ABSTRACT
The Bible on the holiness of marriage-Indian Conceptions-Mohammedan aspect of the purpose of marriage-God and family-The unmarried status according to the interpretation of the Roumanians-Moses on polygamyJmt'ish polygamy at the present time-Moslem polygamy-Introduction of /iOlygamy in the Osman domain-The Turk Omer Haleby makes a point lor polygamy-Polygamy of the heathen Arab-The Koran-Forbidden marriages-Exceptional laU's for prophets-Marriages in Persia-Rental-
Prophet Ezekiel, XVI; 1: characterizes the holiness of marriage, as he reproaches Jerusalem with its faithlessness <and compares it symbolically with a prostitute. It is pictured aa the woman whom he had raised and fostered, made great and charming through his kindness, and how it happened that when her time for love had come: " .•. and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness; yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine. But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pourest out thy fornications on everyone that passed by .••• "
Just as the Old Testament--it is only remembered for its lofty poetry-old Indian writers on religion also portray love and marriage. Bhartrihari says: "In this world love is meant to join two hearts ~ a single thought. If the feeling is not deep, it is like the union of two corpses. Marriage without love is a body without a soul, says Tiruvalluver, the godly outcast." Among the Moslems, however, the sensual is most important: one day Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed, asked the prophet about marriage and coitus. The prophet answered: "Coitus is one of the reasons for maintaining our health. Each of you who is capable of intermingling should get married; niarriage tempers wicked desires and guides one from the road that leads
to incest and adultery." The sacredness of the family is essential for piety. The Koran commands, IX 24: "Speak, as if your fathers and your sons and your brothers and your wives are deaFer to you than Allah and his messengers, . . . and wait until Allah comes with his commands .... " And in 64 sub. 14 it is said: "0, you who believe! You have an enemy in your wives and children!" in other words, providence can take care of those who forget the seryice of God.
