Muhammad, the final prophet of Islam, was a civilized, peaceful man.

I. MARRIAGE Muhammad preached 4 wives for regular Muslims. Muhammad was the leader, so it was probably cultural that the leader marry with the other tribes. How could it still be fishy for you? I gave some points proving that Muhammad wasn't sex-hungry. I'll repost them here this time with sources: 1. Because in his lifetime after receiving revelation, a Pagan tribe offered Muhammad riches, women, etc. in exchange, he would stop preaching, yet he refused such a deal for the sake of Islam. (Alfred, Guillaume. The Life of Muhammad, A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasu Allah. Oxford University press, 2002. PP. 131-132) 2. Muhammad's very first wife was a middle-aged widow, Khadija. (You don't need a source for that I hope) II. WOMEN STATUS Let me come forth right away and put down the accusation that Muhammad believes women are inferior: "Women are full sisters of men." In Arabic text, Muhammad uses a word, which implies TOTAL SIMILARITY AND EQUIVALENCE. YOUR QUOTE: That is commonly misquoted. In this case, the translation is just weak, and if we go into the Arabic text, and the context of the situation, we can conclude that Muhammad is meaning something very different than what is implied by this author. Note: - Muhammad was speaking to a congregation of women on an upbeat, joyful occasion. - It is repeatedly stressed by Muhammad the reward for women is equal to that of men in Paradise. Context: Muhammad was getting the attention of women at this joyous congregation. QUOTE IN FULL: "On the occasion of Eid, either that of sacrifice or that of ending the fast, the Prophet, peace be upon him, went to the prayer place, and then went to speak to women and he said: "Ladies! I have not seen people deficient in mind and religion yet can get away with a rational man's mind like any one of you." They asked: "How are we deficient in mind and religion, Messenger of God?" He said: "Is it not true that a woman's testimony counts as half that of a man?" When they answered in the affirmative, he said: "This is her mental deficiency. Is it not true that when a woman is in her period she neither prays nor fasts?" They again answered in the affirmative. He said: "This is her religious deficiency." (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim) Let's tackle this quote in parts: "I have not seen people deficient in mind and religion yet can get away with a rational man's mind like any one of you." This means "I haven't seen any human being able to get away with even a rational man's mind like you guys." He is actually asserting here the power of women to influence men and sway their opinion. This is one of the distinctions that women, in their natures, have. DEFICIENT IN MIND AND RELIGION: It's figurative in Arabic. The translation makes you think Muhammad is insulting these women! How can this make ANY sense in this time and place? Before making assumptions, read the next part: They asked: "How are we deficient in mind and religion, Messenger of God?" He said: "Is it not true that a woman's testimony counts as half that of a man?" When they answered in the affirmative, he said: "This is her mental deficiency. Is it not true that when a woman is in her period she neither prays nor fasts?" They again answered in the affirmative. He said: "This is her religious deficiency." Now here are eye-catching words: MENTAL DEFICIENCY, RELIGIOUS DEFICIENCY When your read this you think it means that the women are DEFICIENT, SUBPAR, in these areas. Well if we go back to the Arabic text, we can find that these words can only REMOTELY make sense when used in this context. Now, everytime you read "deficient" or "deficiency," put in: "RELIEVED OF" This is essentially what Muhammad is implying. According to Islamic law, women's testimony can be 1/2 of a man's in some cases. The women are RELIEVED because in these specific cases where it's 1/2 the value, the women are not put as much of a burden to make a testimony. KEEP IN MIND, that also, in Islamic law, in some cases, Men's testimony can be NOT VALUED. These cases can include fosterage and virginity. CONCLUSION: The translation of this Hadith as quoted is WRONG. It implies Muhammad is insulting women during an Eid festival? Do I need to tell you how boneheaded this translation sounds just at a simple first glance? Here's a much more accurate modern English translation I whipped up adding all the points I mentioned. Muhammad: Ladies, you guys are so Relieved in the mind! You guys can sweep even a resilient man off his feet! Ladies: How are we relieved in the mind? Muhammad: You guys only have 1/2 a testimony in cases you may be uneasy about, right? Ladies: Right Muhammad: This is your mental relief (from Allah). During menstruation, God has relieved you from praying and fasting, right? Ladies: Right Muhammad: This is her relief of religion. You see, changing almost a single word has cleared up our misunderstandings about this WEAK quote. YOUR OTHER QUOTE: "The Prophet replied, 'I saw Paradise and stretched my hands towards a bunch (of its fruits) and had I taken it, you would have eaten from it as long as the world remains. I also saw the Hell-fire and I had never seen such a horrible sight. I saw that most of the inhabitants were women.'" (Hadith 2:161) To start with, the Hadith does not say that most women born on Earth, eventually are doomed to hell. It says that the majority of hell dwellers are women. This simply signifies that more women fail in this worldly test than men. Just think a bit, It really makes a difference in understanding. Plus, that was Hell AT THAT TIME. The Quran speaks for ALL TIMES. The Quran doesn't say anything about MORE women being in hell at the Day of Judgment. MARY BEING THE ONLY FEMALE FIGURE IN THE QURAN - So what? Women weren't able to get ideas across back in that time... What do you want? Women prophets? It couldn't have been possible back then, nobody would follow a woman. By the way, women themselves are mentioned MANY times throughout the Quran, so it shouldn't matter. III. BATTLE OF BADR Ok, go to the New World Encyclopedia: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org... Here are their sources: Translation of Malik's Muwatta.USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts. Translation of Sahih Muslim.USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts Translation of Sahih al-Bukhari. USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts Partial Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud.USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts Note: there are a lot more sources and notes they used, but It'd take too much space. I misread, it wasn't "stolen goods," it was money. The caravan was funded with the money that the Muslims had left behind in Mecca before their departure for Medina. You have put out a blatant lie, the word "raid" is not even used in your source. Both your AND my sources say that Muhammad tried to AMBUSH the caravan, which outnumbered them 3:1. The people who Muhammad kept for ransom were ENEMIES OF ISLAM, and EVEN THEN, he didn't kill them, he spared them. Muhammad COMPLETELY spared the poor people too! Sounds pretty peaceful to me. NOW LET'S GET TO THE MECCANS: Do you want to know what the Meccans did? Bam, took their swords, and killed all of their prisoners, NOT ONLY THAT, they went and killed all Muslim prisoners of their allies in revenge for the defeat.... Does that sound peaceful to you? Doesn't sound very peaceful to me, sir XD IV. SLAVES Muhammad on slaves: Prophet taught that even the word "slave" should not be used, but one could only say "my boy" or "my girl" . . . (Osman 989) Serve Allah . . . and do good - to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbors who are near, neighbors who are strangers, the Companion by your side, the way-farer (you meet), and what your right hands possess [i.e. YOUR SLAVES] . . . (4:36) Quran Muhammad through his actions showed to give slaves their due rights, and allow them to be free if they will to do so.