and genii: they then press the earth upon the corpse, which is either gnawn by dragons, having many heads, or scorpions, or serpents, according to the nature of his offences. This supposition is beautifully alluded to by Southey[1].
"There sat a spirit in the vault,
In shape, in hue, in lineaments like life,
And by him couch'd, as if entranc'd,
The hundred-headed worm that never dies."
The souls of the good enter into the state called Al-Berzakh, or the interval between death and the resurrection: the souls of martyrs, according to tradition, rest in the crops of green birds, which eat of the fruits and drink of the rivers of Paradise; and there is a variety of opinions concerning the souls of common believers. Some suppose that they remain near the sepulchres, others that they are with Adam in the lowest heaven; others
- ↑ See Thalaba.
