ied. She had wielded a strong, healthy influence over
her husband, and had cheered him on in times of discouragement and
failure. Islam owes not a little to her life and influence, and were
it more widely recognised, might possibly lead to an improvement of
the position of the poor unfortunate daughters of the system, who are
enslaved and degraded to a saddening degree. After Khadijah's death,
Mohammed took full advantage of the polygamous sanctions of Paganism,
and even abused the privilege when it conflicted with his own
inclinations. Margoliouth attempts to defend the many marriages on the
ground of political expediency, which may be conceded in only a few
cases. In most instances they were due to selfish desire and
inordinate affection. Particularly is this true in the case of the
prophet's marriage with his adopted son's wife, which was a gross
violation of Arab law.

On the death of his protector, Mohammed was compelled to seek refuge
elsewhere, but not before he had made inconsistent concessions to the
pagan leaders. In these concessions he retreated entirely from the
strong iconoclastic attitude he had hitherto adopted, going so far as
to produce a revelation that claimed to reconcile the One True God to
the gods of the Pagan pantheon. This compromise, no matter how wise
and statesmanlike it may appear to be, clearly indicates the falsity
of Mohammed's claim, and enables us to estimate the value of his
pretensions. His action was strongly condemned by many of his
followers, and probably under the influence of their opinion, he
produced an apologetic revelation abrogating the concession, and
admitting it to have been a mistake!

He endeavoured to escape the persecution in Mecca by taking refuge in
Taif, but was so badly treated there when his views became known, that
he was glad to return, and upon promising to confine his proselytising
efforts to strangers, was allowed to stay under the protection of one
of the leading citizens. He carried on his work among strangers with
such success, that before long a strong community had grown up in the
town of Medinah. The rapid increase of this section of his disciples
may be accounted for by the very unsettled condition of the place.
Civil and religious strife had been for a long time aggravated by the
aggressive attitude of a large section of Jews, so that circumstances
were more favourable to the reception and growth of Islam than in
Mecca, where there was more peacef