"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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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