Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/740

* MOHAMMEDANISM. 062 MOHAMMEDANISM. majority ol .lo.sleiii llieolojiiaiis. Lsury is strict- ly prohibited. Taking interest upon any loans, however large or sniall, or profiting in trade through questionable means, save by buying and selling, is severely condemned. To prevent the faithful from ever falling back into idolatry, the laws relating to images and pictures have been made very stringent. Whosoever makes an imita- tion of any living being in stone, wood, or any other material, shall, on the day of judgment, be asked to endow his creation with life and soul, and. on his protesting his inability of doing so, shall undergo the punishment of hell for a cer- tain period. The civil and criminal laws of Mohammedan- ism, founded on both the Koran and the Tradi- tions (.S'unnu, q.v. ). in instances where the let- ter of the written or oral precept allows of vari- ous explanation*, or where the case in question is unprecedenteil. are interpreted according to the opinion of one of the four great masters of Islam: Abu Hanlfah (born "C'i). Malik ibn Anas (born 714), ilohammed al-Shafii (born 767), and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (born 780), within the pale of their respective sects. (.See Mohammeiian Sects.) Upon the principal points all Moham- medans agree. In regard to mnrriaye, polygamy is allowed, but rot without restriction. Four wives and a certain numl)er of concubine slaves is the legal limit for a Moslem. The Prophet's example proves nothing to the contrary, since he was endowed with special privileges, and not sub- ject to the common law in many respects. 11 is, moreover, added as advice, that to marry one or two is quite suHicient for a num. As a matter of fact, the rule among Mohammedans of the present day is to have but one wife. A Moslem may marry a Christian woman or a .Tewcss. but a Mohammedan woman is not. under any circum- stances, to mirry an unbeliever. In all cases, however, the child i)orn of a Moslem, whatevrr the mother's faith, is a Moslem; nor does the wife who is an unbeliever inherit at her hus- band's death. Forbidden degrees are: The mother, daughter, sister, half-sister, aunt, niece, foster-mother, or a woman related to the faithful "by milk in any of the degrees which would pre- clude his marriage with her if she were similarly related to him by consanguinity:" the mother of his wife, even if he lie not yet actually married to the latter; the daughter of his wife, if the latter still be his legal wife; his father's wife and his son's wife; two sisters at the same time; wives who stand to each other in the rclati<m of aunt and niece; or the nnemaneipated slave, or another man's slave, if he have already a free wite. A simple declaration of a man and woman at the age of puberty, before two witnesses, of their intention to marry each other, and the p.ay- ment of part of the dowry (which is indispen- sable, and must amount to at least ten dirhems, or about one ilollar) is suflieient for a legal marriage. A girl under age is given away by her natural or appointed guardian, with or with- out her cimsent. To see the face of any woman who is neither his wife nor his concubine, nor belongs %o any of the forbidden degrees, is strictly forbidden to the believer. Divorce is a compara- tively light matter with the Mohammedans. Twice a man may send away his wife and take her back again without any ceremony; the third time, however, he may not receive her again in wedlock unless she have been married prop- erly to another mau in the meantime. Mere dis- like is sulHcient reason for a mau to dissolve the conjugal ties, and his saying ""I'liou art di- vorced," or "1 divorce thee," together with the repayment of the dowry, is all that is required from him by the law. A wife, on the other hand, is bound to her husband forever, unless she can prove some flagrant ill usage or neglect of con- jugal duty on his part ; and even then she for- feits part, or the whole, of her dow'ry. A divorced wonum is obliged to wait, like the widow, for a certain period before marrying again. If she liave a young child, she is to suckle it until it be two years old, and the father is to bear all the expenses of the maintenance of mother and child. If a slave becomes a mother by her master, and he acknowledges the child to be his own. the lat- ter is free, and the mother is to be emancipated at the master's death, and may not be given away or otherwise disposed of by him during his lifetime. A free person, wishing to marry his or her slave, must first emancipate this slave; and if the slave of another person has been married by a free man or woman, and afterwards becomes the latter's property, the marriage becomes il- legal, and can only be renewed by a legal con- tract and emancipation. As regards inheritance, males generally receive a ilouble share. A person may not bequeath more than one-third of his property, unless there be no legal heirs. Chil- dren, whether begotten with the legal wife or slave, or concubine, or only adopted, and their descendants, are the first heirs ; next come the claims of wives, parents, brothers, sisters, in their order. Where there is no legal heir, the property falls to the State. The law is very lenient toward dehtnrs. Insolvency and inability to Wfirk for the discharge of the claim solve all furjicr obligations. The most conscientious per- formance of all private contracts is constantly ). 'commended in the Koran. Murder is either pinishc(l with death or liy the payment of a fine to the family of the deceased, according to their own pleasure. There must, however, be palliat- ing circum.stances in the latter case. The Bed- ouins still maintain the primitive Semitic law of blood-revenge, and up to this day the "ven- dftta' often rages not only between family and family, out between whole tribes, villages, and provinces. Unintentional homicide is expiated by freeing a believer from slavery, and paying to the famil_ a certain s,im in proportion to the rank and sex of the deceased. He who has not the means of freeing a believer is to fast for two months by waj' of penance. According to the strict letter of the law a man is not liable to capital punishment for killing his own child or an infidel: but practically no ditrerence is made by the Mohanunedan governments (chiefly the Turkish) at the |)resent time. Murder is pint- ished with death and no fine frees the culprit. Injuries to the person are punished ;u'(ording to the primitive law of retaliation: that is. a cer- tain proportionate fine in money is to lie paid lo the injured. The payment for any of the single limbs of the human body (e.g. the nose) is the full price of lilood. as for a homicide; for a limb which is found twice, like hand or foot, half; for a finger or a toe, the tenth part, etc. Women and slaves have smaller claims. In- juries of a dangerous or otherwise grievous na- ture pay the full price; those of an inferior kind, however, bring the perpetrator within the prov-