he returned, the man on the bank would pry his mouth open and force a stone into it. I said to them, “Who are these two?” They answered, “Move on, move on,” so we moved on.

We then came upon a man of hideous appearance—the most repulsive person you could imagine—standing beside a fire that he kept feeding as he hurried round and round it. I asked, “What is this?” They replied, “Move on, move on,” and we moved on.

Next we reached a lush garden, thick with greenery and every color of spring. In its midst stood an extraordinarily tall man—so tall I could scarcely see his head—and around him were more children than I had ever seen. I asked, “Who is this, and who are these?” They said, “Move on, move on,” so we moved on.

We came to a mighty tree, greater and more beautiful than any I had ever seen. They said, “Climb up it,” so we climbed until we reached a city built of bricks of gold and bricks of silver. We arrived at the city gate, asked to enter, and it was opened for us. Inside we were met by men whose one side was as handsome as could be imagined, while the other side was as ugly as could be imagined. They were told, “Go and plunge into that river,” and there lay a river flowing across our path, its water dazzlingly white like pure milk. They went, plunged into it, and then returned to us; all their ugliness had vanished, and they became the most beautiful of people.

They said to me, “This is the Garden of Eden, and this is your dwelling.” I raised my gaze and saw a palace like a white cloud. They said, “That is your home.” I said, “May Allah bless you both; let me enter it.” They replied, “Not now—but you will indeed enter it.”