"The signification of the second article; that is, the testimony concerning the Apostle.] He, the Most High, sent Mahomet, the illiterate prophet of the family of the Koreish, to deliver his message to all the Arabians and barbarians and genii and men; and abrogated by his religion all other religions, except in those things which he confirmed; and gave him the preëminence over all the rest of the prophets, and made him lord over all mortal men. Neither is the faith, according to his will, complete by the testimony of the unity alone; that is, by simply saying, There is but one God, without the addition of the testimony of the apostle; i.e., without the further testimony, Mahomet is the apostle of God. And he hath made it necessary to men to give credit to Mahomet in those things which he hath related, both with regard to this present world and the life to come. For a man's faith is not accepted till he is fully persuaded of those things which the prophet hath affirmed shall be after death. The first of these is the examination of Munkir and Nakir. These are two angels, of a most terrible and fearful aspect, who shall place [every] man upright in his grave, consisting again both of soul and body, and ask him concerning the unity and the mission [of the apostle], saying, Who is thy Lord? and, What is thy religion? and, Who is thy prophet? For these are the searchers of the grave, and their examination the first trial after death. Everyone must also believe the torment of the sepulchre, and that it is due and right and just, both upon the body and the soul, being according to the will of God.
"He shall also believe in the balance with two scales and a beam, that shall equal the extent of the heavens and the earth; wherein the works [of men] shall be weighed by the power of God. At which time weights not heavier than atoms, or mustard-seeds, shall be brought out, that things may be balanced with the utmost exactness, and perfect justice administered. Then the books of the good works, beautiful to behold, shall be cast into the balance of light, by which the balance shall be depressed according to their degrees, out of the favor of God. But the books of evil deeds, nasty to look upon, shall be cast into the balance of darkness, with which the scale shall lightly ascend by the justice of the most high God.
"He must also believe that there is a real way, extended over the middle of hell, which is sharper than a sword and finer than a hair, over which all must pass. In this passage of it, while the feet of the infidels, by the decree of God, shall slip, so as they shall fall into hell-fire, the feet of the faithful shall never stumble, but they shall arrive safely into the eternal habitation.
"He shall also believe the pond where they go down to be watered, that is the pond of Mahomet (upon whom be the blessing and peace of God), out of which the faithful, after they have passed the way, drink before they enter into paradise; and out of which whosoever once drinketh shall thirst no more forever. Its breadth is a month's journey, it is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. Round about it stand cups as innumerable as the stars, and it hath two canals, by which the waters of the [river] Cauthar flow into it.
"He shall also believe the [last] account, in which men shall be divided into those that shall be reckoned withal with the utmost strictness, and those that shall be dealt withal more favorably, and those that shall be admitted into paradise without any manner of examination at all; namely, those whom God shall cause to approach near to himself. Moreover, he shall believe that God will ask any of his apostles, whomsoever he shall please, concerning their mission; of the infidels, and whomsoever he shall please, what was the reason why, by their unbelief, they accused those that were sent to them of lying. He will also examine the heretics concerning tradition, and the faithful concerning their good works.
"He shall also believe that all who confess one God shall, upon the intercession of the prophets, next of the doctors, then of the martyrs, and finally of the rest of the faithful—that is, everyone according to his excellency and degree—at length go out of the fire after they have undergone the punishment due to their sins.
"And if besides these remain any of the faithful, having no intercessor, they shall go out by the grace of God; neither shall any one of the faithful remain forever in hell, but shall go out from thence though he had but so much faith in his heart as the weight of an atom. And thus, by the favorable mercy of God, no person shall remain in hell who in life acknowledge the unity of the Godhead.
"It is also necessary that every true believer acknowledge the excellency of the companions [of Mahomet] and their degrees; and that the most excellent of men, next to Mahomet, is Abu-Bekr, then Omar, then Othman, and then Ali. Moreover, he must entertain a good opinion of all the companions, and celebrate their memories, according as God and his apostles hath celebrated them. And all these things are received by tradition, and evinced by evident tokens; and he that confesseth all these things, and surely believeth them, is to be reckoned among the number of those that embrace truth, and of the congregation of those that walk in the received way, separated from the congregation of those that err, and the company of heretics.
"These are the things that everyone is obliged to believe and confess that would be accounted worthy of the name of a Mussulman; and that, according to the literal meaning of the words, not as they may be made capable of any sounder sense; for, says the author of this exposition, some pretending to go deeper have put an interpretation upon those things that are delivered concerning the world to come, such as the balance, and the way, and some other things besides, but it is heresy."