Immediately the angel joyfully opened the gate and welcomed us. In a garden created by the Lord of All for those who follow in my footsteps, I saw a multitude of houris. Some were seated on thrones, and others sportively clasped each other’s hands. Birds fluttered around and finally alighted on the heads of these houris. On a certain day (the day of Azineh, Friday) they mount goats and go to visit each other, and spend their time in laughter and amusements; then they separate after an exchange of good wishes.
I saw also a keuchk in the centre of the gardens. A multitude of houris were laughing and dallying on the lawns which surrounded it. To whom does that keuchk belong? I asked. To Omar, answered the houris, among whom I recognized Romeïca, the wife of Talka.
Is it indeed thou whom I see here, O Romeïca? I said.
It is I indeed, O Prophet. The Most High hath shown mercy unto me, and hath granted me the grace of entrance into paradise.
When the Prophet was asked for details concerning the dwellers in paradise, he answered: These fortunate beings are of the stature of Adam, whose height was sixty cubits, and of the age of the prophet Isaac, who was thirty years of age when he was on earth; they are as handsome as the prophet Joseph, and in their bearing they are like unto the prophet Jacob, on whom be blessings forever! They have neither hair nor beards, and their eyes are anointed with surmeh. In their hearts there exists neither envy nor hate. They are no more susceptible to pain than to old age, and they are subject to none of the necessities of human nature. As for the houris, whatever the number of the tunics they wear, they are all transparent; one beneath the other; their flesh is seen under the tunics, and their bones beneath the flesh, and even the marrow of the bones appears distinctly. Nor do the houris entertain sentiments of envy. Each follower of the true faith has also a tent entirely of gold, sixty igadj (300 miles) in diameter.
Gabriel next said to me: O Mahomet, now that thou hast seen the dwelling place of thy friends, it is time to visit the spot destined for the enemies of the most high Lord.
Then did I see that hell was a terrible and horror-inspiring region. At the gate stood an angel of sinister and terrifying mien. Who is that angel? I asked Gabriel. His name is Mâlik, he replied. He is the prince of hell whose entrance he guards. Since his creation, he has never smiled, nor has he exchanged with anyone whomsoever the slightest colloquy. I saluted him, but he did not return the salutation.
It is Mahomet, said Gabriel. Immediately Mâlik offered me apologies, saying: Rejoice, O Mahomet, on account of the gifts of the Lord, who hath desired thee to behold the works of his omnipotence, and who hath generously loaded thee with so many benefits.
O Mâlik, said I, breathe once upon the fires of hell. Mâlik blew once, and Gabriel and I stood stricken with terror.
I saw in the middle of hell a tree which shaded a space 500-years’ journey in dimension. Its thorns were like lances, and its excrescences resembled the heads of dio (demons). Gabriel said to me: This tree is the zakkoum, whose fruit is more bitter than poison. The dwellers in hell taste it only to reject it at once.