Page:The Mohammedan system of theology (IA mohammedansyste00neal).pdf/270

 gamy is opposed to sound policy and happiness." Our great Master restored marriage to its primitive honour, and graced it with the first miracle that he wrought, in Cana of Galilee; the excellent instructions, in consonance with the dicta of their Master, conveyed by the Apostles on the subject, place the institution in the most respectable light, and tend to the well-being and happiness of society. The Musulmans are allowed four either wives or concubines by their law, but the Prophet, as has been before stated, assumed greater licence by way of special prerogative; and the inutility of the measure is exemplified in himself; his daughter Fatima, whom he had by his wife Khadijah, alone surviving him, notwithstanding all the latitude of promiscuous concubinage. In fine, the nearness between the sexes, making a suitable allowance for the surplus of males, indicates the original intention of Providence. Further,