ISLAM

70 ISLAM VERSUS CHRISTIANITY
father-in-law of the Prophet. But the object was a
far nobler one the protection of the widows of his
friends. In polygamy alone lay the moral safety of
the Muslim society situated as it then was.
Again, certain political reasons also led to some of
the marriages. This was the case in the marriage
with Javairiyyah, a lady belonging to the Bani
Mustalaq and such was also the case in the marriage
with Safiyyah, the widow of a Jewish chieftain. The
Prophet wanted to conciliate both tribes.
We now come to the fourth period. With the
conquest of Mecca in the year 8. A. H. internal warfare
came practically to an end. Disturbances there were,
but on the whole peace had been established in the
country and normal conditions were resorted. And
it is from the 8th year of the flight to the end of his
life that we find that the prophet did not contract any
new marriage. What is the evidence of facts then ?
It is clearly this that the Holy Prophet added to the
number of his wives only during the time that he
had to live in a state of warfare, when the number of
males
was reduced so that many women would have
been left without protection and without a home if
the difficulty had not been solved by permitting a
limited polygamy. Before the Prophet had to enter
on a defensive warfare, he lived in the company of a
single wife, and after war was ended, he contracted no
new marriage, and this sets all doubts at rest as to the
motive of the Prophet. In all the marriages which
he contracted during the War, there was some ulterior