(3) The marricifje law. A man is allowed to see but the hands and the face of the maiden or widow ■whom he intends to wed; then follows the courting in person or by proxy ; a marriage-contract is concluded, in •which the nuptial gift is fixed, i. e. what is allotted to the wife in case the husband dies or has himself di- vorced; and the ecclesiastic consecrates the marriage. A free man can marry four free women ; a female slave he is only allowed to marry if he have not the means to contract marriage with a free person. Polygamy is al- lowed among Jlohammedans, we see, then, surrounded by a number of restrictions. Hear the Koran on this point: "Take in marriage of the women who please you, two, three, or four; but if ye fear that ye cannot act equitably, .one, or those whom your right hand has acquired"— i. e. slaves (Sur. iv, 3). Minor girls can be forced by their father or grandfather to enter into mat- rimony as long as they are single ; if widows, they have their own choice. ^Marriage of near relatives, among which niece, nurse, and milk-sister are enumerated, is proliibited. A Moslem may, if urged l)y excessive love, or if unable to obtain a wife of Ids own creed, marry a Christian woman or a .Jewess, but a Jlohammedan wom- an is not, under any circumstances, to marry an unbe- liever. In all cases, however, the child born of a ^Mos- lem, whatever the mother's faith, is a .Moslem ; nor docs the wife, who is an unbeliever, inherit at lier husband's death, .Sec also Mauui.vci:, ^Matrimony is annulled by insanity, apostasy from Islam, impotence of the male, or corporeal disability for .sexual intercourse of the fe- male. See DivoucE. The husband is to treat bis wives equally; only newly-married women are privileged for
a few days. The Shiites sanction also temporarj' mar- riage. The free man can give a divorce to his wife twice and retake her, even without her consent, if three menstruations or three months have not elapsed, and then only if in the mean while she had contracted an- other marriage which has been dissolved by death or divorce. On this point tlie ^Mohammedan law differs from the ^losaic law, by which a divorced woman who has contracted another marriage is forever forbidden to the first husband. According to the Mosaic law, the i marriage between uncle and niece is permitted, but not between aunt and nephew. Pregnant -women are al- lowed to remarry only after their confinement ; if not pregnant, after four months and ten days. If a man ac- cuses his wife of adidtery, he must either bring wit- nesses to confirm his statement, or he must himself swear four times in the mosque before a number of men that he speaks the truth, adding, " The curse of God may strike me if I speak false." The woman is then con- sidered an adulteress, the marriage is dissolved, and can never be renewed. But if the woman afterwards swear four times against the accusation, declaring at the same time that (Jod's wrath may strike her if her Imsband have spoken true, the marriage is annulled, but the wom- an is not considered an adulteress. Children of divorced wives must be cared for by the mother to the seventh year; later, the child can choose whether it will live with the father or the mother. The woman has a right to ask for divorce if the husband cannot support her.
(4) The ]xn(d law and procedure. An intentional murder is punished by death ; the relatives of the mur- dered, however, possessing the right to avenge his blood, may take a ransom instead, (ilodern practices in Tur- key deviating from these laws are in harmony with those of Christian countries.) Manslaughter not inten- tional is expiated by a ransom, estimated according to the intent of the slayer to injure the slain. For the murder of a woman only half price is paid ; for that of a Jew or a Christian, a third; for that of a pagan, a fif- teenth part. In case of mutilation, revenge or ransom may satisfy. Adultery is punished by death, if the marriage between adulterer and adulteress be forbidden on account of consanguinity ; or if the adulterer mar- ry the adulteress without having previously atoned for his crime according to precepts ; or if a non-^Ioslcm is the criminal. Other cases of adultery are punislied by one hundred lashes and one year of baiushment. He who charges another with adultery without being aide to prove his accusation is i)unished by eighty lashes. Drinking wine is punished by forty lashes. Pederasty and sodomy are jjunishable with death, like adultery. He who steals for the first time is to have his right hand cut off; for the second time, his left ; for the third time, his right foot; for the fourth time, the left foot. (The Turkish government has substituted tlie ordinary punishments of imprisonment, hard labor, and the bas- tinado.) Highway robbers, if they have committed a murder, are to be crucified ; if they only threatened to murder, they are to receive corporeal punishment and to be imprisoned. A jMoslem apostatizing from his faith, and persevering in liis apostasy, or denying only one of the obligations of Islam, is to be punished with death.