One of the most fatal blots upon the creed of Islām is the open countenance which it gives to polygamy. We have not here the case of a prophet placed in the midst of an ignorant and barbarous people, who confronted and modified institutions which he could not at once suppress, but we have Mohammed inculcating the doctrine of polygamy, by both precept and example. It is repeatedly taught in the Korān, and men are commanded to “Marry what seems good to you of women, by twos, or threes, or by fours.”[[220]] When his other wives objected to the introduction of the Coptic slave girl, Mary, into the harem of Mohammed, he claimed to receive a revelation from heaven justifying his conduct. He also divorced the woman who gave the information to the others, and banished them all (except the Coptic girl) from his presence for the space of a month. He enjoined his followers to treat their wives and slaves more kindly, but they could marry and divorce them at pleasure; the Korān, however, states that “If he divorce her a third time, he cannot marry her after that until she marry another husband:” if the new husband divorces her, however, the first may marry her again.
They were also allowed to exchange wives, but it is said: “If ye wish to exchange one wife for another, and have given one of them a talent, then do not take from it anything.”[[221]]
They required the most careful conduct and seclusion in their wives, and the penalty for adultery was imprisonment for life, but of their partners in guilt it was said, “if they turn again and amend, leave them alone.”[[222]] Again it is said, “Men stand superior to women.... But those wives whose perverseness ye fear, admonish them and remove them into a bedchamber and beat them; but if they submit to you, do not seek a way against them.”[[223]]
The Mohammedans of Persia have by no means forgotten their early training, and they still fill their Anderoons with as many women as they can afford. Every Persian house is constructed on the plan of secrecy. No windows are visible from the street, but the interior is built around courts or gardens, with beautiful fountains and fragrant flowers; indeed, there may be groves of fruit trees which cannot be seen from the street. In the main portion of the house the lord of the mansion lives and transacts his business during the day, while the inmates of his Anderoon are kept in the most rigid seclusion, passing their time as best they may, in doing fine embroidery, and possibly acquiring some proficiency in music or painting. They cannot go out at all without a mantle or veil which covers them from head to foot; and when the wives of the Shah go upon the street they are not only followed by the royal guards, but the event is announced by a herald, the shops are closed and the streets must be deserted.
Still, it is claimed that with all their seclusion and ignorance, the women of Persia have a certain amount of influence, and if one man wishes the assistance of another, he confides the matter to one or all of his wives, and they visit the wives of the man whose aid is needed, and by solicitation and costly presents the object is often accomplished. It is said that many important transactions in Persia are conducted in this way.
LITERARY STYLE OF THE KORĀN.
The language of the Korān is generally considered the most perfect form of Arabian speech. It must be remembered, however, that the acknowledged position of the book, as a work of divine authorship, made it impossible for any Muslim to criticize the Korān, either in regard to its mode of expression or its doctrinal teaching. On the contrary, it became the standard by which other Arabian compositions must be judged. All literary critics assumed that the Korān must be right, and therefore other works only approached merit in proportion as they more or less successfully imitated its style.
The language of this literary model of Arabia is surely rugged and forcible, even though it is not elegant or refined. Mohammed often spoke with a rude and startling eloquence; there was no mistaking the language of his fierce denunciations, for instance: “Verily, those who disbelieve in our signs, we will broil them with fire; whenever their skins are well done, then we will change them for other skins, that they may taste the torment.”[[224]]
Each chapter of the Korān is called a Sūrah—an Arabic word which signifies a course of bricks in a wall. These Sūrahs resolve themselves into two different classes; the one claiming to have been given at Mecca, the other including only the revelations which were supposed to be received at Medīna after the flight. The earlier Sūrahs have a tone of enthusiasm and impassioned eloquence, which is not found in the later productions. The style of these earlier chapters is often poetic, and sometimes almost sublime; the principal doctrine found in them is monotheism, and the author seeks to impress his followers by his eloquence rather than by his logic; by appealing to their emotions rather than to their reason. He called upon nature to witness the presence of God, and proclaimed vengeance against those who still clung to their idols. He also gave the most glowing pictures of the future reward of believers, and the most revolting descriptions of the unending tortures designed for those who refused to accept his message.
In the Sūrahs of the later portion of the Meccan period, we find long stories which are woven in a fanciful way around the characters of Biblical narrative, still showing, however, more or less of the poetic fire and eloquence of Mohammed’s earliest productions.