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XLII.—SLAVERY.
Slavery (ʾubudíyat) has been consecrated by Muhammadan law, and some of its provisions have been taken from the Mosaic code. The traces of heathenism are, however, observable in most of the Muslim laws with reference to this question. For example, according to Jewish law,[1] if a master slew his slave he was liable to punishment, whereas the Islamic code[2] annexes no worldly punishment for the murder of a slave.
There is no limit to the number of slave girls with whom a Muslim may cohabit, and it is the consecration of this illimitable indulgence which so popularizes slavery amongst Muhammadan nations. Some Muslim writers[3] of the
