Regarding the punishment of the wicked, thelMoslcm has received detailed information from the Prophet. According to him, hell is divided into seven stories or apartments, one below anotlier, designed for the recej)- tion of as many distinct classes of the damned. The first, which is called Jeheniim, is the receptacle of those who acknowledged one God, that is, the wicked Mo- hammedans, who, after having been iiunished according to their demerits, will at length be released ; the second, named lAidha, they assign to the Jews; the third, named (d-IIiitiima, to the Christians; the fourth, named ul- .Sdir, to the Sabians; the fifth, named Sakar, to the Magians ; the sixth, named ul-Jahin, to the idolaters ; and the seventh, which is the lowest and worst of all, and is called al-I/airi/at, to the hypocrites, or those who outwardly professed some religion, but in their hearts were of none. Over each of these apartments they be- lieve there will be set a guard of angels, nineteen in numljer, to whom the damned will confess the just judg- ment of God, and beg them to intercede with him for some alleviation of their pain, or that they may be de- livered by being annihilated. Mohammed has, in his Koran and traditions, been very exact in describing the various torments of hell, which, according to him, the wicked will suffer both from intense heat and excessive cold. We shall, however, enter into no detail of them here; but only observe that the degrees of these pains will also vary in proportion to the criines of the sufferer, and the apartment he is condemned to; and that he who is ])unished the most lightly of all will be shod with shoes of fire, the fervor of wliich will cause liis skull to boil like a caldron. The condition of these imliap]n' wretches, it is taught, cannot be ijrojterly called either life or death; and their misery will he greatly increased by their despair of being ever delivered from that jilace, since, according to that frequent exprcssio;i in the Ko- ran, " they must remain therein forever." It must be remarked, however, that the infidels alone wUl be liable
to eternity of damnation ; for the Moslems, or those who have embraced the true religion, and have been guilty of heinous sins, will be delivered thence after they shall have expiated their crimes by their sufferings. The time which these believers shall be detained tliere, ac- cording to a tradition handed down from their Proplict, will not be less than nine hundred years, nor more than seven thousand. As to the manner of their deliver- ance, they saj' that they shall be distingiushed by the marks of prostration on those parts of their bodies with which they used to touch the ground in prayer, and over which the fire will therefore have no power; and that, being known by this characteristic, they will be released by the mercy of God, at the intercession of Mohammed and the blessed ; whereupon those who shall have been dead will be restored to life, as has been said ; and those whose bodies shall have contracted any soot- iness or filth from the flames and smoke of hell will be immersed in one of the rivers of paradise, called the Kiver of Life, which will wash them whiter than pearls.
11. Practical Duties. — Our consideration is next re- quired for an examination of that part of Islam called the " Din," or practical part, which Mohammedan jurists and theologians divide into two principal sections: («) the religious or ceremonial lata (parts of which, how- ever, according to our Western notions, belong to the category of state rights) ; and (b) the civil law, includ- ing police and special laws.
(«) The ceremonial law, or Ritual of Islam, contains (1) the various regulations concerning purification, which is to precede, especially, prayer and other re- ligious obligations, or the approach to or touch of sa- cred things. Here is taught what is to be considered as impure, and requires a purification after touching; what kind of water is to be used for ablution, or how, in want of water, sand is to be applied; what parts of the body are to be washed; what conditions of body require a second ablution; how women, after parturi- tion or during menstruation, have to conduct them- selves. Religious purifications are of two kinds: the Ghusl, or total immersion of the body, required as a re- ligious ceremony on some special occasions ; and the Wudu, a partial ablution, to be performed immediately before the prayer. This is of primary importance, and consists of the washing of hands, face, ears, and feet up to the ankles— a proceeding generally accompanied at each stage by corresponding pious sentences, and con- cluded by the recital of the !>7th chapter of the Koran. " The practice of religion being founded on cleanliness, it is not sufficient that the believer himself should be purified, but even the ground or the carpet upon which he prays must be clean; hence the use of a special prayer-carpet" (Scgaddeli).
(2) The precepts winch have for their object the performance of prayer — " the key of paradise." They refer to the time at which the five daily devotions are to be held ; to the prayers on Fridays and festival days; at eclipses of the sun and moon, or in seasons of drought; and to the position of the body in prayer. They treat further of the prayer of women, of things which invali- date prayer, of the abbreviation of prayer during travel or in i)eril of life, of the direction while praying, and the jilaees where prayers must not be said. In this section the Shafiites adduce the prohibition for men to wear silk clothing, or gold and silver ornaments, as well as the various ceremonies to be observed at funer- als : how the corpse is to be washed, dressed, and placed in the grave; how the dead is to l)e (irayed for; how the tomb is to be constructed; how the deceased is to be lamented for, the family of the departed to be com- forted, etc.