Note 153 — PART II THE DIVINE COMEDY COMPARED WITH OTHER MOSLEM LEGENDS ON THE AFTER-LIFE
Harold Sunderland translation
The theological meaning of the word Al Aaraf may be derived from the eschatology of St. Ephrem (id. 373), who divided the celestial paradise into the summit, slopes and border; in the latter penitent sinners who have been pardoned dwell until the Day of Judgment, when they will ascend to the summit. Cf. Tixeront, Hist. des dogmes, II, 220.