years
rule there was remarkable for his various military expeditions, his
organization of the different tribes, his bitter persecution of the
Jews, his still-continued inspired utterances, which now included
spiritual, social, and legal matters, and his repeated marriages.

It has been frequently said that Muhammad, in his virtuous days, was
content with one wife at Mecca, but in his vicious days at Madinah he
had ten wives and two concubines. As a matter of fact, after
Khadijah's death Muhammad's marriages were in most cases more or less
a matter of business. By them he allied himself to Abu Bakr, Omar, Abu
Sofyan, Khalid bin Walid, and other important persons. He further
married the widows of some of his followers killed in battle, perhaps
'pour encourager les autres.' It is also probable that he was very
anxious to have children, all of his having died except Fatima, who
was married to Ali.

At the same time it must be admitted that Muhammad had a weakness for
women in his later years--witness the case of Zainab bint Jahsh, the
Jewish concubine Rohana, and the Coptic maid Mary. Indeed, his
favourite wife Ayesha used to say of him: 'The Prophet loved three
things--women, scents, and food; he had his heart's desire of the two
first, but not of the last,' The reasons for this want of food, and
many other traditions connected with the character of Muhammad, are to
be found in the last chapter and the supplement at the end of Sir
William Muir's most excellent and interesting work on the life of this
extraordinary man, who, if author of the Koran only, would be
entitled to rank among the immortals.

According to Muslim orthodox theology, the Koran is the inspired Word
of God, uncreated, and eternal in its original essence. 'He who says
the word of God is created is an infidel,' such is the decree of
Muhamniadan doctrine. Leaving everybody to form their own opinion on
such a matter, it is only necessary here briefly to allude to the
work, and to suppose that Muhammad was the inspired author of it.

The Koran is divided into 114 suras, or chapters, and 6,666 verses.
The word itself signifies reading or recitation, and Muhammad always
asserted that he only recited what had been repeated to him. But the
Koran represents Muhammad from many points of view, in different
capacities, and under different necessities. Ayesha, his favourite
wife, when asked in later years as a widow to relate something about
the Prophet, replied