George Sale, The Koran, commonly called the Alcoran of Mohammed, translated into English immediately from the original Arabic; with Explanatory Notes, taken from the most approved Commentators. To which is prefixed A Preliminary Discource (1734)

from several reasons, and particularly from the examples of persons allowed on all hands to have been good men; some of whom have been honoured with the divine correspondence. The several laws relating to marriages and divorces, and the peculiar priviledges granted to Mohammed in his Korân, were almost all taken by him from the Jewish decisions, as will appear hereafter; and therefore he might think those institutions the more just and reasonable, as he found them practised or approved by the professors of a religion, which was confessedly of divine original.

Of his personal qualifications.
But whatever were his motives, Mohammed had certainly the personal qualifications which were necessary to accomplish his undertaking. The Mohammedan authors are excessive in their commendations of him, and speak much of his religious and moral virtues; as his piery, veracity, justice, liberality, clemency, humility, and abstinence. His charity, in particular, they say, was so conspicuous, that he had seldom any money in his house, keeping no more for his own use than was just sufficient to maintain his family; and he frequently spared even some part of his own provisions to supply the necessities of the poor; so that before the year’s end he had generally little or nothing left ¹: God, says al Bokhâri, offered him the keys of the treasures of the earth, but he would not accept them. Tho’ the elogies of these writers are justly to be suspected of partiality, yet thus much, I think, may be inferred from thence, that for an Arab who had been educated in Paganism, and had but a very imperfect knowledge of his duty, he was a man of at least tolerable morals, and not such a monster of wickedness as he is usually represented. And indeed, it is scarce possible to conceive, that a wretch of so profligate a character should ever have succeeded in an enterprize of this nature; a little hypocrisy and saving of appearances, at least, must have been absolutely necessary; and the sincerity of his intentions is what I pretend not to inquire into.

He had indisputably a very piercing and fagacious wit, and was thoroughly versed in all the arts of infinuation ². The eastern historians describe him to have been a man of an excellent judgment, and a happy memory; and these natural parts were improved by a great experience and knowledge of men, and the observations he had made in his travels. They say he was a person of few words, of an equal chearful temper, pleasant and familiar in conversation, of