death released her. According to the
Arab habits and customs, he was her master. It is evident that malignity,
jealousy, hatred and enmity must have existed between the wives and
children of a household, and it is, therefore, needless to enlarge upon
the subject. Again, consider what was the condition and life of these
oppressed women! Moreover, the means by which these Arab tribes lived
consisted in pillage and robbery, so that they were perpetually engaged in
fighting and war, killing one another, plundering and devastating each
other's property, and capturing women and children, whom they would sell
to strangers. How often it happened that the daughters and sons of a
prince, who spent their day in comfort and luxury, found themselves, when
night fell, reduced to shame, poverty and captivity. Yesterday they were
princes, today they are captives; yesterday they were great ladies, today
they are slaves.

Muhammad received the Divine Revelation among these tribes, and after
enduring thirteen years of persecution from them, He fled.(8) But this
people did not cease to oppress; they united to exterminate Him and all
His followers. It was under such circumstances that Muhammad was forced to
take up arms. This is the truth: we are not bigoted and do not wish to
defend Him, but we are just, and we say what is just. Look at it with
justice. If Christ Himself had been placed in such circumstances among
such tyrannical and barbarous tribes, and if for thirteen years He with
His disciples had endured all these trials with patience, culminating in
flight from His native land--if in spite of this these lawless tribes
continued to pursue Him, to slaughter the men, to pillage their property,
and to capture their women and children--what would have been Christ's
conduct with regard to them? If this oppression had fallen only upon
Himself, He would have forgiven them, and such an act of forgiveness would
have been most praiseworthy; but if He had seen that these cruel and
bloodthirsty murderers wished to kill, to pillage and to injure all these
oppressed ones, and to take captive the women and children, it is certain
that He would have protected them and would have resisted the tyrants.
What objection, then, can be taken to Muhammad's action? Is it this, that
He did not, with His followers, and their women and children, submit to
these savage tribes? To free these tribes from their bloodthirstiness was
the greatest kindness, and to coe