884 THE KORAN. 



The reunion of the soul and body will be followed 

 by the final judgment of mankind ; when each must 

 give an account, and receive the reward of his 

 actions. Though the procedure will he rapid and 

 decisive, — not longer, as the Arabs express it, than 

 the milking of a ewe, — a considerable pause will 

 take place before its commencement, — a pause of 

 anxious suspense both to the just and the unjust ; the 

 latter having their faces covered with blackness, 

 and bathed in an agony of sweat, some to the 

 ankles, some to the knees, and others to the mouth, 

 in proportion to their several demerits ; and this 

 excessive distillation is the less surprising, con- 

 sidering the trampling and pressure of so vast a con- 

 course, and the fiery beams of the sun, which will 

 approach them within the length of a bodkin. 



In his picture or copy of this' sublime solemnity, 

 IMohammed has too literally represented the forms, 

 and even the slow and successive operations of an 

 earthly tribunal. Each individual shall be minutely 

 examined as to the circumstances of his life, and 

 required to make public confession how he spent 

 his time, or accumulated his wealth, or employed 

 his talents and his learning. To these interrogato- 

 ries he will be at liberty to offer the best defence in 

 his power, by implicating others as the authors or 

 partakers of his guilt. Even soul and body may 

 dispute their respective share of criminality ; and 

 have the measure of their blame and punishment 

 determined by the degree of evidence they can pro- 

 duce. The offending member may accuse the eye, 

 and both plead in mitigation the carnal desire. The 

 most exact measure of justice will be observed ; 

 and the good and evil deeds of mankind accurately 

 weighed in a balance, real or allegorical, of so vast 

 a capacity that its two scales, — one of which hangs 

 over paradise, and the other over hell, — are large 

 enough to contain both heaven and earth.* Into 



* The bBlievors- in a litwa! balance allegro t.bat. as UioughU 



