he had already married and whose number
exceeded the limit of four under Sura IV, 3. Other believers having more
wives than four as in the case of Kays, Ghailan, and Naofal, were
requested to separate themselves from the number exceeding the limit
prescribed for the first time. This was before polygamy was declared to
have been virtually abolished, _i.e._, between the publication of _vv._
3 and 128 of Sura IV. There was neither any breach of morality, nor
anything licentious in his retaining the marriages lawfully contracted
by him before the promulgation of Sara IV, 3. Even this privilege (Sura
XXXIII, 49) was counterbalanced by _Ibid_, 52, which runs thus:--

"Women are not allowed thee hereafter, nor to change them for other
women, though their beauty charm thee, except those already
possessed by thee."

Mr. Stanley Lane Poole suffers under the same misrepresentation as other
European writers[145] do when he says that:--

"The Prophet allowed his followers only four wives, he took more
than a dozen himself."

He writes:--

"When, however, all has been said, when it has been shown that
Mohammad was not the rapacious voluptuary some have taken him for,
and that his violation of his own marriage-law may be due to
motives reasonable and just from his point of view rather than to
common sensuality."

"Did Mohammad believe he was speaking the words of God equally when
he declared that permission was given him to take unto him more
wives, as when he proclaimed, 'There is no god but God?'"[146]

Mohammad did not violate his own marriage-law, and never pretended that
permission was given to him to take more wives than what was allowed for
other people. All his marriages (which are wrongly considered to have
been about a dozen) were contracted by him before he published the law
unjustly said to have been violated by him. He retained these wives
after the law was promulgated, and their number exceeded four, but he
was interdicted to marry any other women in the place of these in case
of their demise or divorce. Other believers were advised after the
promulgation of the law to reduce the number of their wives exceeding
four, but were at liberty to replace their wives within the limit
assigned in the case of their demise or divorce. Mohammad's case had no
breach of morality or sensual license in it. It was very wise of
Mohammad to retain all the wives he had