

He (the angel) made a hollow place, either by his foot or with his wing, and the water issued forth; and the mother of Ishmael commenced widening it.

She filled the skin with water, which came out of it as from a fountain.

It is related by Ibn ʿAbbās that the Prophet said, “May God bless the mother of Ishmael. Had she left the Zamzem as it was, or had she not filled her skin with water, then the Zamzem would always have remained an overflowing fountain.”

Then she drank the water, and suckled her child.

The account as given in the Bible, Genesis xxii. 9, is as follows:—

“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And this thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight, because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and set her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot; for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad, and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand, for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.”

With reference to the above account, as given in Holy Scripture, Syud Ahmad K͟hān remarks:—

“Notwithstanding the perfect coincidence of the facts taken from the Scriptures with those from the Koran, as above shown, there are, nevertheless, three very important questions which suggest themselves respecting Ishmael’s settlement.

“First. Where did Abraham leave Ishmael and his mother after expelling them from his home?

“Secondly. Where did Ishmael and Hagar settle after their wanderings in the desert?

“Thirdly. Was it in the very spot where they had rested for the first time, or in some other place?

“The Koran mentions nothing on the subject; but there are some local traditions, and also a few Hadeeses, which treat of it, the latter, however, by reason of their not possessing sufficient authority, and from their not being traced up to the Prophet, are as little to be relied on as the former. The local traditions being deemed unworthy of credit, from their mixing up together occurrences that had happened on various and different occasions, we do not think it necessary to dwell on the first question more than has been done by the Scriptures themselves, which say that ‘He (Abraham) sent her (Hagar) away; and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.’

“As for the two remaining questions, although the language of Scripture is not very clear—since, in one place it says, ‘And he (Ishmael) grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer’ (Gen. xxi. 20), and in another, ‘He (Ishmael) dwelt in the wilderness of Paran’ (Gen. xxi. 21), passages which would certainly lead us to infer that Ishmael had changed the place of his abode; yet, as no Christian commentator represents him as having removed from one place to another, and as, moreover, neither the religious nor the local traditions of the Mohammedans in any way confirm the above, it may be safely asserted that Ishmael and his mother did not change the place where they dwelt, and that by the word ‘wilderness’ alone the sacred writer meant the wilderness of Paran. The solving of the whole question depends, therefore, upon ascertaining and fixing the position of the said wilderness of Paran, where Ishmael is said to have settled.

“Oriental geographers mention three places as known by the appellation of Paran. First, that wilderness wherein the city of Mecca now stands, and the mountains in its vicinity; secondly, those mountains and a village which are situated in Eastern Egypt, or Arabia Petræa; and thirdly, a district in the province of Samarcand.”

(6) Al-Baiẓāwī says it was Ishmael, and not Isaac, whom Abraham was willing to offer up as a sacrifice; but this view is neither supported by the text of the Qurʾān nor by the preponderance of traditional testimony. If we compare Sūrah xi. 74: “And We announced Isaac (as the child of promise) to her,” with Sūrah xxxvii. 99: “We announced (as a child of promise) to him a youth of meekness; and when he became a full-grown youth, his father said to him, ‘My son, I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice thee’ ”—there can be no doubt in any candid mind that, as far as the Qurʾān is concerned, Isaac and not Ishmael is intended. [ISAAC.]

The two commentators al-Kamālān quote a number of traditions on the subject. They say Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn ʿAbbās, Ḥasan, and ʿAbdu ʾllāh ibn Aḥmad, relate that it was Isaac; whilst Ibn Masʿūd, Mujāhid, ʿIkrimah, Qatādah, and Ibn Isḥāq say it was Ishmael. But whatever may be the real facts of the case, it is certain that popular tradition amongst both Sunnīs and Shīʿahs assigns the honour to Ishmael, and believe the great Festival of Sacrifice, the ʿĪdu ʾl-Aẓḥā, to have been established to commemorate the event. [ʿIDU ʾL-AZHA.]

The author of the Shīʿah work, the Ḥayātu ʾl-Qulūb (Merrick’s ed. p. 28) says: “On a certain occasion when this illustrious father (Abraham) was performing the rites of the pilgrimage at Mecca, Abraham said to his beloved child, ‘I dreamed that I must sacrifice you; now consider what is to be done with reference to such an admonition.’ Ishmael replied, ‘Do as you shall be commanded of God. Verify your dream. You will find me endure patiently.’ But when Abraham was about to sacrifice Ishmael, the Most High God made a black and white sheep his substitute, a sheep which had been pasturing forty years in Paradise, and was created by the direct power of God for this event. Now every sheep offered on Mount Minā, until the Day of Judgment is a substitute, or a commemoration of the substitute for Ishmael.”

The idea is universal amongst Muḥammadans that the incident took place on Mount Minā near Makkah, and not in the “land of Moriah,” as stated in Genesis xxii. 3. (For a discussion on the site of Mount Moriah, see Mr. George Grove’s article in Smith’s Dict. of the Bible.)

Sir William Muir says (Life of Mahomet, new ed. p. xvii.): “By a summary adjustment, the story of Palestine became the story of the Hejâz. The precincts of the Káaba were hallowed as the scene of Hagar’s distress, and the sacred well Zamzem as the source of her relief. The pilgrims hasted to and fro between Safa and Marwa in memory of her hurried steps in search of water. It was Abraham and Ishmael who built the (Meccan) temple, placed in it the black stone, and established for all mankind the pilgrimage to Arafât. In imitation of him it was that stones were flung by pilgrims at Satan; and sacrifices were offered at Minâ in remembrance of the vicarious sacrifice by Abraham instead of his son. And thus, although the indigenous rites may have been little if at all altered, by the adoption of the Abrahamic legends, they came to be viewed in a totally different light, and to be connected in the Arab imagination with something of the sanctity of Abraham, the Friend of God. The gulf between the gross idolatry of Arabia and the pure theism of the Jews was bridged over. Upon this common ground Mahomet took his stand, and proclaimed to his people a new and a spiritual system, in accents to which all Arabia could respond. The rites of the Káaba were retained, but stripped by him of every idolatrous tendency; and they still hang, a strange unmeaning shroud, around the living theism of Islâm.”

ʿISHQ (عشق‎). “Love.” A word used by mystic writers to express a divine love. The word, however, preferred by orthodox Muslim writers for the love of God, or love to God, is ḥubb (حب‎).

ISLĀM (اسلام‎). Resignation to the will of God. The word generally used by Muḥammadans themselves for their religion. ʿAbdu ʾl-Ḥaqq says it implies submission to the divine will; and Muḥammad explained it to mean the observance of the five duties: (1) Bearing witness that there is but one God; (2) Reciting the daily prayers; (3) Giving the legal alms; (4) Observing the Ramaẓān or month’s fast; (5) Making the pilgrimage to Makkah once in a lifetime.

In the Qurʾān the word is used for doing homage to God. Islām is said to be the religion of all the prophets from the time of Abraham, as will appear from the following verses (Sūrah iii. 78, 79):—“Say: We believe in God and in what hath been sent down to Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Tribes, and in what was given to Moses, and Jesus and the Prophets from their Lord. We make no difference between them, and to Him are we resigned (i.e. Muslims). Whoso desireth any other religion than Islām, that religion shall never be accepted of Him, and in the next world he shall be lost.”

There are three words used by Muḥammadan writers for religion, namely Dīn, Millah, and Maẕhab; and in the Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt, the difference implied in these words is said to be as follows:—Dīn, as it stands in its relation to God, e.g. Dīnu ʾllāh, the religion of God; Millah, as it stands in relation to a prophet or lawgiver, e.g. Millatu Ibrāhīm, the religion of Abraham; and Maẕhab, as it stands in relation to the divines of Islām, e.g. Maẕhab Ḥanafī, the religion or religious teaching of Abū Ḥanīfah. The expression Dīn, however, is of general application. [RELIGION.]

Those who profess the religion of Islām are called Musalmāns, Muslims, or Muʾmins.

Ahlu ʾl-Kitāb, “the people of the Book,” is used for Muḥammadans, Jews, and Christians.

IS̤M (اثم‎). A sin; anything forbidden by the law.

ʿIṢMAH (عصمة‎). Lit. “Keeping back from sin.” The continence and freedom from sin which Muḥammadans say was the state of each Prophet, and which is that of infant children.

ISMĀʿĪL (اسماعيل‎). [ISHMAEL.]

ISMĀʾĪL (اسمائيل‎). The name of the angel who is said to have accompanied the angel Gabriel in his last visit to the Prophet on his death-bed. He is said to command one hundred thousand angels. (Mishkāt, book xxiv. ch. x. pt. 3.)

ISMĀʿĪLĪYAH (اسماعيلية‎). A Shīʿah sect who said that Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar aṣ-Ṣādiq was the true Imām and not Mūsā al-Kāz̤im, and who held that God was neither existent nor non-existent, nor intelligent nor unintelligent, nor powerful nor helpless, &c.; for, they said, it is not possible for any thing or attribute to be associated with God, for He is the maker of all things, even of names and attributes. (Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt, in loco.)

ISM-I-JALĀLĪ (اسم جلالى‎). Any of the attributes of God which express His power and greatness, e.g. al-Ḥākim, the Judge; al-Ādil, the Just; al-Kabīr, the Great. [GOD.]

ISM-I-JAMĀLĪ (اسم جمالى‎). Any of the attributes of God which express His mercy or condescension, e.g. ar-Raḥīm, the Compassionate; as-Samīʿ, the Hearer; al-Ḥāfiz̤, the Guardian.

ISM-I-ṢIFAH (اسم صفة‎). Name of a divine attribute.

AL-ISMU ʾL-AʿZ̤AM (الاسم الاعظم‎). The exalted name of God, which is generally believed to be known only to the Prophets. Muḥammad is related to have said that it occurs in either the Sūratu ʾl-Baqarah, ii. 256: “God (Allāh) there is no God but He (Hū), the Living (al-Ḥaiy), the Self-subsistent (al-Qaiyūm)”; or in the Sūratu ʿĀli ʿImrān, iii. 1, which contains the same words; or in the Sūratu T̤ā Hā, xx. 110: “Faces shall be humbled before the Living (al-Ḥaiy) and the Self-subsistent (al-Qaiyūm).”

It is therefore generally held to be either Allāh, or Hū, or al-Ḥaiy, or al-Qaiyūm.

It is very probable that the mysterious title of the Divine Being refers to the great name of Jehovah, the superstitious reverence for which on the part of the Jews must have been well known to Muḥammad.

ISMU ʾẔ-ẔĀT (اسم الذات‎). Name of the Divine Essence; the essential name of God, i.e. Allāh, or Hū, as distinguished from His attributes. [ALLAH.]

IS̤NĀ-ʿASHARĪYAH (اثناعشرية‎). Lit. “The twelveans.” Those Shīʿahs who acknowledge the twelve Imāms. [SHIʿAH.]

ISQĀT̤ (اسقاط‎). [ABORTION.]

ISRĀ(اسراى‎). [MIʿRAJ.]

ISRAEL. Arabic Isrāʾīl (اسرائيل‎). The surname of Yaʿqūb (Jacob). Al Baiẓāwī says the meaning of Isrāʾīl in Hebrew is Ṣufwatu ʾllāh, i.e. “the sincere friend of God”; or, as some say, ʿAbdu ʾllāh, “the servant of God.” Banū Isrāʾīl, “the children of Israel,” is a term that frequently occurs in the Qurʾān. The XVIIth chapter of the Qurʾān, known as the Sūratu ʾl-Miʿrāj, is also called the Sūratu Banī Isrāʾīl.

ISRĀF (اسراف‎). Lit. “Wasting.” Extravagance in religious duties, i.e. doing more than is required by the law.

ISRĀFĪL (اسرافيل‎). The Archangel who will sound the trumpet at the Day of Resurrection. His name, however, does not occur in either the Qurʾān, or the Traditions.

IṢRĀR (اصرار‎). A word used by the Arabs for a horse pricking up his ears, and not obeying the rein. A term in Muḥammadan theology for persisting in any sin, and being determined to commit the sin in future.

ISSUE OF BLOOD. Arabic Istiḥāẓah (استحاضة‎). [MUSTAHAZAH.]

ISTIʿĀNAH (استعانة‎). Lit. “Seeking aid.” Imploring help from God. The word occurs in the Sūratu ʾl-Fātiḥah, or the first chapter of the Qurʾān, which is part of the liturgical prayer: واياك نستعين‎ waīyāka nastaʿīn, “Of Thee only do we seek help.”

ISTIBRAʾ (استبراء‎). The purification of the womb. The period of probation, of one menses, to be observed after the purchase of a female slave (or in the case of a virgin under age), the period of one month before she is taken to her master’s bed.

ISTIBṢĀR (استبصار‎). A Book of Muḥammadan traditions, received by the Shīʿahs, compiled by Shaik͟h Naṣīru ʾd-Dīn Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad at̤-T̤ūsī, A.H. 672.

ISTIDLĀL (استدلال‎). A term used in the science of exegesis for those sentences which require certain proofs. [QURʾAN.]

ISTIDRĀJ (استدراج‎). Lit. “Promoting by degrees, step by step.” The word occurs in the Qurʾān for an unbeliever being brought by degrees to hell and destruction.

Sūrah vii. 181: “They who say our signs are lies, We (God) will bring them down step by step from whence they know not.”

Sūrah lxviii. 44: “We (God) will surely bring them down step by step from whence they do not know, and I (God) will let them have their way; for My device is sure.”

(In this verse the sudden transition from the first person plural to the first person singular, for the Almighty, is peculiar; it is, however, of frequent occurrence in the Qurʾān.)

ISTIG͟HFĀR (استغفار‎). Seeking forgiveness of God. It is related of Muḥammad that he said:—

“I swear by God that I ask pardon of God, and repent before Him more then seventy times daily.

“O men, repent and turn to God, for verily I repent before Him one hundred times a day.” (Mishkāt, book x. ch. iii.)

ISTIḤĀẒAH (استحاضة‎). The issue of blood of women; during which time they are ceremonially unclean. (Vide Mishkāt, book iii. ch. xvi.)

ISTIḤSĀN (استحسان‎). Lit. “Approving.” A term used in the exegesis of the Qurʾān and of the Ḥadīs̤. It implies the rejection of Qiyās [QIYAS], and the admission of the law of expediency.

For example, it is a law of Islām that everything that is washed must be squeezed like a cloth; but, as it is impossible to squeeze a vessel, it is evident that it must be cleansed without squeezing. (Nūru ʾl-Anwār, p. 208.)

ISTIK͟HĀRAH (استخارة‎). Lit. “Asking favours.” A prayer for special favours and blessings, consisting of the recital of two rakʿah prayers. (Mishkāt, book iv. ch. xl.)

Jābir says: “The Prophet taught the Istik͟hārah, as he also did a chapter of the Qurʾān; and he said, ‘When anyone of you intends doing a thing, he must perform two rakʿah prayers expressly for Istik͟hārah, and afterwards recite the following supplication: O God, I supplicate Thy help, in Thy great wisdom; and I pray for ability through Thy power. I ask a thing of Thy bounty. Thou knowest all, but I do not. Thou art powerful, and I am not. Thou knowest the secrets of men. O God! if the matter I am about to undertake is good for my faith, my life, and my futurity, then make it easy for me, and give me success in it. But if it is bad for my faith, my life, and my futurity, then put it away from me, and show me what is good, and satisfy me. And the person praying shall mention in his prayer the business which he has in hand.’ ”

This very simple and commendable injunction has, however, been perverted to superstitious uses.

Mr. Lane, in his Modern Egyptians, says:—

“Some persons have recourse to the Qurʾān for an answer to their doubts. This they call making an “istikhárah,” or application for the favour of Heaven, or for direction in the right course. Repeating three times the opening chapter, the 112th chapter, and the fifty-eighth verse of the sixth chapter, they let the book fall open, or open it at random, and, from the seventh line of the right-hand page, draw their answer.

“The words often will not convey a direct answer, but are taken as affirmative or negative according as their general tenour is good or bad, promising a blessing, or denouncing a threat, &c. Instead of reading the seventh line of this page, some count the number of letters kha and sheen which occur in the whole page; and if the kha’s predominate, the inference is favourable. Kha represents kheyr, or good; sheen, shur, or evil. There is another mode of istikhárah; which is, to take hold of any two points of a sebhhah (or rosary), after reciting the Fatʾhhah three times, and then to count the beads between these two points, saying, in passing the first bead through the fingers, ‘[I assert] the absolute glory of God;’ in passing the second, ‘Praise be to God;’ in passing the third, ‘There is no deity but God;’ and repeating these expressions in the same order, to the last bead. If the first expression fall to the last bead, the answer is affirmative and favourable; if the second, indifferent; if the last, negative. This is practised by many persons.

“Some, again, in similar cases, on lying down to sleep at night, beg of God to direct them by a dream; by causing them to see something white or green, or water, if the action which they contemplate be approved, or if they are to expect approaching good fortune; and if not, by causing them to see something black or red, or fire; they then recite the Fatʾhhah ten times, and continue to repeat these words: ‘O God, favour our lord Mohammad!’—until they fall asleep.” (Modern Egyptians, vol. i. 338.)

Amongst pious Muslims in Asia it is usual to recite the two rakʿah prayers before retiring to rest, in the hope that God will reveal His will in a dream during the night.

ISTĪLĀD (استيلاد‎). Claim of offspring. A legal term signifying the act of a Muslim, having a child born to him of a female slave, which he acknowledges as his own, whereby the slave becomes free. (Hidāyah, vol. i. p. 478.)

IṢT̤ILĀḤ (اصطلاح‎), pl. Iṣt̤ilāḥāt. A phrase; a term; idiom. A theological term.

The author of the Kitābu ʾt-Taʿrīfāt says it is the agreement of a tribe, or sect, or party, to give a special meaning to a word, over and above that which it has in its literal sense, but which is in accordance with it.

ISTINJĀʾ (استنجاء‎). Abstersion; concerning which there are most minute instructions in the Traditions and in other books of Muslim divinity. Such acts of cleansing must be performed with the left hand, with not less than three handfuls of water, or with three of dry earth. (Mishkāt, book ii. 1.)

ISTINSHĀQ (استنشاق‎). The act of throwing water up into the nostrils, which is part of the religious ablution or waẓū. [ABLUTION.]

ISTIQĀMAH (استقـامـة‎). Lit. “Standing erect.” A term (1) used by the Ṣūfī mystics for rectitude of life, purity of life; (2) being constant in religion according to the rules of the Qurʾān.

ISTIQBĀL (استقبال‎). Lit. “Going forth to meet.” (1) A custom amongst Orientals of going out to meet a friend or guest on his arrival; (2) turning the face towards Makkah for prayer; (3) a coming era or period; the future.

ISTIRJĀʿ (استرجاع‎). Lit. “Returning.” A term used for the act of appealing to God for help in the time of affliction by repeating the following ejaculation from the Qurʾān, Sūrah ii. 150: Innā liʾllāhi wa innā ilaihi rajiʿūn, “Verily, we belong to God, and verily we shall return to God.” This formula is used by Muḥammadans in any danger or sudden calamity, especially in the presence of death.

ISTIṢḤĀB (استصحاب‎). A law or injunction contained in a previous revelation (e.g. the Law of Moses) and not abrogated by the succeeding law-giver.

ISTIS̤NĀʾ (استثناء‎). Lit. “Excepting or excluding.” A term used for the custom of exclaiming, “If God will.” It is in accordance with the injunctions of the Qurʾān, Sūrah xviii. 23: “And never say of anything, ‘Verily, I am going to do that to-morrow,’ without, ‘If God will.’ ” (Compare James iv. 15: “For ye ought to say, If the Lord will.”)

ISTISQĀʾ (استسقاء‎). Prayers for rain, consisting of two rakʿah prayers. (Mishkāt, book iv. ch. liii.)

IʿTĀQ (اعتاق‎). Lit. “Setting free.” The manumission of slaves. [SLAVERY.]

IT̤FĪR (اطفير‎). [POTIPHAR.]

IʿTIKĀF (اعتكاف‎). Seeking retirement in a mosque during the last ten days of the Fast of Ramaẓān; during which time the worshipper does not leave the place, except for necessary purposes. The time is spent in reciting the Qurʾān and in performing the ceremony of Ẕikr, or the recital of the names and praises of the Deity.

ʿITQ (عتق‎). “Being free.” In the language of the law it signifies the power given to a person by the extinction of bondage. Hence the emancipation of slaves. (Hidāyah, vol. i. p. 413.)

ITTIḤAD (اتحاد‎). Union; concord; intimate friendship. A term used by the Ṣūfī mystics for “seeing the existence of all things visible as only existing in God.” (ʿAbdu ʾr-Razzāq’s Dict. of Ṣūfī Terms.)

IẔN (اذن‎). Permission. [INTERCESSION.]

ʿIZRĀʾĪL (عزرائيل‎). The Angel of Death, or the Malaku ʾl-Maut, who comes to a man at the hour of death to carry his soul away from the body. See Qurʾān, Sūrah xxxii. 11: “The Angel of Death shall take you away, he who is given charge of you. Then unto your Lord shall ye return.”

Muḥammad is related to have said that when the Angel of Death approaches a believer he sits at his head and says, “O pure soul, come forth to God’s pardon and pleasure!” And then the soul comes out as gently as water from a bag. But, in the case of an infidel, the Angel of Death sits at his head and says, “O impure soul, come forth to the wrath of God!” And then the Angel of Death draws it out as a hot spit is drawn out of wet wool. (Mishkāt, book v. ch. iii.)