Karineh” by the Arabs, and “Lilith” by the Jews generally; “El-Brûsha” by the Sephardim, or Spanish Jews. She is the deadly enemy of all women, especially such as have recently become mothers. These must be carefully nursed and watched, and, together with their new-born babes, fenced round with charms and holy amulets, and heads of garlic, lumps of alum, blue beads, and so forth, lest the Karineh strangle them in her jealous fury, or frighten the mother into madness. European doctors, who pretend to know everything, do not know the dreadful dangers to which they expose women in childbed when they forbid other women to visit and amuse them.
When “El-Karineh” had been driven from Paradise, Allah created our mother Hawa, that is, Eve, out of one of Adam’s ribs, which He had extracted from the latter whilst he slept. Adam and Hawa were very happy together till Iblis succeeded in getting back into Paradise concealed in the hollow of the serpent’s fangs. The Evil One had bribed the serpent with the promise that it should have the richest and most luscious of food, which, as Iblis said, was human flesh. How the serpent was outwitted by the swallow, we shall, Inshallah, tell later on in the book. Having entered the garden, Satan succeeded in persuading Hawa to eat of the forbidden fruit, which, according to some of the learned, was wheat. Adam, having been persuaded by his wife to share his offence, was, as a punishment, cast out of Paradise, together with Hawa, Iblis, and the serpent. He had, however, the sense to snatch
