Visions of Heaven and Hell From Late Antiquity in the Near East

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Visions of Heaven and Hell from Late Antiquity in the Near Eastby Ghazzal Dabiri

The Ard Wirz Nmag, a late Middle Persian text thought to have beenredacted in the tenth century,1 is a report on the journey Ard Wirz soulundertakes to the afterlife at the behest of religious leaders and the community.It first describes the communitys concern regarding their belief in theZoroastrian religion. Next, it relates how and why the community chose ArdWirz and how they sent his soul to the afterlife. Lastly, it depicts Ard Wirzdescription of how his soul reaches the afterlife where he meets two guides,Sr and dur Yazd, who lead him through heaven, hell, and purgatory wheresouls are punished or rewarded for the good or bad deeds they have committedin the world of the living.

The Ard Wirz Nmagserves as a testament to the Zoroastrian communi-tys need for answers to questions regarding their faith, since it confirms theefficacy of the communitys religious practices and their adherence to thefaiths tenets. Though the Ard Wirz Nmagspeaks particularly to the tenth

century Zoroastrian community, it is not the only text to address such concerns.Echoes of its structure and, to a certain extent, its content are found in the fol-lowing texts which also depict visions of heaven and hell through the eyes of achosen community member: the Dnkard2 which depicts King Witsps jour-ney to heaven and hell; the inscription of the 3rd century head mbed(Zoroastrian priest) Kirdr; and early biographies and histories3 of the prophetMuammad which elaborate upon several enigmatic verses of the Qurnregarding his nocturnal journey (isr) and ascent (mirj).4

Quaderni di Studi Indo-Mediterranei, II (2009), pp. 177-190.

1 According to Gignouxs article, Ard Wrz, in Encylopaedia Iranica, the final redaction of thetext probably refers to the early Islamic period (see especially Ard Wrz 1.23-27 for an explanation of the

journeys purposes). See Encyclopaedia Iranica Online, s.v. Ard Wrz, http://www.iranica.com/newsite(accessed May 26, 2009).

2 The Dnkard is an encyclopedia of Zoroastrianism written in Middle Persian and redacted in its finalform in the 10th century.

3 It is beyond the scope of this paper to analyze how adthsregarding Muammads isrand mirjwere collected and treated from the seventh to the eighth century.

4 Verse one of Srah XVII (al-Isr) specifically describes the experience of the journey: May He beglorified, He Who carried (asr) His servant at night from al-Masjid al-arm to al-Masjid al-AqwhichWe have surrounded with blessings so that We may show him Our signs.


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These texts also have the particular features of circumstance and provenancein common; they were composed in cosmopolitan cities where people of vari-

ous ethnic origins and religious beliefs crossed paths or lived together in closequarters. In these cosmopolitan cities where there was a constant flux of differ-ent peoples, new ideas, and religions, the texts served more than just to admon-ish, forewarn, and to reassure adherents from within a faith. They were com-posed in reaction to the proximity and the influence of other religions and sects.For instance King Witsp, who was hesitant about accepting Zoroastrianism,undertook the journey to the afterlife to resolve his doubts. Zoroastrianism, thestate religion of the Sasanians, was threatened by various off-shoots that weredeemed heretical. In response, Kirdr undertook the journey to the afterlife tobear witness to the veracity of Zoroastrianism. According to the Ard Wirz

Nmag, different (mis)-beliefs were widespread and so the Zoroastrian commu-nity chooses Ard Wirz as the purest person to journey to the afterlife foranswers.

In the eighth and ninth centuries C.E. in the Iranian areas of the formerSasanian empire, many people were to some extent bilingual (in varyingdegrees) out of necessity and were exposed to each others ideas and religiousbeliefs (zarnsh 2006, part 1). As stories of the ancient deeds of Iranianmytho-historical and historical kings and heroes circulated orally and, later,appeared in translations from Middle Persian into Arabic,5 so too were Zoro-

astrian ideas, beliefs, and pseudo-historical narratives and ideas circulating inthat milieu. When commenting upon and interpreting the enigmatic and briefverses of Muammads nocturnal journey and ascent, Muslim biographers andhistorians elaborated upon reports (adth) from the prophet, his wife, relatives,and companions about the exact nature of his nocturnal journey and ascent.What resulted were extremely detailed and intricate narratives about Muam-mads trip to heaven that evince structural affinities to Middle Persian ascen-sion narratives. The Arda Wrz Nmag, in turn, was redacted into its finalform in the tenth century, arguably as a response to the popularity the israndmirjstories were gaining.

Though all these works are unique in that they each speak to a particulargroup of people, nevertheless, they are products of dynamic societies and peo-ples who were constantly embroiled with one another and in the giving andreceiving of new ideas. As a result, these texts absorbed and appropriated ele-ments of vision texts from other religions in close proximity, while rejectingthose religions as heretical or false.

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5 For the stories reported to Tabar orally by Iranians refer to Tabar 1879, vol. 1.


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The present paper focuses on the socio-cultural and religio-political condi-tions of early Islamic Iran that would have conduced the circulation of the Ard

Wirz narrative

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among the eighth-tenth century Persian and Arab historiansand theologians. Furthermore, the paper presents and analyses parallel struc-tures and motifs between the Ard Wirz Nmagand the section of Ibn Isq(C.E. 704-768)s Srat Rasl Allh on Muammads mirjfor several reasons(which are detailed below) among which is that the latter is one of the earliestextant texts to represent the biography of the prophet based on earlier worksthat no longer exist.7

The Cultural Milieu of the Eighth-Tenth Centuries C.E. in the Eastern Islamic

Empire

At the time of the Islamic conquest of Iran, translators were required for thedemands of war, peace, conversion, and tax collecting. While it seems obviousthat such a need existed, information regarding these translators, their profes-sion, and what exactly they translated and/or propagated is scant (zarnsh2006, 14-18). Soon after the conquest in the late seventh and early eighth cen-turies, Arab-Muslim garrison troops were stationed in various regions of Iran.These troops began to intermingle with the locals and took part in the activities

of the surrounding towns. Many eventually married local women and wereassimilated. Others retained their Muslim-Arab identity while living and work-ing among the locals. As for the locals, despite the conversion of the multitudesthat took place for various economic, socio-political, and religious reasons,many retained their own religions and suffered the consequences (such as pay-ing a poll-tax and spending their lives as second-class citizens or even as pris-oners of war forced into slavery). These newly intermingled populations in thefar eastern regions of the empire needed to communicate with one another forday-to-day issues. The need for translators and bilingual and even trilingualspeakers increased exponentially from the time of the initial conquest. No

doubt many such persons existed, although only a handful are mentioned inextant sources.

These populations and their bilingual speakers became partly responsible forthe transmission of ideas with the caliphs courts and local principalities also

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6 I use the phrase Arda Wrznarrative as distinct from the text, Arda Wrz Nmag, to demarcatethe fact that the narrative was in circulation orally before its final redaction in the 10th century. For the pos-sible origins of the Arda Wrznarrative, see Pourshariati 2008, 431-433.


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playing dominant roles. The Umayyad caliphs (C.E. eighth-ninth century) madeuse of the former Sasanian administrative machine for the running of their new

empire, retaining those among the scribes who were able to learn Arabic quick-ly. These bilingual (and often trilingual8) scribes became instrumental for thetransmission of ideas.9 Following in the Umayyad tradition of retaining Iranianscribes and administrators, the Abbasid dynasty made use of bilingual Iraniansas their scribes, viziers, and administrators.10

With the decline of the central caliphal power in the latter half of the ninthcentury, semi-autonomous principalities arose in Iran. The official court lan-guage of these Iranian principalities was primarily Arabic and even princes whospoke little or no Arabic patronized poets to eulogize them in Arabic (zarnsh2006, 138-140). Following upon the popularity of the Arabic encomiastic

poems used widely in the Umayyad and especially Abbasid courts (despite thepopularity of Middle Persian literature, albeit in the form of Arabic transla-tions), the princes of these semi-autonomous principalities sponsored poets whocame from those courts looking for patronage. In their turn, these migrant poetsfound willing patrons who were interested in being eulogized for posterity inthe manner of the caliphs.11 It was not until the Samanids established indepen-dent rule from the middle of the ninth to the end of the tenth century thatPersian was used as a courtly language, that Arabic texts were translated intoPersian, and that poetry was composed in Persian.

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7 For more information on the importance of the transmission of reports on the life and deeds of theprophet and the reliability of transmitters see A. Guillaume 1967, Introduction; Abd al-Aziz Duri 1983;and Tarif Khalidi 1996.

8 I would like to thank Awad Awad for pointing out the fact that some of these translators were well-versed in Christian and Syriac literatures. While it is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss the contribu-tions they may have made to the genre of visions of heaven and hell literatures of the early Islamic period,a study would provide a more extensive view of the issue at hand. See Gutas 1998 for information regard-ing translators of Christian and Syrac works and their contributions to Arabic and Persian literature.

9 One of the most important figures of the Umayyad period (and whose works have been termed para-digmatic for Arabic literary style until the advent of the modern period) is Ibn Muqaffa, a Persian whotranslated many important Middle Persian texts into Arabic and composed many original texts in Arabic

based on Middle Persian models. For more information on Ibn Muqaffas important contribution to thedevelopment of Arabic literature refer to Cooperson 2005a.

10 The most prominent of them was Harn al-Rashds vizier Yahy Barmak. In addition to patroniz-ing poetry, Yahy Barmak commissioned many works, the most famous of which is the Thousand andOne Nights, to be translated from Middle Persian into Arabic. The Barmakid family was of Persian originand served the Abbasids. Many of the family members held high administrative positions in the Abbasidcourts and served as tutors to the Abbasid princes until their downfall which began with Yahys execu-tion (although al-Mamn retained his old tutor as his advisor until he died of mysterious/suspicious caus-es); see Cooperson 2005b.

11 This was partly due to the fact that the kings of these principalities were competing with theAbbasid courts.


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The translations from Middle Persian into Arabic in the eighth and ninthcenturies and the translations of those and other Arabic texts (especially texts of

a religious nature

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) into Persian by the Samanids in the ninth and tenth cen-turies provided the opportunity for literary styles and poetic arts to be devel-oped in unique ways while older elements were retained. Such borrowings werenot relegated to courts or to the arena of poetry and prose literature alone.Histories and theological ideas were also subject to incorporating and alteringforeign concepts for various purposes (Dabiri 2007, 38-164).

In his article Prophet, Chalif und Geschichte, Selheim argued that Iranianhistory was rewritten and composed in Arabic as a response to the Arab-cen-tered Islamic histories being produced at the time (Selheim 1966, 33-91). Theimpetus to compose Islamic histories derived from Muslim identity which was

born of religious and political considerations. This identity was fostered by acompetition, one in which Muslim historians of the eighth and ninth centuriessought to place Arabs into the larger universal historical context, where Jews,Christians, Greeks, Indians, and Iranians were already well established withtheir respective world histories and far reaching religions. The need to placeArabs on to the historical universal picture was spearheaded by Ibn Isq (C.E.704-768)s now lost biography,13 Srat Rasl Allh, which in its narrative of thelives of the prophets from Adam to Muammad, contributed to giving theArab-Muslim community its place in universal history.

Soon after Ibn Isqs work, ninth and tenth century historians such asDnavar and abar appropriated (in the case of abar) and borrowed his tech-niques and reinvented Iranian history as Perso-Islamic history (Selheim 1966).abar, with his authoritative and comprehensive history, appropriated IbnIsqs Srat Rasl Allh and Iranian history as it was transmitted by Iranianand Arab historians and the anonymous dihqns (landed gentry)14. He subse-quently turned Arab-Muslim history into a universal history that includedIranian history as part and parcel of the Judeo-Islamic tradition.15

Selheims argument can be extended to describe how theological ideas wereborrowed and simultaneously used to formulate new tenets which led to the for-

mation of new theological schools. One particular Islamic theological school ofthought, the Mutazili school, propounded the controversial tenet manzilah

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12 The earliest extant Persian translation of Ibn Isqs Srat Rasl Allh is by Raf al-Dn Isq ibnMuammad Hamadn (c. twelfth century C.E.). I would like to thank Hossein Kamaly for the reference.

13 While the biography as a whole is no longer extant, the text is partially preserved by his pupil (IbnHishm)s work Srat al-Nab.

14 For the significance of the dihqnsin the transmission of Persian history see Davis 1996.15 For an extended version of this argument, refer to Dabiri 2007, chapter 2.


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ly piecing together the disjointed narratives of Muammads night journey andascent, which provide positive proof of Muammads prophetic mission, into a

cohesive narrative that illustrates Muammads supersession over the previousBiblical prophets (Ibn Hishm 1967, 269 and 275-276). The four reports in theSrat Rasl Allh that describe Muammads journey through heaven is sum-marily described here: As Muammad and his guide, the arch-angel Gabriel,approach the gates of each level of heaven, the guardians of those levels, whoare the ancient Biblical prophets and figures (such as Jesus, Joseph, and Adamwho sit at the lower levels of heaven), ask Gabriel two questions: 1-who is hiscompanion and, upon learning his identity, 2-if Muammad has received hismission. Gabriels answer to the second question is always a resounding yes(267). Upon Gabriels affirmative answer, the prophet is able to pass through

each level until he reaches the seventh level17 where, with Moses assistance, hebarters with God on the number of prayers his community is to perform. Whatis evident from these four reports is that the prophets journey through heavenis parallel to his prophetic mission on earth: he is a newly appointed messengerof God and Islam is to supersede the other religions even if the adherents of thelatter are unaware of Muammads identity and mission.

While the reports themselves were intended to answer the doubters whoplagued Muammads early career, Ibn Isqs constructed narrative served asa competitive response to a later group, the eighth century Zoroastrians, who

had their ancient histories and narratives in which their kings, priests, andprophets visit heaven and hell as proof of their religions veracity. The similarstructure and content of the Ard Wirz Nmagand Srat Rasl Allh illustratethis: 1-The context of the journey. The two messengers are sent to the afterlifeat a time of distress; 2-The condition of their bodies and souls as they traversethe afterlife. Their spirits are sent into the afterlife at a time when the women oftheir families are present (and bear witness); 3-The guides. The angels areeither sent to guide them or agree to guide them in the hereafter; 4-The guidesfunctions. Their guides either answer for them (as is the case with Muammadwho appears when it is unclear to the guardians of heaven whether he has

received his prophetic calling) or inquire into the reason for the visit into theafterlife (as is the case with Ard Wirz) and answer the questions both visitorsask regarding what they see or hear; 5-Visions of the afterlife. The similaritiesare primarily confined to four particular types of sinners and the punishmentsthey receive.

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17 In the Islamic tradition, no other Biblical prophet stands closer to Muammad than Moses whosestory appears in the Qurn to comfort the prophet when the mockers and unbelievers beleaguered himmost.


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The Context

The isr and mirj narratives are strategically placed in the Srat RaslAllh, as they are framed in between two other closely associated narratives.Preceding the isr18 and mirj narratives is: The Revelation Prophets HaveBeen Mocked Before You,19 which describes Muammads vexation in regardto the mockers, and following the narratives is: How God Dealt with theMockers. The last line of the first narrative Prophets have been mocked beforeyou, but that which they scoffed at surrounded them (Ibn Hishm, 266)20

seems to suggest that the isrand the mirjnarratives break the logical flow ofthe preceding and succeeding two narratives. However, as argued above, narra-tives of visions of heaven and hell usually appear in times of distress. They

appear as a phenomenon of close proximity to other religions and, in this case,when the adherents of the other religion(s) mock and deride the prophet. Tocomfort the prophet, God not only reveals the fact that other apostles have beenmocked before him, but as narrated in the Srat Rasl Allh, he is then immedi-ately taken to heaven and is allowed entry into each level of heaven where hemeets and speaks to the Biblical prophets who preceded him and were likewisemocked. In heaven, Muammad witnesses the horrors visited upon sinners (avision he can barely tolerate and therefore he begs the angel to close the gate 21)and the punishments others receive in the lower levels of heaven. Thus, the

mirjnarrative serves as a premonitory warning and a foreshadowing of thesubject of the following narrative: How God Deals with the Mockers.Muammads distress and the comfort he receives is parallel to the

Zoroastrian priests sadness at the state of disbelief within their religion. In theArd Wirz Nmag, it is related that Ahriman guided Alexander the Great intoIran to create doubt among the believing population. Alexander enters Iran,burns the skins on which the Avestawas written, and kills several notablepriests, nobles, scholars, and devout followers of the religion. Several centurieslater priests, who were depressed and dispirited over the fact that many reli-gions and faiths, heresy, and doubt were manifest in the world (Gignoux 2003,

71), gather together to remedy the ominous situation. At the meeting, theydetermine that their best course of action is to select and then send the mostrighteous among them to the afterlife to verify the truthfulness of the religion.

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18 This experience appears in the Qurn as the first verse in Srah XVII. See footnote 4.19 This appears in Srah VI.20 This is the verse from which the title of the narrative is derived.21 Incidentally, Ard Wirz has a similar reaction at the threshold of the lowest level of hell.


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As a result of Ard Wirz journey through the afterlife, the priests and thecommunity are relieved of their worries about the state of their religion and the

efficacy of their practices.

The Condition

In both texts, women play unexpected roles in regards to the condition of thebody and soul of Muammad and Ard Wirz during their visit to the afterlife.In the Srat Rasl Allh, there are five reports of varying lengths dealing withthe manner (physical or otherwise) in which Muammad journeyed toJerusalem and his subsequent ascent to heaven. As Guillaume (1967, xx) notes,

this suggests that there must have been some debate over the issue. Of the fivereports there is a consensus among the men that the prophet experienced avision. However, the two reports by the women in the prophets family22 are byanonymous sources and testify to their intimate knowledge of the fact of hisspirit travels. According to the prophets wife ishah, the prophets body(may God bless him) was not missing, however, God made his soul travel bynight (Ibn Hishm, 270-271). The account by Umm Hn, the prophets cousinis as close to an eye witness account of the prophets isrand mirjas physi-cally possible, since she claims that the prophet never went on a night journey

except in her house (272-273).23

After Ard Wirz is chosen by the community, his seven sister-wives cry outin protest. They do not want their brother-husband to journey to the afterlife,since they do not know what will happen to him once he is there. The priestsconvince them that the only way to remedy the predicament in which the com-munity finds itself is to let him go. The sister-wives finally agree and they aregiven the most important task of reciting prayers over Ard Wirz and guardinghis physical body for seven days and nights while his soul traverses into theafterlife. Therefore, just as ishah and Umm Hn play the most intimate rolein regards to the prophets spiritual journey, so do Ard Wirz sister-wives in

regards to their brothers travels.

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22 The womens reports, interestingly enough, are the only two whose line of transmission is omitted.23 Umm Hns narrative is especially interesting since it reinforces asan al-Bars narrative (which

is a description of the prophets proof to the community that he did in fact travel in one night) as well asgrants an actual eye-witness to the prophets journey. It also details the exact time and location of the

prophet immediately before the journey and immediately after.


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The Guides and Their Functions

In both the Ard Wirz Nmag and Srat Rasl Allh, Ard Wirz andMuammad are assisted by guides who accompany them throughout their trav-els in the afterlife. Muammads guide in the Srat Rasl Allh is Gabriel, thebearer of revelations to Muammad and generally the messenger of God toman. Ard Wirz guides are Sr, who guards souls for three days after death,and dur Yazd who presides over fire. Despite the different roles they playwithin the constraints of the respective religions, Gabriel, Sr, and dur per-form the same functions within these two narratives. As mentioned above, theygain the two visitors entry into the afterlife before their time (death) and pro-vide two types of guidance: physical and eschatological.

In the Srat Rasl Allh, Gabriels mission to guide the prophet begins onearth. Gabriel is sent to meet Muammad to take him on the night journey andascend with him into heaven. He awakens Muammad from sleep and helpshim onto the back of Burq, the mythical beast who carries him to Jerusalemwhere a ladder appears for him to climb. Even though Gabriel accompaniesMuammad throughout heaven and is recognized by his fellow angels and theancient Biblical prophets, he must answer the same two questions regardingMuammads identity and calling at each level of heaven in order for theprophet to gain entry (Ibn Hishm, 276). On the other hand, Sr and dur

Yazd meet Ard Wirz after he crosses over into the afterlife where they aresurprised to see that he has entered before his time. When he mentions that hehas come as a messenger of the community, they welcome him (Gignoux, 79).

Gabriel, Sr, and dur Yazd accompany Muammad and Ard Wirz asguides and help them to navigate the different levels of the hereafter. AsMuammad and Ard Wirz move from one level to the next, they are curiousabout the particular kinds of punishments or rewards visited upon souls.Prompted by what they witness, they ask the same question of their respectiveguide(s): Who are they? In response, the guides patiently provide answers inregard to the fate of the souls. In other words, the constructed narratives pro-vide eschatological answers for the two communities.

Visions of the Afterlife

Before they approach the threshold, both men require different means oftransportation to the afterlife. Muammad requires the winged Burq to trans-port him to Jerusalem while Ard Wirz requires a special elixir. Once at thethreshold, however, similar types of objects are required for crossing over: a

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ladder is brought to Muammad at which time he and Gabriel climb it intoheaven while Ard Wirz sees and crosses inwad Puhl (bridge) which also

allows him passage into purgatory, then heaven, and finally hell. Both ArdWirz and Muammad must use physical objects at the threshold between thetwo worlds; these are objects that all souls (Muslim and Zoroastrian respective-ly) see before they cross at death. This illustrates that despite the special privi-lege(s) their status as righteous men grants them, the two must still pass overinto the afterlife in the same manner as all the members of their respective com-munities.

With the assistance of his two guides, Ard Wirz safely passes over thebridge where he is allowed the opportunity to witness the process a soul under-goes after death24 and by which it is judged. Ard Wirz notes that Rashn the

Just holds in his hand a yellow golden balance to weigh the pious and thewicked (Gignoux, 83). Likewise, Muammad notices that Adam sits at one ofthe lower levels of heaven and judges the souls by declaring: A good soulfrom a good body! or Ugh! A wicked soul from a wicked body (Ibn Hishm,274)!

In one of the lowest levels of heaven, Muammad witnesses four groups ofsinners who receive grotesque and eternally disfiguring punishments. ArdWirz, on the other hand, encounters approximately 75 sinners (either as groupsof sinners or as individuals) who receive punishments that are particular to the

committed sins. Nearly half of those sinners (they total approximately 35 innumber) are usurers,25 abusers of children,26 and unfaithful men and womenwhich corresponds almost exactly to the sins and punishments of those whomMuammad encounters.27 For instance: 1-Unfaithful women suffer hangingfrom their breasts (Ibn Hishm, 275 and Gignoux, 111); 2-Usurers (IbnHishm, 274-275) and those who hoarded goods and did not distribute them(Gignoux, 115) are trampled by camels or demons respectively;28 3-Men whocheated on their wives are made to suffer eating lean stinking meats while goodfatty meats lie nearby (Ibn Hishm, 275) or become cooked meat themselves(Gignoux, 137); 4-Those who were either necrophiliacs (Gignoux, 167) or

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24 Here the soul who has just entered the afterlife meets a beautiful women. When the soul sees her, heasks of her, who are you? and she replies that she is the representation of all his good thoughts, gooddeeds, and good actions on earth.

25 Among these I include those who withhold hospitality and cheat or steal the wealth of others forundue gain.

26 Physical and/or emotional abusers, or those who abused the wealth of children.27 The rest are distributed among sins such as violation of purity rituals, animal abuse, lies, and insti-

gating or inciting people to civil unrest for the mere sake of it.28 Usurers in the Ard Wirz Nmagsuffer the fate of eating the skins of others.


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ate the wealth of children (Ibn Hishm, 274) suffer regurgitating their excre-ment.

Such comparisons, which are usually reserved for analyzing works of litera-ture,29 are not meant to explain away the complex eschatology of either reli-gion. However, it is no mere coincidence either that the four types of sinsand/or punishments that are addressed in the Srat Rasl Allh cover nearly halfof the sins represented in the Ard Wirz Nmag, that women are present andbear witness to the fact that it is the souls of their men which travel, or that bothmen require guides and similar physical objects to gain entry into the afterlife.

Not much is known about the form and content of the Ard Wirz narrativebefore it was redacted into its final form in the tenth century. However, if wesubscribe to the idea that there was a competitive dialogue that inspired theolo-

gians and historians to compose specific texts within certain genres, which pre-existed in the canons of their surrounding neighbors, then we can answer thequestions how and why genre-specific texts appear and reappear with similarstructures, themes, and elements. If Muslim historians and theologians turned toZoroastrian concepts and Iranian histories to either help explain certain enig-mas or to establish supremacy, so too were Iranians30 and Zoroastrians preoccu-pied with the survival of their histories and religion respectively. The results, asthey exist in the form of the extant sources, are: the tenet that caused the forma-tion of the Mutazilah school; the Srat Rasl Allh and its Persian translation;

abars Trkh al-Rusul wa-al-Mulkand its Persian translation; the redactionand translation into Arabic of many Middle Persian histories and theologicaltexts; and the rising number of later and independent isrand mirj narra-tives31 among many other texts. These texts represent the competitive dialoguesthat transpired between peoples whose motivations, backgrounds, and complexreligious beliefs are widely different. The continual competition between thesepeoples inspired each group to envision heaven and hell as they fit the tenets oftheir religion while addressing rival groups who had their own visions of theafterlife. For posterity and the modern reader, these texts (when viewed togeth-er) illustrate best the idea of continuity and change to borrow a term from

Morony (2005); they continue the traditions of their own religions while simul-taneously incorporating elements of other surrounding religions and traditions.

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29 Though literature in its modern sense does not apply here, Ibn Isq used anonymous sources (aswe saw with ishah and Umm Hns accounts) and early accounts by those who were known for trans-mitting popular stories. Though Ibn Isq was writing history the lines between story telling and reportinghistorical events was still blurred. Later biographers of the prophet and transmitters of adth developed ascience for determining reliable transmitters and criticized Ibn Isqs work for its lack of stringency.

30 As Muslims and Zoroastrians.31 The most famous of these are Ibn Arabs Kitb al-Isr il al-Maqam al-Asr and the illustrated

Mirjnmah in the Bibliothque National Paris.


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Visions of Heaven and Hell From Late Antiquity in the Near East

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