Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 4.djvu/403

373 Hell?’ (A.) ‘They are seven in number and their names are comprised in the following verses:

(Q.) ‘To what does the poet refer in these verses:

(A.) ‘A needle.’ (Q.) ‘What is the length and breadth of the bridge Es Sirat?’ (A.) ‘Its length is three thousand years’ journey, a thousand in descent, a thousand level and a thousand in ascent: it is sharper than a sword and finer than a hair.’ (Q.) ‘How many intercessions [with God] hath the Prophet [for each soul]?’ (A.) ‘Three.’ (Q.) ‘Was Abou Bekr the first that embraced Islam?’ (A.) ‘Yes.’ (Q.) ‘Yet Ali became a Muslim before him?’ (A.) ‘All came to the Prophet, when he was a boy of seven years old, for God vouchsafed him the knowledge of the truth in his tender youth, so that he never prostrated himself to idols.’ (Q.) ‘Which is the more excellent, Ali or Abbas?’

Now she knew that, in propounding this question, Ibrahim was laying a trap for her; for, if she said, ‘Ali is the more excellent,’ she would fall in disgrace with the Khalif; so she bowed her head awhile, now reddening, now paling, then said, ‘Thou askest me of two excellent men, each having [his own especial] excellence. Let us return to what we were about.’ When the Khalif heard