Only the real mother was regarded as a mother in
Arab society. Step-mothers were not regarded as
mothers and there was no ban on a son's marrying his
step-mother on the death of his father. Polygamous
marriages were very common, and there was no limit to
the number of wives a man could take. More than one
sister could also be taken to wife by the same person at
one and the same time.
The worst treatment was meted out by combatant
sides to one another in war. Where hatred was strong,
they did not hesitate to split the bodies of the wounded,
take out parts and eat them in cannibal fashion. They
did not hesitate to mutilate the bodies of their enemies.
Cutting off the nose or ears, or plucking out an eye was
a common form of cruelty practised by them. Slavery
was widespread. Weak tribes were made slaves. The
slave had no accepted status. Every master did as he
liked with his slaves. No action could be taken against a
master who maltreated his slave. A master could murder
his slave without having to answer for it. If one master
murdered another's slave, even then the penalty was not
death. All that was required of him was to compensate
the aggrieved master suitably.