bodies appointed to receive them; Jibrail (Gabriel), the guardian and communicator of GOD'S revelation; Mikail (Michael), who conveys to souls and bodies their daily nourishment, spiritual and material; 'Azrail, whose feet stand on the foundations of the earth, while his head reaches to the highest heaven; his office is to conduct souls, after death, to their everlasting habitation, whether in hell or in Paradise. In addition to these are the Cherubim (Karubiyyun), occupied exclusively in chanting the praises of GOD; the two Secretaries, who record the actions of men, each in a distinct writing; the Observers, who spy out the least gestures and hear every word of men; the Travellers, who traverse the whole earth in order to know when men utter the name of GOD and pray to Him; Harut¹ and Marut, who, having offended GOD, are confined in a well near Babylon until the Day of judgment; the angels of the seven planets;

Prince of Hell.

the guardian angels appointed to keep watch over men; and the two angels of the grave," Munkir and Nakir. Over hell an angel reigns who is called Malik, probably the Molech of the Old Testament; and under his authority there are nineteen² other angels appointed to aid him in maintaining authority there. These, according to Tradition,³ are preserved from being injured by the flames through having the Divine Seal impressed

upon their forehead, the inscription on the Seal of GOD being the Muhammadan Creed, "There is no God but GOD; Muhammad is the Apostle of GOD."

§ 10. One of the most noteworthy points in the Muhammadan Religion is the importance which they attach to Prayer.¹ GOD is described by them, in accordance with the Qur'an, as

Importance of Prayer.

hearing and answering the prayers of His worshippers. They regard it as impossible for anyone to be saved who does not pray, and consider the man who wilfully neglects this duty as an out-and-out infidel.² We have already seen that prayer is insisted on as one of the Five Points or Five Foundations of Islam. Muhammad himself showed the importance of prayer by calling it the "key of Paradise" and the "pillar of religion." So in Surah LXXIII. Muhammad is addressed as follows: "O thou that art wrapped up,³ arise during the night except