Chapter III: Religion and Laws (2)

“Praise be to God, abundant praise, as He hath commanded! I testify that there is no deity but God alone: He hath no companion: affirming His supremacy, and condemning him who denieth and disbelieveth: and I testify that our lord and our prophet Mohammad is His servant and His apostle, the lord of mankind, the intercessor, the accepted intercessor, on the day of assembling: God favour him and his family as long as the eye seeth and the ear heareth! O people! reverence God by doing what He hath commanded, and abstain from that which He hath forbidden and prohibited. The happy is he who obeyeth, and the miserable is he who opposeth and sinneth. Know that the present world is a transitory abode, and that the world to come is a lasting abode. Make provision, therefore, in your transitory state for your lasting state, and prepare for your reckoning and standing before your Lord: for know that ye shall to-morrow be placed before God, and reckoned with according to your deeds; and before the Lord of Might ye shall be present, ‘and those who have acted unjustly shall know with what an overthrowal they shall be overthrown.’[151] Know that God, whose perfection I extol, and whose name be exalted, hath said (and ceaseth not to say wisely, and to command judiciously, warning you, and teaching, and honouring the dignity of your Prophet, extolling and magnifying him), ‘Verily, God favoureth, and His angels bless, the Prophet: O ye who believe, bless him, and greet him with a salutation!’[152] O God! favour Mohammad and the family of Mohammad, as Thou favouredst Ibráheem[153] and the family of Ibráheem; and bless Mohammad and the family of Mohammad, as Thou blessedst Ibráheem and the family of Ibráheem among all creatures—for Thou art praiseworthy and glorious! O God! do Thou also be well pleased with the four Khaleefehs, the orthodox lords, of high dignity and illustrious honour, Aboo-Bekr Es-Siddeek, and ’Omar, and ’Osmán, and ’Alee; and be Thou well pleased, O God! with the six who remained of the ten noble and just persons who swore allegiance to thy Prophet Mohammad (God favour and preserve him!) under the tree; (for Thou art the Lord of piety, and the Lord of pardon,) those persons of excellence and clemency, and rectitude and prosperity, Talhah, and Ez-Zubeyr, and Saad, and Sa’eed, and ’Abd-Er-Rahmán Ibn-’Owf, and Aboo-’Obeydeh ’Amir Ibn-El-Garráh; and with all the Companions of the Apostle of God! (God favour and preserve him!); and be Thou well pleased, O God! with the two martyred descendants, the two bright moons, ‘the two lords of the youths of the people of Paradise in Paradise,’ the two sweet-smelling flowers of the Prophet of this nation, Aboo-Mohammad El-Hasan, and Aboo-’bd-Allah El-Hoseyn: and be Thou well pleased, O God! with their mother, the daughter of the Apostle of God (God favour and preserve him!), Fátimeh Ez-Zahra, and with their grandmother Khadeegeh El-Kubra, and with ’A’ïsheh, the mother of the faithful, and with the rest of the pure wives, and with the generation which succeeded the Companions, and the generation which succeeded that, with beneficence to the day of judgment! O God! pardon the believing men and the believing women, and the Muslim men and the Muslim women, those who are living, and the dead; for Thou art a hearer near, an answerer of prayers, O Lord of all creatures! O God! aid El-Islám, and strengthen its pillars, and make infidelity to tremble, and destroy its might, by the preservation of Thy servant, and the son of Thy servant, the submissive to the might of Thy majesty and glory, whom God hath aided, by the care of the Adored King, our master the Sultán, son of the Sultán, the Sultán Mahmood[154] Khán: may God assist him, and prolong [his reign]! O God! assist him, and assist his armies! O Thou Lord of the religion, and of the world present, and the world to come! O Lord of all creatures! O God! assist the forces of the Muslims, and the armies of the Unitarians! O God! frustrate the infidels and polytheists, thine enemies, the enemies of the religion! O God! invert their banners, and ruin their habitations, and give them and their wealth as booty to the Muslims![155] O God! unloose the captivity of the captives, and annul the debts of the debtors; and make this town to be safe and secure, and blessed with wealth and plenty, and all the towns of the Muslims, O Lord of all creatures! And decree safety and health to us and to all travellers, and pilgrims, and warriors, and wanderers, upon Thy earth, and upon Thy sea, such as are Muslims, O Lord of all creatures! ‘O Lord! we have acted unjustly towards our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us and be merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who perish.[156] I beg of God, the Great, that He may forgive me and you, and all the people of Mohammad, the servants of God. ‘Verily God commandeth justice, and the doing of good, and giving [what is due] to kindred; and forbiddeth wickedness, and iniquity, and oppression: He admonisheth you that ye may reflect.’[157] Remember God; He will remember you: and thank Him; He will increase to you [your blessings]. Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures!”

During the rise of the Nile, a good inundation is also prayed for in this Khutbeh. The Khateeb, or Imám, having ended it, descends from the pulpit, and the Muballighs chant the “ikámeh” (described in page 66): the Imám, stationed before the niche, then recites the “fard” prayers of Friday, which consist of two rek’ahs, and are similar to the ordinary prayers. The people do the same, but silently, and keeping time exactly with the Imám in the various postures. Those who are of the Málikee sect then leave the mosque; and so also do many persons of the other sects: but some of the Sháfe’ees and Hanafees (there are scarcely any Hambel′ees in Cairo) remain, and recite the _ordinary_ fard prayers of noon; forming a number of separate groups, in each of which one acts as Imám. The rich, on going out of the mosque, often give alms to the poor outside the door.

There are other prayers to be performed on particular occasions—on the two grand annual festivals, on the nights of Ramadán (the month of abstinence), on the occasion of an eclipse of the sun or moon, for rain, previously to the commencement of battle, in pilgrimage, and at funerals.

I have spoken thus fully of Muslim worship because my countrymen in general have very imperfect and erroneous notions on this subject; many of them even imagining that the Muslims ordinarily pray to their _Prophet_ as well as to God. Invocations to the Prophet, for his _intercession_, are, indeed, frequently made, particularly at his tomb, where pious visitors generally say, “We ask thy intercession, O Apostle of God!” The Muslims also even implore the intercession of their numerous saints.

The duty next in importance to prayer is that of giving _alms_. Certain alms are prescribed by law, and are called “zekah”: others, called “sadakah,” are voluntary. The former, or obligatory alms, were, in the earlier ages of El-Islám, collected by officers appointed by the sovereign, for pious uses, such as building mosques, etc.; but now it is left to the Muslim’s conscience to give them, and to apply them in what manner he thinks fit; that is, to bestow them upon whatever needy persons he may choose. They are to be given once in every year, of cattle and sheep, generally in the proportion of one in forty, two in a hundred and twenty; of camels, for every five, a ewe; or for twenty-five, a pregnant camel; and likewise of money, and, among the Hanafees, of merchandize, etc. He who has money to the amount of two hundred dirhems (or drams) of silver, or twenty mitkáls (_i.e._, thirty drams) of gold (or, among the Hanafees, the value of the above in gold or silver ornaments, utensils, etc.), must annually give the fortieth part (“ruba el-’oshr”), or the value of that part.

_Fasting_ is the next duty. The Muslim is commanded to fast during the whole month of Ramadán[158] every day, from the first appearance of daybreak, or rather from the hour when there is sufficient light for a person to distinguish plainly a white thread from a black thread[159] (about two hours before sunrise in Egypt), until sunset. He must abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, smelling perfumes, and every unnecessary indulgence or pleasure of a worldly nature; even from intentionally swallowing his spittle. When Ramadán falls in summer,[160] the fast is very severe; the abstinence from drinking being most painfully felt. Persons who are sick, or on a journey, and soldiers in time of war, are not obliged to observe the fast during Ramadán; but if they do not keep it in this month they should fast an equal number of days at a future time. Fasting is also to be dispensed with in the cases of a nurse and a pregnant woman. The Prophet even disapproved of any person’s keeping the fast of Ramadán if not perfectly able; and desired no man to fast so much as to injure his health, or disqualify himself for necessary labour. The modern Muslims seem to regard the fast of Ramadán as of more importance than any other religious act, for many of them keep this fast who neglect their daily prayers; and even those who break the fast, with very few exceptions, pretend to keep it. Many Muslims of the wealthy classes eat and drink in secret during Ramadán; but the greater number strictly keep the fast, which is fatal to numerous persons in a weak state of health. There are some other days on which it is considered meritorious to fast, but not absolutely necessary. On the two grand festivals, namely, that following Ramadán, and that which succeeds the pilgrimage, it is _unlawful_ to do so, being expressly forbidden by the Prophet.

The last of the four most important duties, that of _pilgrimage_, remains to be noticed. It is incumbent on every Muslim to perform, once in his life, the pilgrimage to Mekkeh and Mount ’Arafát, unless poverty or ill health prevent him; or, if a Hanafee, he may send a deputy, whose expenses he must pay.[161] Many, however, neglect the duty of pilgrimage who cannot plead a lawful excuse; and they are not reproached for so doing. It is not merely by the visit to Mekkeh, and the performance of the ceremonies of compassing the Kaabeh seven times and kissing the “black stone” in each round, and other rites in the Holy City, that the Muslim acquires the title of “el-hágg”[162] (or the pilgrim): the final object of the pilgrimage is Mount ’Arafát, six hours’ journey distant from Mekkeh. During his performance of the required ceremonies in Mekkeh, and also during his journey to ’Arafát, and until his completion of the pilgrimage, the Muslim wears a peculiar dress, called “ehrám” (vulgarly herám), generally consisting of two simple pieces of cotton, or linen, or woollen cloth, without seam or ornament, one of which is wrapped round the loins, and the other thrown over the shoulders: the instep and heel of each foot, and the head, must be bare; but umbrellas are now used by many of the pilgrims. It is necessary that the pilgrim be present on the occasion of a Khutbeh which is recited on Mount ’Arafát in the afternoon of the 9th of the month of Zu-l-Heggeh. In the ensuing evening, after sunset, the pilgrims commence their return to Mekkeh. Halting the following day in the valley of Mina (or, as it is more commonly called, Muna), they complete the ceremonies of the pilgrimage by a sacrifice (of one or more male sheep, he-goats, cows, or she-camels, part of the flesh of which they eat, and part give to the poor), and by shaving the head and clipping the nails. Every one, after this, resumes his usual dress, or puts on a new one, if provided with such. The sacrifice is called “el-fida” (or the ransom), as it is performed in commemoration of the ransom of Isma’eel (or Ishmael) by the sacrifice of the ram, when he was himself about to have been offered up by his father; for it is the general opinion of the Muslims that it was this son, not Isaac, who was to have been sacrificed by his father.

There are other ordinances, more or less connected with those which have been already explained.

The two festivals called “el-’Eed es-Sugheiyir,”[163] or the Minor Festival, and el-Kebeer,” or the Great Festival, the occasions of which have been mentioned above, are observed with public prayer and general rejoicing. The first of these lasts three days; and the second, three or four days. The festivities with which they are celebrated will be described in a subsequent chapter. On the first day of the latter festival (it being the day on which the pilgrims perform their sacrifice) every Muslim should slay a victim, if he can afford to purchase one. The wealthy person slays several sheep, or a sheep or two, and a buffalo, and distributes the greater portion of the meat to the poor. The slaughter may be performed by a deputy.

War against enemies of El-Islám, who have been the first aggressors, is enjoined as a sacred duty; and he who loses his life in fulfilling this duty, if unpaid, is promised the rewards of a martyr. It has been said, even by some of their leading doctors, that the Muslims are commanded to put to death all idolaters who refuse to embrace El-Islám, excepting women and children, whom they are to make slaves:[164] but the precepts on which this assertion is founded relate to the Pagan Arabs, who had violated their oaths and long persevered in their hostility to Mohammad and his followers. According to the decisions of the most reasonable doctors, the laws respecting other idolaters, as well as Christians and Jews, who have drawn upon themselves the hostility of the Muslims, are different: of such enemies, if reduced by force of arms, refusing to capitulate or to surrender themselves, the men may be put to death or be made slaves, and the women and children also, under the same circumstances, may be made slaves: but life and liberty are to be granted to those enemies who surrender themselves by capitulation or otherwise, on the condition of their embracing El-Islám or paying a poll-tax, unless they have acted perfidiously towards the Muslims, as did the Jewish tribe of Kureydhah, who, being in league with Mohammad, went over to his enemies and aided them against him: for which conduct, when they surrendered, the men were slain, and the women and children were made slaves.—The Muslims, it may here be added, are forbidden to contract intimate friendship with unbelievers.

There are certain prohibitory laws in the Kur-án which must be mentioned here, as remarkably affecting the moral and social condition of its disciples.

Wine, and all inebriating liquors, are forbidden, as being the cause of “more evil than profit.”[165] Many of the Muslims, however, in the present day, drink wine, brandy, etc., in secret; and some, thinking it no sin to indulge thus in moderation, scruple not to do so openly; but among the Egyptians there are few who transgress in this flagrant manner. “Boozeh,” or “boozah,” which is an intoxicating liquor made with barley-bread, crumbled, mixed with water, strained, and left to ferment, is commonly drunk by the boatmen of the Nile, and by other persons of the lower orders.[166] Opium, and other drugs which produce a similar effect, are considered unlawful, though not mentioned in the Kur-án; and persons who are addicted to the use of these drugs are regarded as immoral characters; but in Egypt, such persons are not very numerous. Some Muslims have pronounced tobacco, and even coffee, unlawful.

The eating of swine’s flesh is strictly forbidden. The unwholesome effects of that meat in a hot climate would be a sufficient reason for the prohibition; but the pig is held in abhorrence by the Muslim chiefly on account of its extremely filthy habits.[167] Most animals prohibited for food by the Mosaic law are alike forbidden to the Muslim. The camel is an exception. The Muslim is “forbidden [to eat] that which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine’s flesh, and that on which the name of any beside God hath been invoked; and that which hath been strangled or killed by a blow, or by a fall, or by the horns [of another beast]; and that which hath been [partly] eaten by a wild beast, except what he shall [himself] kill; and that which hath been sacrificed unto idols.”[168] An animal that is killed for the food of man must be slaughtered in a particular manner: the person who is about to perform the operation must say, “In the name of God! God is most great!” and then cut its throat, at the part next the head, taking care to divide the windpipe, gullet, and carotid arteries; unless it be a camel, in which case he should _stab_ the throat at the part next the breast. It is forbidden to utter, in slaughtering an animal, the phrase which is so often made use of on other occasions, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!” because the mention of the most benevolent epithets of the Deity on such an occasion would seem like a mockery of the sufferings which it is about to endure. Some persons in Egypt, but mostly women, when about to kill an animal for food, say, “In the name of God! God is most great! God give thee patience to endure the affliction which He hath allotted thee!”[169] If the sentiment which first dictated this prayer were always felt, it would present a beautiful trait in the character of the people who use it. In cases of necessity, when in danger of starving, the Muslim is allowed to eat any food which is unlawful under other circumstances. The mode of slaughter above described is, of course, only required to be practised in the cases of domestic animals. Most kinds of fish are lawful food:[170] so also are many birds; the tame kinds of which must be killed in the same manner as cattle; but the wild may be shot. The hare, rabbit, gazelle, etc., are lawful food, and may either be shot, or killed by a dog, provided the name of God was uttered at the time of discharging the arrow, etc., or slipping the dog, and he (the dog) has not eaten any part of the prey. This animal, however, is considered very unclean: the Sháfe’ees hold themselves to be polluted by the touch of its nose, if it be wet; and if any part of their clothes be so touched, they must wash that part with seven waters, and once with clean earth: some others are only careful not to let the animal lick, or defile in a worse manner, their persons or their dress, etc. When game has been struck down by any weapon, but not killed, its throat must be immediately cut: otherwise it is unlawful food.

Gambling and usury are prohibited,[171] and all games of chance; and likewise the making of images or pictures of anything that has life.[172] The Prophet declared that every representation of this kind would be placed before its author on the day of judgment, and that he would be commanded to put life into it; which not being able to do, he would be cast, for a time, into hell.

The principal _civil_ and _criminal laws_ remain to be stated. Their origin we discover partly in customs of the Pagan Arabs, but mostly in the Jewish Scriptures and traditions.

The civil and criminal laws are chiefly and immediately derived from the Kur-án[173]; but, in many important cases, this highest authority affords no precept. In most of these cases the Traditions of the Prophet direct the decisions of the judge.[174] There are, however, some important cases, and many of an inferior kind, respecting which both the Kur-án and the Traditions are silent or undecisive. These are determined by the explanations and amplifications derived either from the concordance of the principal early disciples, or from analogy, by the four great Imáms, or founders of the four orthodox sects of El-Islám; generally on the authority of the Imám of that sect to which the ruling power belongs, which sect, in Egypt, and throughout the Turkish Empire, is that of the Hanafees: or, if none of the decisions of the Imám relate to a case in dispute (which not unfrequently happens), judgment is given in accordance with a sentence of some other eminent doctor, founded upon analogy.—In general, only the principal laws, as laid down in the Kur-án and the Traditions, will be here stated.

The laws relating to _marriage_ and the licence of _polygamy_, the facility of _divorce_ allowed by the Kur-án, and the permission of _concubinage_, are essentially the natural and necessary consequences of the main principle of the constitution of Muslim society—the restriction of the intercourse between the sexes before marriage. Few men would marry if he who was disappointed in a wife whom he had never seen before were not allowed to take another; and in the case of a man’s doing this, his own happiness, or that of the former wife, or the happiness of both these parties, may require his either retaining this wife or divorcing her. But I hope that my reader will admit a much stronger reason for these laws, regarding them as designed for the _Muslims_. As the Mosaic code allowed God’s chosen people, for the hardness of their hearts, to put away their wives, and forbade neither polygamy nor concubinage, he who believes that Moses was divinely inspired, to enact the best laws for his people, must hold the permission of these practices to be less injurious to morality than their prohibition, among a people similar to the ancient Jews. Their permission, though certainly productive of injurious effects upon morality and domestic happiness, prevents a profligacy that would be worse than that which prevails to so great a degree in European countries, where parties are united in marriage after an intimate mutual acquaintance. As to the licence of polygamy, which seems to be unfavourable to the accomplishment of the main object for which marriage was instituted, as well as to the exercise and improvement of the nobler powers of the mind, we should remark that it was not introduced, but limited, by the legislator of the Muslims. It is true that he assumed to himself the privilege of having a greater number of wives than he allowed to others; but, in doing so, he may have been actuated by the want of male offspring, rather than impelled by voluptuousness.

The law respecting marriage and concubinage is perfectly explicit as to the number of wives whom a Muslim may have at the same time; but it is not so with regard to the number of concubine-slaves whom he may have. It is written, “Take in marriage, of the women who please you, two, three, or four; but if ye fear that ye cannot act equitably [to so many, take] one; or [take] those whom your right hands have acquired,”[175] that is, your slaves. Therefore many of the wealthy Muslims marry two, three, or four wives, and keep besides several concubine-slaves; and many of the most revered characters, even Companions of the Prophet, are recorded to have done the same. The conduct of the latter clearly shows that the number of concubine-slaves whom a man may have is not limited by the law in the opinion of the orthodox.[176]

It is held lawful for a Muslim to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman, if induced to do so by excessive love of her, or if he cannot obtain a wife of his own faith; but in this case the offspring must follow the father’s faith,[177] and the wife does not inherit when the father dies. A Muslim′eh, however, is not allowed under any circumstances, but when force is employed, to marry a man who is not of her own faith. A man is forbidden, by the Kur-án[178] and the Sunneh, to marry his mother, or other ascendant; his daughter, or other descendant; his sister, or half-sister; the sister of his father or mother, or other ascendant; his niece, or any of her descendants; his foster-mother,[179] or a woman related to him by milk in any of the degrees which would preclude his marriage with her if she were similarly related to him by consanguinity; the mother of his wife, even if he have not consummated his marriage with this wife; the daughter of his wife if he have consummated his marriage with the latter, and she be still his wife; his father’s wife, and his son’s wife; and to have at the same time two wives who are sisters, or aunt and niece: he is forbidden also to marry his unemancipated slave, or another man’s slave, if he have already a free wife. It is lawful for the Muslim to see the faces of these women whom he is forbidden to marry, but of no others, excepting his own wives and female slaves. The marriage of a man and woman, or of a man and a girl who has arrived at puberty, is lawfully effected by their declaring (which the latter generally does by a “wekeel,” or deputy) their consent to marry each other, in the presence of two witnesses (if witnesses can be procured), and by the payment, or part-payment, of a dowry. But the consent of a girl under the age of puberty is not required; her father, or, if he be dead, her nearest adult male relation, or any person appointed as her guardian by will or by the Kádee, acting for her as he pleases.[180] The giving of a dowry is indispensable, and the least sum that is allowed by law is ten “dirhems” (or drachms of silver), which is equal to about five shillings of our money. A man may legally marry a woman without mentioning a dowry; but after the consummation of the marriage she can, in this case, compel him to pay the sum of ten dirhems.[181]

A man may divorce his wife twice, and each time take her back without any ceremony, excepting in a case to be mentioned below; but if he divorce her the third time, or put her away by a triple divorce conveyed in one sentence, he cannot receive her again until she has been married and divorced by another husband, who must have consummated his marriage with her.[182] When a man divorces his wife (which he does by merely saying, “Thou art divorced,” or “I divorce thee”), he pays her a portion of her dowry (generally one-third), which he had kept back from the first, to be paid on this occasion, or at his death; and she takes away with her the furniture, etc., which she brought at her marriage. He may thus put her away from mere dislike,[183] and without assigning any reason; but a woman cannot separate herself from her husband against his will, unless it be for some considerable fault on his part, as cruel treatment, or neglect; and even then, application to the Kádee’s court is generally necessary to compel the man to divorce her; and she forfeits the above-mentioned remnant of the dowry.

The first and second divorce, if made without any mutual agreement for a compensation from the woman, or a pecuniary sacrifice on her part, is termed “talák reg’ee” (a divorce which admits of return); because the husband may take back his wife, without her consent, during the period of her “’eddeh” (which will be presently explained), but not after, unless with her consent, and by a new contract. If he divorce her the first or second time for a compensation, she perhaps requesting, “Divorce me for what thou owest me,” or “—hast of mine” (that is, of the dowry, furniture, etc.), or for an additional sum, he cannot take her again but by her own consent, and by a new contract. This is a “talák báïn” (or separating divorce), and is termed “the lesser separation,” to distinguish it from the third divorce, which is called “the greater separation.” The “’eddeh” is the period during which a divorced woman or a widow must wait before marrying again,—in either case, if pregnant, until delivery; otherwise the former must wait three lunar periods, or three months, and the latter, four months and ten days. A woman who is divorced when in a state of pregnancy, though she may make a new contract of marriage immediately after her delivery, must wait forty days longer before she can complete her marriage by receiving her husband. The man who divorces his wife must maintain her in his own house, or in that of her parents, or elsewhere, during the period of her ’eddeh, but must cease to live with her as her husband from the commencement of that period. A divorced woman who has a son under two years of age may retain him until he has attained that age, and may be compelled to do so by the law of the Sháfe’ees, and by the law of the Málikees, until he has arrived at puberty, but the Hanafee law limits the period during which the boy should remain under her care to seven years: her daughter she should retain until nine years of age, or the period of puberty. If a man divorce his wife before the consummation of marriage, he must pay her half the sum which he has promised to give her as a dowry, or, if he have promised no dowry, he must pay her the half of the smallest dowry allowed by law, which has been above mentioned, and she may marry again immediately.

When a wife refuses to obey the lawful commands of her husband, he may, and generally does, take her, or two witnesses[184] against her, to the Kádee’s court, to prefer a complaint against her; and, if the case be proved, a certificate is written declaring the woman “náshizeh,” or rebellious against her husband. This process is termed “writing a woman náshizeh.” It exempts her husband from obligation to lodge, clothe, and maintain her. He is not obliged to divorce her; and, by refusing to do this, he may prevent her marrying another man as long as he lives; but, if she promise to be obedient afterwards, he must take her back, and maintain her, or divorce her. It is more common, however, for a wife whose husband refuses to divorce her, if she have parents or other relations able and willing to support her comfortably, to make a complaint at the Kádee’s court, stating her husband’s conduct to be of such a nature towards her that she will not live with him, and thus cause herself to be registered “náshizeh,” and separated from him. In this case, the husband generally persists, from mere spite, in refusing to divorce her.

As concubines are _slaves_, some account of slaves in general may here be appropriately inserted, with a statement of the principal laws respecting concubines and their offspring, etc.—The slave is either a person taken captive in war, or carried off by force from a foreign hostile country, and being at the time of capture an infidel; or the offspring of a female slave by another slave, or by any man who is not her owner, or by her owner if he do not acknowledge himself to be the father; but a person cannot be the slave of a relation who is within the prohibited degrees of marriage. The power of the owner is such that he may even kill his slave with impunity for any offence; and he incurs but a slight punishment (as imprisonment for a period at the discretion of the judge) if he do so wantonly. He may give or sell his slaves, excepting in some cases which will be mentioned, and may marry them to whom he will, but not separate them when married. A slave, however, according to most of the doctors, cannot have more than two wives at the same time. As a slave enjoys less advantages than a free person, the law, in some cases, ordains that his punishment for an offence shall be half of that to which the free is liable for the same offence, or even less than half: if it be a fine, or pecuniary compensation, it must be paid by the owner, to the amount, if necessary, of the value of the slave, or the slave must be given in compensation. An unemancipated slave, at the death of the owner, becomes the property of the heirs of the latter; and when an emancipated slave dies, leaving no male descendant or collateral relation, the former owner is the heir; or, if he be dead, his heirs inherit the slave’s property. But an unemancipated slave can acquire no property without the permission of the owner. Complete and immediate emancipation is sometimes granted to a slave gratuitously, or for a future pecuniary compensation. It is conferred by means of a written document, or by a verbal declaration in the presence of two witnesses, or by presenting the slave with the certificate of sale obtained from the former owner. Future emancipation is sometimes covenanted to be granted on the fulfilment of certain conditions; and more frequently, to be conferred on the occasion of the owner’s death. In the latter case, the owner cannot sell the slave to whom he has made this promise; and as he cannot alienate by will more than one-third of the whole property that he leaves, the law ordains that, if the value of the said slave exceed that portion, the slave must obtain, and pay to the owner’s heirs, the additional sum.—A Muslim may take as his concubine any of his female slaves who is a Muslim’eh, or a Christian, or a Jewess, if he have not married her to another man; but he may not have as his concubines, at the same time, two or more who are sisters, or who are related to each other in any of the degrees which would prevent their both being his wives at the same time if they were free. A Christian is not by the law allowed, nor is a Jew, to have a Muslim′eh slave as his concubine.[185] The master must wait a certain period (generally from a month to three months) after his acquisition of a female slave, before he can take her as his concubine. When a female slave becomes a mother by her master, the child which she bears to him is free, if he acknowledge it to be his own; but if not, it is his slave. In the former case the mother cannot afterwards be sold or given away by her master (though she must continue to serve him and be his concubine as long as he desires); and she is entitled to emancipation at his death. Her bearing a child to him is called the cause of her emancipation or liberty; but it does not oblige him to emancipate her as long as he lives, though it is commendable if he do so, and make her his wife, provided he have not already four wives, or if he marry her to another man, should it be her wish. A free person cannot become the husband or wife of his, or her, own slave, without first emancipating that slave; and the marriage of a free person with the slave of another is dissolved if the former become the owner of the latter, and cannot be renewed but by emancipation and a regular legal contract.

The most remarkable general principles of the laws of _inheritance_ are the denial of any privileges to primogeniture,[186] and in most cases awarding to a female a share equal to half that of a male of the same degree of relationship to the deceased.[187] A person may bequeath one-third of his or her property; but not a larger portion, unless he or she has no legal heir; nor any portion to a legal heir, excepting wife or husband, without the consent of all the other heirs. The children of a person deceased inherit the whole of that person’s property, or what remains after payment of the legacies and debts, etc., and the share of a male is double the share of a female. If the children of the deceased be only females, two or more in number, they inherit together, by the law of the Kur-án, two-thirds; and if there be but one child, and that a female, she inherits by the same law half. [But the remaining third, or half, is also assigned to the said daughters or daughter, by a law of the Sunneh (which applies also to other cases), if there be no other legal heir.] If the deceased have left no immediate descendant, the sons and daughters of his son or sons inherit as immediate descendants [and so on]. If the deceased have left a child or a son’s child [and so on], each of the parents of the deceased inherits one-sixth. If the father be dead, his share falls to _his_ father. [If the mother be dead, her share falls to _her_ mother.] If the deceased have left no child or son’s child [and so on], the mother has one-third of the property, or of what remains after deducting the share of the wife or wives or husband, and the residue is for the father; unless the deceased has left two or more brothers or sisters, in which case the mother inherits one-sixth, and the father the residue; the said brothers or sisters receiving nothing[188] [if the deceased have left a father or any ascendant in the male line]. A man inherits half of what remains of his wife’s property after the payment of her legacies, etc., if she have left no child or son’s child [and so on]; and one-fourth if she have left a child or son’s child [and so on]. One-fourth is the share of the wife, or of the wives conjointly, if the deceased husband have left no child or son’s child [and so on]; and one-eighth if he have left any such descendant.[189] If the deceased have not left a father [nor any ascendant in the male line], nor a child [nor a son’s child, and so on], the law ordains as follows:—1. A sole brother, or sister, only by the mother’s side, inherits one-sixth; and if there be two or more brothers or sisters, only by the mother’s side, or one or more of such relations of each sex, they inherit collectively one-third, which is equally divided, without distinction of male and female.—2. If the deceased have left a sole sister by his father and mother [and no such brother], she inherits half; and a man inherits the whole property of such a sister [or what remains after the payment of her legacies, etc.], if she have left no child; but if she have left a male child [or son’s child, and so on], he (the brother) inherits nothing; and if she have left a female child, the said brother inherits what remains after deducting that child’s share [and after the payment of the legacies, etc.]. If the deceased have left two or more sisters, by his father and mother [and no such brother], they inherit together two-thirds. If the deceased have left one or more brothers, and one or more sisters, by his father and mother, they inherit the whole [or what remains after the payment of the legacies, etc.], and the share of a male is double the share of a female.—3. Brothers and sisters by the father’s side only [when there is no brother or sister by the father and mother] inherit as brothers and sisters by the father and mother.[190] No distinction is made between the child of a wife and that borne by a slave to her master (if the master acknowledge the child to be his own): both inherit equally. So also do the child of a wife and the adopted child. A bastard inherits only from his mother, and _vice versâ_. When there is no legal heir, or legatee, the property falls to the government-treasury, which is called “beyt el-mál.” The laws respecting certain remote degrees of kindred, etc., I have not thought it necessary to state.[191] The property of the deceased is nominally divided into keeráts (or twenty-fourth parts); and the share of each son, or other heir, is said to be so many keeráts.

The law is remarkably lenient towards _debtors_. “If there be any [debtor],” says the Kur-án,[192] “under a difficulty [of paying his debt], let [his creditor] wait till it be easy [for him to do it]; but if ye remit it as alms, it will be better for you.” The Muslim is commanded (in the chapter from which the above extract is taken), when he contracts a debt, to cause a statement of it to be written, and attested by two men, or a man and two women, of his own faith. The debtor is imprisoned for non-payment of his debt; but if he establish his insolvency, he is liberated. He may be compelled to work for the discharge of his debt, if able.

The Kur-án ordains that _murder_ shall be punished with death; or rather, that the free shall die for the free, the slave for the slave, and a woman for a woman; or that the perpetrator of the crime shall pay to the heirs of the person whom he has killed, if they allow it, a fine, which is to be divided according to the laws of inheritance.[193] It also ordains that _unintentional homicide_ shall be expiated by freeing a believer from slavery, and paying, to the family of the person killed, a fine, unless they remit it.[194] But these laws are amplified and explained by the same book and by the Imáms.—A fine is not to be accepted for murder unless the crime has been attended by some palliating circumstance. This fine, which is the price of blood, is a hundred camels; or a thousand deenárs (about £500) from him who possesses gold; or from him who possesses silver, twelve thousand dirhems[195] (about £300). This is for killing a free-man: for a woman, half the sum: for a slave, his or her value; but that must fall short of the price of blood for the free. A person unable to free a believer must fast two months, as in Ramadán. The accomplices of a murderer are liable to the punishment of death. By the Sunneh also, a man is obnoxious to capital punishment for the murder of a woman; and by the Hanafee law, for the murder of another man’s slave. But he is exempted from this punishment who kills his own child or other descendant, or his own slave, or his son’s slave, or a slave of whom he is part-owner: so also are his accomplices; and according to Esh-Sháfe’ee, a Muslim, though a slave, is not to be put to death for killing an infidel, though the latter be free. In the present day, however, murder is generally punished with death; the government seldom allowing a composition in money to be made. A man who kills another in self-defence, or to defend his property from a robber, is exempt from all punishment. The price of blood is a debt incumbent on the family, tribe, or association of which the homicide is a member. It is also incumbent on the inhabitants of an enclosed quarter, or the proprietor or proprietors of a field, in which the body of a person killed by an unknown hand is found; unless the person has been found killed in his own house. A woman, convicted of a capital crime, is generally put to death by drowning in the Nile.

The Bedawees have made the law of the avenging of blood terribly severe and unjust, transgressing the limits assigned by the Kur-án: for, with them, any single person descended from the homicide, or from the homicide’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, or great-grandfather’s father, may be killed by any of such relations of the person murdered or killed in fight; but, among most tribes, the fine is generally accepted instead of the blood. Cases of blood-revenge are very common among the peasantry of Egypt, who, as I have before remarked, retain many customs of their Bedawee ancestors. The relations of a person who has been killed, in an Egyptian village, generally retaliate with their own hands rather than apply to the government, and often do so with disgusting cruelty, and even mangle and insult the corpse of their victim. The relations of a homicide usually fly from their own to another village, for protection. Even when retaliation has been made, animosity frequently continues between the two parties for many years; and often a case of blood-revenge involves the inhabitants of two or more villages in hostilities, which are renewed, at intervals, during the period of several generations.

_Retaliation_ for intentional _wounds_ and _mutilations_ is allowed, like as for murder; “eye for eye,” etc.;[196] but a fine may be accepted instead, which the law allows also for unintentional injuries. The fine for a member that is single (as the nose) is the whole price of blood, as for homicide; for a member of which there are two, and not more (as a hand), half the price of blood; for one of which there are ten (a finger or toe), a tenth of the price of blood; but the fine of a man for maiming or wounding a woman is half of that for the same injury to a man; and that of a free person for injuring a slave varies according to the value of the slave. The fine for depriving a man of any of his five senses, or dangerously wounding him, or grievously disfiguring him for life, is the whole price of blood.

_Theft_, whether committed by a man or by a woman, according to the Kur-án,[197] is to be punished by cutting off the offender’s right hand for the first offence; but a Sunneh law ordains that this punishment shall not be inflicted if the value of the stolen property is less than a quarter of a deenár;[198] and it is also held necessary, to render the thief obnoxious to this punishment, that the property stolen should have been deposited in a place to which he had not ordinary or easy access; whence it follows, that a man who steals in the house of a near relation is not subject to this punishment; nor is a slave who robs the house of his master. For the second offence, the left foot is to be cut off; for the third, according to the Sháfe’ee law, the left hand; for the fourth, the right foot; and for further offences of the same kind, the culprit is to be flogged or beaten; or, by the Hanafee code, for the third and subsequent offences, the criminal is to be punished by a long imprisonment. A man may steal a free-born infant without offending against the law, because it is not property; but not a slave; and the hand is not to be cut off for stealing any article of food that is quickly perishable, because it may have been taken to supply the immediate demands of hunger. There are also some other cases in which the thief is exempt from the punishments above mentioned. In Egypt, of late years, these punishments have not been inflicted. Beating and hard labour have been substituted for the first, second, or third offence, and frequently death for the fourth. Most petty offences are usually punished by beating with the “kurbág” (a thong or whip of hippopotamus’ hide, hammered into a round form), or with a stick, generally on the soles of the feet.[199]

_Adultery_ is most severely visited: but to establish a charge of this crime against a wife, four eye-witnessses are necessary.[200] If convicted thus, she is to be put to death by stoning.[201] I need scarcely say that cases of this kind have very seldom occurred, from the difficulty of obtaining such testimony.[202] Further laws on this subject, and still more favourable to the women, are given in the Kur-án[203] in the following words:—“But [as to] those who accuse women of reputation [of fornication or adultery], and produce not four witnesses [of the fact], scourge them with eighty stripes, and receive not their testimony for ever; for such are infamous prevaricators, excepting those who shall afterwards repent; for God is gracious and merciful. They who shall accuse their wives [of adultery], and shall have no witnesses [thereof] besides themselves, the testimony [which shall be required] of one of them, [shall be] that he swear four times by God that he speaketh the truth, and the fifth [time that he imprecate] the curse of God on him if he be a liar; and it shall avert the punishment [of the wife] if she sware four times by God that he is a liar, and if the fifth [time she imprecate] the wrath of God on her if he speak the truth.” The commentators and lawyers have agreed that, under these circumstances, the marriage must be dissolved. In the chapter from which the above quotation is made, it is ordained (in verse 2) that unmarried persons convicted of fornication shall be punished by scourging, with a hundred stripes; and a Sunneh law renders them obnoxious to the further punishment of banishment for a whole year.[204] Of the punishment of women convicted of incontinence in Cairo, I shall speak in the next chapter, as it is an arbitrary act of the government, not founded on the laws of the Kur-án, or the Traditions.[205]

_Drunkenness_ was punished by the Prophet by flogging, and is still in Cairo, though not often. The “hadd,” or number of stripes for this offence, is eighty in the case of a free man, and forty in that of a slave.

_Apostacy_ from the faith of El-Islám is considered a most heinous sin, and must be punished with death, unless the apostate will recant on being thrice warned. I once saw a woman paraded through the streets of Cairo, and afterwards taken down to the Nile to be drowned, for having apostatized from the faith of Mohammad, and having married a Christian. Unfortunately, she had tattooed a blue cross on her arm, which led to her detection by one of her former friends in a bath. She was mounted upon a high-saddled ass, such as ladies in Egypt usually ride, and very respectably dressed, attended by soldiers, and surrounded by a rabble, who, instead of commiserating, uttered loud imprecations against her. The Kádee who passed sentence upon her, exhorted her in vain to return to her former faith. Her own father was her accuser! She was taken in a boat into the midst of the river, stripped nearly naked, strangled, and then thrown into the stream.[206] The Europeans residing in Cairo regretted that the Básha was then at Alexandria, as they might have prevailed upon him to pardon her. Once before, they interceded with him for a woman who had been condemned for apostacy. The Básha ordered that she should be brought before him; he exhorted her to recant; but finding her resolute, reproved her for her _folly_, and sent her home, commanding that no injury should be done to her.

Still more severe is the law with respect to _blasphemy_. The person who utters blasphemy against God, or Mohammad, or Christ, or Moses, or any prophet, is to be put to death without delay, even though he profess himself repentant; repentance for such a sin being deemed impossible. Apostacy or infidelity is occasioned by misjudgment; but blasphemy is the result of utter depravity.