The unbeliever shall suffer the torment of hell eternally; and the iniquitous believer shall remain in it, according to the estimation of his crimes.
“Either the entreaty of the intercessors
Shall liberate him from the retribution and punishment,
Or if, by intercession, the door of liberation does not open,
The most merciful of the merciful shall bestow salvation.”
When they come out of hell, they wash themselves clean of smoke in the Kawser.[526] There are eight gradations, or steps, in heaven; and every man, according to his knowledge and conduct, shares a place in them, and enjoys eternal beatitude. The highest of blessings is the sight of God, the Almighty, whom the good behold as the moon of fourteen nights. This is upon the authority of the lord Mulána Abd-ul rahmen Jami.[527] It is written in an esteemed book, that there are in hell eight steps, in which men are placed according to the estimation of their sins.
Here is a short account of what I have learned from the speeches of intelligent men of the right faith. It is contained in their books that the first being created was the spirit of Muhammed.
“The first creature of God was my soul.”
To this allusion is made in the words quoted from the Koran. Then all the spirits of mankind were brought forth; these, before being united with bodies, remained four thousand years in the vicinity of the grace of the most high God: