The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 76
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 76 background of his opponent. If someone was of a lower caste, the other would refuse to fight him. Among the Arabs, years and months were calculated according to the movement of the moon. Of twelve months, the first, seventh and the last two months were considered months of reverence, in which all types of violence was strictly prohibited. For their own expediencies, the Arabs would move the order of these months forward or backwards in certain instances. This way, if need be, they could continue fighting without the fear of sin. This ritual was known as Nas’ī. 1 Status of Women In Arabia, the state of women, on the whole, was not respectable. Without a doubt, although women possessed the right to choose their own husband, after the utilisation of this right, they were practically left with no rights at all. Wise women possessed a firm influence over their husbands. The participation of women in war has already been mentioned. Their task was to incite a sense of jealousy among the men in combat and to tend to the injured. Women were also involved in poetry. Khansā’ is a famous poetess of the Jāhiliyyah who later became Muslim. 2 The custom of Pardah was not found among Arab women, rather, they moved about openly. There was no limit to the number of wives and one could keep as many as he so wished. In some instances a son would take hold of his father’s wife in inheritance, and two biological sisters would also be taken in marriage simultaneously. However, the nobles of Arabia looked upon this conduct with displeasure. Divorce was a common practice in Arabia and a husband could separate his wife from himself whenever he so pleased. The ritual of burying live baby girls was also customary among the Arabs. However, this particular ritual was found in specific tribes only and was not common. Daughters were not entitled to inheritance, nor were wives. If someone had no male child, the entirety of his inheritance would be usurped by his brother, and the wife and daughter of the deceased would be left empty handed. 1 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Malik bin Hishām, p. 50, Bābu Amril-Fīli wa Qiṣṣatin-Nisā’i, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 2 Usdul-Ghābah, Dhikru Khansā’ bint ‘Amr, Volume 6, p. 91, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, (2003)