Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets. Baring-Gould Sabine
sorrow; and Adam, when the voice of the weeping of Eve sounded in his ears, put his right hand beneath his beard, – thus do men to this day give evidence of their mourning. And the tears pouring out of Adam’s eyes formed the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates. All nature wept with him; every bird and beast hastened to him to mingle their tears with his, but the locust was the first to arrive, for it was made of the superfluous earth which had been gathered for the creation of Adam. There are seven thousand kinds of locusts or grasshoppers, of all colors and sizes, up to the dimensions of an eagle; and they have a king to whom God addresses His commands when He would punish a rebellious nation such as that of Egypt. The black character imprinted on the locust’s wing is Hebrew, and it signifies, “God is One; He overcometh the mighty; the locusts are a portion of His army which He sends against the wicked.” As all nature thus wailed and lamented, from the invisible insect to the angel who upholds the world, God sent Gabriel with the words which were in after-time to save Jonah in the whale’s belly, “There is no God but Thou; pardon me for Mohammed’s sake, that great and last prophet, whose name is engraved on Thy throne.”
When Adam had uttered these words with penitent heart, the gates of heaven opened, and Gabriel cried out, “God has accepted thy penitence, Adam! pray to him alone, He will give thee what thou desirest, even the return to Paradise, after a certain time.”
Adam prayed, “Lord, protect me from the further malice of my enemy Eblis.”
“Speak the word, There is no God but God; that wounds him like a poisoned arrow.”
“Lord, will not the meat and drink provided by this earth lead me into sin?”
“Drink water, and eat only clean beasts which have been slain in the name of Allah, and build mosques where you dwell, so will Eblis have no power over you.”
“But if he torment me at night with evil thoughts and dreams?”
“Then rise from thy couch and pray.”
“Lord, how shall I be able to distinguish between good and evil?”
“My guidance will be with thee; and two angels will dwell in thy heart, who shall warn thee against evil and encourage thee to good.”
“Lord, assure me Thy grace against sin.”
“That can only be obtained by good works. But this I promise thee, evil shall be punished one-fold, good shall be rewarded tenfold.”
In the meanwhile the angel Michael had been sent to Eve to announce to her God’s mercy. When Eve saw him, she exclaimed, “O great and almighty Archangel of God, with what weapon shall I, poor frail creature, fight against sin?”
“God,” answered the Angel, “has given me for thee, the most potent weapon of modesty; that, as man is armed with faith, so mayest thou be armed with shamefacedness, therewith to conquer thy passions.”
“And what will protect me against the strength of man, so much more robust and vigorous than I, in mind and in body?”
“Love and compassion,” answered Michael. “I have placed these in the deepest recesses of his heart, as mighty advocates within him to plead for thee.”
“And will God give me no further gift?”
“For the pangs of maternity thou shalt feel, this shall be thine, death in child-bearing shall be reckoned in heaven as a death of martyrdom.”87
Eblis, seeing the mercy shown to Adam and Eve, ventured to entreat God’s grace for himself, and obtained that he should not be enchained in the place of torment till the day of the general Resurrection, and that he should exercise sovereignty over the wicked and all those who should reject God’s word in this life.
“And where shall I dwell till the consummation of all things?” he asked of Allah.
“In ruined buildings, and in tombs, and in dens and caves of the mountains.”
“And what shall be my nourishment?”
“All beasts slain in the name of false gods and idols.”
“And how shall I slake my thirst?”
“In wine and other spirituous liquors.”
“And how shall I occupy myself in hours of idleness?”
“In music, dancing, and song.”
“What is the word of my sentence?”
“The curse of God till the Judgment-day.”
“And how shall I fight against those men who have received Thy revelation, and are protected by the two angels?”
“Thy offspring shall be more numerous than theirs: to every man born into this world, there will be born seven evil spirits, who, however, will be powerless to injure true Believers.”
God then made a covenant with Adam’s successors; He rubbed Adam’s back, and lo! from out of his back crawled all generations of men that were to be born, about the size of ants, and they ranged themselves on the left and on the right. At the head of those on the right stood Mohammed, then the other prophets and the faithful, distinguished from those on the left by their white and dazzling splendor. Those on the left were headed by Kabil (Cain).
God then acquainted Adam with the names and fate of all his posterity; and when the recital arrived at David, to whom God had allotted only thirty years, Adam asked God, “How many years are accorded to me?”
Allah replied, “One thousand.”
Then said Adam, “I make a present to David of seventy years out of my life.” God consented; and knowing the shortness of Adam’s memory, at all events in matters concerning himself inconveniently, He made the angels bring a formal document of resignation engrossed on parchment, and required Adam to subscribe thereto his name, and Michael and Gabriel to countersign it as witnesses.
A very similar tradition was held by the Jews, for in Midrash Jalkut (fol. 12) it is said: God showed Adam all future generations of men, with their captains, learned and literary men. Then he saw that David was provided with only three hours of life, and he said, “Lord and Creator of the world, is this unalterable?” “Such was my first intention,” was the reply.
“How many years have I to live?”
“A thousand.”
“And is there such a thing known in heaven as making presents?”
“Most certainly.”
“Then I present seventy years of my life to David.”
And what did Adam next perform? He drew up a legal document of transfer, and sealed it with his own seal, and God and Metatron did likewise.
To return to the Mussulman legend.
When all the posterity of Adam were assembled, God exclaimed to them, “Acknowledge that I am the only God, and that Mohammed is my prophet.” The company on the right eagerly made this acknowledgment; those, however, on the left long hesitated, – some said only the former portion of the sentence, and others did not open their mouths.
“The disobedient,” said Allah to Adam, “shall, if they remain obstinate, be cast into hell, but the true believers shall be received into Paradise.”
“So be it,” replied Adam. And thus shall it be at the end of the world.
After the covenant, Allah rubbed Adam’s back once more, and all his little posterity retreated into it again.
When now God withdrew His presence from Adam’s sight for the remainder of our first parents’ life, Adam uttered such a loud and bitter cry that the whole earth quaked.
The All-merciful was filled with compassion, and bade him follow a cloud which would conduct him to a spot where he would be directly opposite His throne, and there he was to build a temple.
“Go about this temple,” said Allah, “and I am as near to you as the angels who surround my throne.” Adam, who was still the size that God had created him, easily strode from Ceylon to Mecca after the cloud, which
It is a popular superstition among the lower orders in England that a woman who dies in childbirth, even if she be unmarried, cannot be lost.