concerning them. And the order of God is to be performed.
No blame attaches to the Prophet where God hath given him a permission. Sura Al-Ahzab (xxxiii) 37-8.

This relaxation of the moral law for Muhammad's benefit, because he was a prophet, shows how very easy the divorce between religion and morality becomes in Islam.

Another difficulty was that Zainab was the daughter of Jahsh, the daughter of his aunt Amina, who was the daughter of 'Abdu'l-Muttalib.¹ A fresh revelation, however, by bestowing upon the Prophet a special and peculiar privilege, not accorded to his followers, removed the difficulty:—

O Prophet, we have allowed thee thy wives whom thou hast dowered and the slaves whom thy right hand possesseth out of the booty.² God hath granted thee, and the daughters³ of thy uncle and of thy paternal and maternal aunts who fled with thee (from Mecca), and any believing woman⁴ who hath given herself up to the Prophet, if the Prophet desireth to take her—a privilege for thee above the rest of the faithful. Sura Al-Ahzab (xxxiii) 49.

Zainab and her husband did not encourage the suit of the Prophet, and are, thus reprimanded by the alleged command of God in the revelation:—

And it is not for a believer, man or woman, to have any choice in their affairs when God and His Apostle have decreed a matter; and whoever disobeyeth God and His Apostle erreth with palpable error.. Sura Al-Ahzab (xxxiii) 36.¹

This settled the matter, and the marriage with Zainab was thus declared to be legal and right. Zaid was no longer spoken of as the son of Muhammad, but as Zaid ibn Haritha—son of Haritha.

This same Sura contains a verse (52) which prohibits Muhammad's adding to the nine wives he already possessed, but permits him to have as many concubines as he pleased—'slaves whom thy right