It will be remembered that the widows of the Prophet, as ‘Mothers of the Faithful,’ were prohibited by the Corân from re-marrying. Ibid. p. 303.
[90] See Life of Mahomet, chap. xxix.
[91] ‘The days of Ignorance,’ that is, the period preceding Islam.
[92] Two such are named by Tabari, i. p. 248.
A light ransom was fixed for each Arab slave, namely seven camels and six young ones. In the case of some tribes which had suffered most severely (as the Beni Hanîfa, the Beni Kinda, and the people of Omân discomfited at Dabâ), even this was remitted.
[93] Fadak was a Jewish settlement north of Medîna, conquered by Mahomet at the same time as Kheibar. Portions of both were retained by Mahomet for the support of his household. (See Life of Mahomet, pp. 394 and 548.)
[94] According to most authorities she survived her father six months; others say only three.
[95] Some say that Abu Bekr appointed Abd al Rahman to the duty. The uncertainty on this (to the Moslem) most important point is indicative of the confusion which still prevailed, and the vagueness of tradition for the period immediately following Mahomet’s death.
[96] Gibbon, chap. xlvi.
[97] Above, p. 50.