COSMOGRAPHY.
When we call to mind how far the Arabs surpassed their great master,
Aristotle, in natural and experimental philosophy, and remember that
their brilliant discoveries constituted an important link between those
of the illustrious Greek and of our scarcely less illustrious
countryman, Roger Bacon, their popular system of cosmography becomes an
interesting subject for our consideration.
According to the common opinion of the Arabs (an opinion sanctioned by
the Ḳur-án, and by assertions of their Prophet, which almost all
Muslims take in their literal sense), there are Seven Heavens, one above
another, and Seven Earths, one beneath another; the earth which we
inhabit being the highest of the latter, and next below the lowest
heaven.[96] The upper surface of each heaven and of each earth are
believed to be nearly plane, and are generally supposed to be circular;
and are said to be five hundred years' journey in width. This is also
said to be the measure of the depth or thickness of each heaven and each
earth, and of the distance between each heaven or earth and that next
above or below it. Thus is explained a passage of the Ḳur-án in which
it is said that God hath created seven heavens and as many earths, or
stories of the earth, in accordance with traditions from the
Prophet.[97]
Traditions differ respecting the fabric of the seven heavens. In the
most credible account, according to a celebrated historian, the first is
described as formed of emerald; the second, of white silver; the third,
of large white pearls; the fourth, of ruby; the fifth, of red gold; the
sixth, of yellow jacinth; and the seventh, of shining light.[98]
Some assert Paradise to be in the seventh heaven; and, indeed, I have
found this to be the general opinion of my Muslim friends: but the
author above quoted proceeds to describe, next above the seventh heaven,
seven seas of light; then, an undefined number of veils, or separations,
of different substances, seven of each kind; and then, Paradise, which
consists of seven stages, one above another; the first (Dár el-Jelál, or
the Mansion of Glory), of white pearls; the second (Dár es-Selám, or the
Mansion of Peace), of ruby; the third (Jennet el-Ma-wà, or the Garden of
Rest), of green chrysolite; the fourth (Jennet el-Khuld, or the Garden
of Eternity), of green[99] coral; the fifth (Jennet en-Na´eem, or the
Garden of Delight), of white silver; the sixth (Jennet el-Firdós, or the
Garden of Paradise), of red gold; and the seventh (Jennet ´Adn, or the
Garden of Perpetual Abode, or of Eden), of large pearls; this last
overlooking all the former, and canopied by the Throne of the
Compassionate (´Arsh Er-Raḥmán). These several regions of Paradise
are described in some traditions as forming so many degrees, or stages,
ascended by steps.
Though the opinion before mentioned respecting the form of the earth
which we inhabit is that generally maintained by the Arabs, there have
been, and still are, many philosophical men among this people who have
argued that it is a globe, because, as El-Ḳazweenee says, an eclipse
of the moon has been observed to happen at different hours of the night
in eastern and western countries. Thus we find Ptolemy's measurement of
the earth quoted and explained by Ibn-El-Wardee:--The circumference of
the earth is 24,000 miles, or 8,000 leagues, the league being three
miles; the mile, 3,000 royal cubits; the cubit, three spans; the span,
twelve digits; the digit, five barley-corns placed side by side; and the
width of the barley-corn, six mule's-hairs. El-Maḳreezee [† 1442]
also, among the more intelligent Arabs, describes[100] the globular form
of the earth, and its arctic and antarctic regions, with their day of
six months, and night of six months, and their frozen waters, etc.
For ourselves, however, it is necessary that we retain in our minds the
opinions first stated, with regard to the form and dimensions of our
earth; agreeing with those Muslims who allow not philosophy to trench
upon revelation or sacred traditions. It is written, say they, that God
hath "spread out the earth,"[101] "as a bed,"[102] and "as a
carpet;"[103] and what is round or globular cannot be said to be spread
out, nor compared to a bed, or a carpet. It is therefore decided to be
an almost plane expanse. The continents and islands of the earth are
believed by the Arabs (as they were by the Greeks in the age of Homer
and Hesiod) to be surrounded by "the Circumambient Ocean," el-Baḥr
el-Moḥeeṭ; and this ocean is described as bounded by a chain of
mountains called Ḳáf, which encircle the whole as a ring, and confine
and strengthen the entire fabric. With respect to the extent of the
earth, our faith must at least admit the assertion of the Prophet, that
its width (as well as its depth or thickness) is equal to five hundred
years' journey, allotting the space of two hundred to the sea, two
hundred to uninhabited desert, eighty to the country of Yájooj and
Májooj (Gog and Magog), and the rest to the remaining creatures:[104]
nay, vast as these limits are, we must rather extend than contract them,
unless we suppose some of the heroes of the "Thousand and One Nights" to
travel by circuitous routes. Another tradition will suit us better,
wherein it is said, that the inhabited portion of the earth is, with
respect to the rest, as a tent in the midst of a desert.[105]
But even according to the former assertion it will be remarked that the
countries now commonly known to the Arabs (from the western extremity of
Africa to the eastern limits of India, and from the southern confines of
Abyssinia to those of Russia), occupy a comparatively insignificant
portion of this expanse. They are situated in the middle; Mekkeh,
according to some,--or Jerusalem, according to others,--being exactly in
the centre. Adjacent to the tract occupied by these countries are other
lands and seas, partially known to the Arabs. On the north-west, with
respect to the central point, lies the country of the Christians or
Franks, comprising the principal European nations; on the north, the
country of Yájooj and Májooj, before mentioned, occupying, in the maps
of the Arabs, large tracts of Asia and Europe; on the north-east,
central Asia; on the east, Eṣ-Ṣeen (China); on the south-east, the
sea or seas of El-Hind (India), and Ez-Zinj (Southern Ethiopia), the
waves of which (or of the former of which) mingle with those of the sea
of Eṣ-Ṣeen, beyond; on the south, the country of the Zinj; on the
south-west, the country of the Soodán, or Blacks; on the west is a
portion of the Circumambient Ocean, which surrounds all the countries
and seas already mentioned, as well as immense unknown regions adjoining
the former, and innumerable islands interspersed in the latter.
These _terrae incognitae_ are the scenes of some of the greatest wonders
described in the "Thousand and One Nights;" and are mostly peopled with
Jinn (Genii). On the Moḥeeṭ, or Circumambient Ocean, is the ´Arsh
Iblees, or Throne of Iblees: in a map accompanying my copy of the work
of Ibn-El-Wardee, a large yellow tract is marked with this name,
adjoining Southern Africa. The western portion of the Moḥeeṭ is
often called "the Sea of Darkness" (Baḥr eẓ-Ẓulumát, or,
Baḥr eẓ-Ẓulmeh). Under this name (and the synonymous
appellation of el-Baḥr el-Muzlim) the Atlantic Ocean is described by
the author just mentioned; though, in the introduction to his work, he
says that the Sea of Darkness surrounds the Moḥeeṭ. The former may
be considered either as the western or the more remote portion of the
latter.
In the dark regions (Eẓ-Ẓulumát, from which, perhaps, the
above-mentioned portion of the Moḥeeṭ takes its name),[106] in the
south-west quarter of the earth, according to the same author, is the
Fountain of Life, of which El-Khiḍr[107] drank, and by virtue of
which he still lives and will live till the day of judgment. This
mysterious person, whom the vulgar and some others regard as a prophet
and identify with Ilyás (Elias, Elijah), and whom some confound with St.
George, was, according to the more approved opinion of the learned, a
just man or saint, the Wezeer and counsellor of the first
Dhu-l-Ḳarneyn, who was a universal conqueror, but an equally doubtful
personage, contemporary with the patriarch Ibráheem (Abraham).
El-Khiḍr is said to appear frequently to Muslims in perplexity, and
to be generally clad in green garments; whence, according to some, his
name (which signifies "green"). The Prophet Ilyás is also related to
have drunk of the Fountain of Life. During the day-time, it is said,
El-Khiḍr wanders upon the seas, and directs voyagers who go astray;
while Ilyás perambulates the mountains or deserts, and directs persons
who chance to be led astray by the Ghools: but at night they meet
together, and guard the rampart of Yájooj and Májooj,[108] to prevent
these people from making irruptions upon their neighbours. Both,
however, are generally believed by the modern Muslims to assist pious
persons in distress in various circumstances, whether travelling by land
or by water.
The Mountains of Ḳáf, which bound the Circumambient Ocean and form
a circular barrier round the whole of our earth, are described by
interpreters of the Ḳur-án as composed of green chrysolite, like the
green tint of the sky.[109] It is the colour of these mountains, said
the Prophet, that imparts a greenish hue to the sky. It is said, in a
tradition, that beyond these mountains are other countries; one of gold,
seventy of silver, and seven of musk, all inhabited by angels, and each
country ten thousand years' journey in length, and the same in
breadth.[110] Some say that beyond it are creatures unknown to any but
God:[111] but the general opinion is, that the mountains of Ḳáf
terminate our earth, and that no one knows what is beyond them. They are
the chief abode of the Jinn, or Genii.
It has already been said that our earth is the first, or highest, of
seven earths, which are all of equal width and thickness and at equal
distances apart. Each of these earths has occupants. The occupants of
the first are men, genii, brutes, etc.; the second is occupied by the
suffocating wind that destroyed the infidel tribe of Ad; the third, by
the stones of Jahennem (or Hell), mentioned in the Ḳur-án in these
words, "the fuel of which is men and stones;"[112] the fourth, by the
sulphur of Jahennem; the fifth, by its serpents; the sixth, by its
scorpions, in colour and size like black mules and with tails like
spears; the seventh, by Iblees and his troops.[113]
Whether these several earths are believed to be connected with each
other by any means, and if so how, we are not expressly informed; but,
that they are supposed to be so is evident. With respect to our earth in
particular, as some think, it is said that it is supported by a rock,
with which the Mountains of Ḳáf communicate by means of veins or
roots; and that when God desires to effect an earthquake at a certain
place, He commands the mountain (or rock) to agitate the vein that is
connected with that place.[114] But there is another account, describing
our earth as upheld by certain successive supports of inconceivable
magnitude, which are under the seventh earth; leaving us to infer that
the seven earths are in some manner connected together. This account, as
inserted in the work of one of the writers above quoted, is as
follows:--The earth [under which appellation are here understood the
seven earths] was, it is said, originally unstable; "therefore God
created an angel of immense size and of the utmost strength, and ordered
him to go beneath it [_i.e._ beneath the lowest earth] and place it on
his shoulders; and his hands extended beyond the east and west, and
grasped the extremities of the earth [or, as related in Ibn-El-Wardee,
the seven earths] and held it [or them]. But there was no support for
his feet: so God created a rock of ruby, in which were seven thousand
perforations, and from each of these perforations issued a sea, the size
of which none knoweth but God, whose name be exalted; then he ordered
this rock to stand under the feet of the angel. But there was no support
for the rock: wherefore God created a huge bull, with four thousand eyes
and the same number of ears, noses, mouths, tongues, and feet; between
every two of which was a distance of five hundred years' journey; and
God, whose name be exalted, ordered this bull to go beneath the rock;
and he bore it on his back and his horns. The name of this bull is
Kuyootà.[115] But there was no support for the bull: therefore God,
whose name be exalted, created an enormous fish, that no one could look
upon on account of its vast size, and the flashing of its eyes, and
their greatness; for it is said that if all the seas were placed in one
of its nostrils, they would appear like a grain of mustard-seed in the
midst of a desert: and God, whose name be exalted, commanded the fish to
be a support to the feet of the bull.[116] The name of this fish is
Bahamoot [Behemoth]. He placed, as its support, water; and under the
water, darkness: and the knowledge of mankind fails as to what is under
the darkness."[117]--Another opinion is, that the [seventh] earth is
upon water; the water, upon the rock; the rock, on the back of the bull;
the bull, on a bed of sand; the sand, on the fish; the fish, upon a
still, suffocating wind; the wind, on a veil of darkness; the darkness,
on a mist; and what is beneath the mist is unknown.[118]
It is generally believed that under the lowest earth, and beneath seas
of darkness of which the number is unknown, is Hell, which consists of
seven stages, one beneath another. The first of these, according to the
general opinion, is destined for the reception of wicked Mohammadans;
the second, for the Christians; the third, for the Jews; the fourth, for
the Sabians; the fifth, for the Magians; the sixth, for the Idolaters;
the seventh, by general consent, for the Hypocrites. Jahennem is the
general name for Hell, and the particular name for its first stage.[119]
The situation of Hell has been a subject of dispute; some place it in
the seventh earth; and some have doubted whether it be above or below
the earth which we inhabit.
At the consummation of all things, God, we are told, will take the whole
earth in his [left] hand, and the heavens will be rolled together in his
right hand;[120] and the earth will be changed into another earth; and
the heavens, [into other heavens];[121] and Hell will be brought nigh to
the [tribunal of God].[122]
FOOTNOTES:
[96] This notion of the seven heavens appears to have been taken from
the "seven spheres;" the first of which is that of the Moon; the second,
of Mercury; the third, of Venus; the fourth, of the Sun; the fifth, of
Mars; the sixth, of Jupiter; and the seventh, of Saturn; each of which
orbs was supposed to revolve round the earth in its proper sphere. So
also the idea of the seven earths seems to have been taken from the
division of the earth into seven climates; a division which has been
adopted by several Arab geographers.
[97] Ḳur. lxv. 12, and Moḥammad's answers to ´Abd-Allah Ibn-Selám,
quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee (MS.); and Mekḥool, quoted by the same
author; and Mishkát el-Maṣábeeḥ, ii. 652, 653.
[98] Ibn-Esh-Shiḥneh (MS.).
[99] In another MS. of the same author, "yellow."
[100] In his Khiṭaṭ (MS.).
[101] Ḳur. xiii. 3, and several other places.
[102] Ḳur. ii. 20, and lxxviii. 6.
[103] Ḳur. lxxi. 18.
[104] Mekḥool, quoted by Ibn-El-Wardee.
[105] Wahb Ibn-Munebbih, quoted by El-Maḳreezee in his Khiṭaṭ.
[106] Ibn-El-Wardee, however, says that its name is derived from its
terrors and difficulties.
[107] [Cp. Lane's Selections from the Ḳur-án, 128 ff., 2nd ed. 1879.]
[108] History of El-Khiḍr in the Mir-át ez-Zemán.
[109] El-Ḳazweenee.
[110] Moḥammad's answers to ´Abd-Allah Ibn-Selám, quoted by
Ibn-El-Wardee.
[111] El-Ḳazweenee.
[112] Ḳur. ii. 22, and lxvi. 6.
[113] Mir-át ez-Zemán.
[114] Tradition from the Prophet, recorded by Ibn-´Abbás, and quoted by
Ibn-El-Wardee; and by El-Isḥáḳee, in describing an earthquake that
happened in his lifetime. See also the next note.
[115] In Ibn-Esh-Shiḥneh, "Kuyoothán;" the orthography of this word
is doubtful, as the vowel-points are not written. As the tradition is
related in Ibn-El-Wardee, this bull takes a breath twice in the course
of every day (or twenty-four hours): when he exhales, the sea flows; and
when he inhales, it ebbs. But it must not be imagined that none of the
Arabs has any notion of the true theory of the tides: the more learned
among them explain this phenomenon by the influence of the moon. Many of
the Arabs attribute earthquakes to the shaking of this bull.
[116] In Ibn-El-Wardee, a quantity of sand is introduced between the
bull and the fish.
[117] Ed-Demeeree, on the authority of Wahb Ibn-Munebbih, quoted by
El-Isḥáḳee, 1. 1.
[118] Ibn-El-Wardee.
[119] [The other stages are Laẓà, El-Ḥuṭameh, Sa´eer, Saḳar,
Jeheem, and Ḥáwiyeh.
[120] Ḳur. xxxix. 67.
[121] Ḳur. xiv. 49.
[122] Ḳur. lxxxix. 24.