Читать книгу A Dictionary of Islam. Being a cyclopedia of the doctrines, rites, ceremonies, and customs, together with the technical and theological terms, of the Muhammadan religion онлайн

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The earth is believed by Muḥammadan writers to be surrounded by a great sea called al-Baḥru ʾl-Muḥīt̤, or the circumambient ocean, which is bounded by the mountains of Qāf. The extent of the earth is said to be equal to a journey of five hundred years; two hundred years’ journey being allotted to the sea, two hundred to the uninhabited desert, eighty to the country of Gog and Magog (Yājūj wa Mājūj) and the rest to the civilised world. Certain terræ incognitæ in the midst of the mountains of Qāf are said to be inhabited by the jinn, or genii. According to some, Makkah (or Jerusalem according to others) is situated in the centre of the earth. On the Muḥīt̤ is the ʿArshu ʾl-Iblīs, or “Throne of Satan.” The western portion of the Muḥīt̤ is often called the Baḥru ʾz̤-Z̤ulmāt, or “Sea of Darkness,” and in the south-west corner of the earth is the Fountain of Life of which al-K͟hiẓr drank, and in virtue of which he still lives, and will live till the Day of Judgment. The mountains of Qāf which bound the great sea Muḥīt̤, form a circular barrier round the whole earth, and are said to be of green chrysolite, the colour of which the Prophet said imparts a greenish tint to the sky. The general opinion is that the mountains of Qāf bound our earth, but some say there are countries beyond, each country being a thousand years’ journey.