美国学生人类历史 第126期:穆罕默德(5)(在线收听

 Incidentally it explains why even to-day Moslem soldiers will charge into the fire of European machine guns quite indifferent to the fate that awaits them and why they are such dangerous and persistent enemies. 这一点也能解释,为什么到了今天,穆斯林士兵依然可以奋不顾身冲入欧洲人的枪林弹雨,全然不顾被机枪射杀的命运。正因为如此,他们一直是危险而顽强的对手。

Having put his religious house in order, Mohammed now began to enjoy his power as the undisputed ruler of a large number of Arab tribes. 将他的宗教大厦整顿就序后,穆罕默德开始享受作为众多阿拉伯部落公认领袖的权力,
But success has been the undoing of a large number of men who were great in the days of adversity. 不过,他的成功往往是剥夺了大量身处逆境的人们的权利才得来的。
He tried to gain the good will of the rich people by a number of regulations which could appeal to those of wealth. 为赢得富人阶层的好感,穆罕默德特意制定了一些有利于富人的规定,
He allowed the Faithful to have four wives. 比如他允许信徒娶四个妻子。
As one wife was a costly investment in those olden days when brides were bought directly from the parents, four wives became a positive luxury 在那个时代,娶妻的习 俗是男子直接从女方父母家购买。娶一房妻子已经是一项花费不菲的投资,娶四个妻子当然是纯粹的奢侈。
except to those who possessed camels and dromedaries and date orchards beyond the dreams of avarice. 除非是那些拥有单峰驼和椰枣园的大富之家,普通贪财之人也难以奢望此种享受。
A religion which at first had been meant for the hardy hunters of the high skied desert was gradually transformed to suit the needs of the smug merchants who lived in the bazaars of the cities. 伊斯兰教本是为生活在穷荒大漠的劳苦牧人而创立的,可随时势的发展,它逐渐变化到以迎合生活在城市别墅中的富商的需要。
It was a regrettable change from the original program and it did very little good to the cause of Mohammedanism. 这一离其初衷的转变令人遗憾,对穆罕默德的伟大事业也并无好处。
As for the prophet himself, he went on preaching the truth of Allah and proclaiming new rules of conduct until he died, quite suddenly, of a fever on June the seventh of the year 632. 至于先知本人,他继续传布安拉的真理,颁布新的行为标准,为事业不辞劳苦。直至在公元632年6月7日,穆罕默德因热病突然辞世。
His successor as Caliph (or leader) of the Moslems was his father-in-law, Abu-Bekr, who had shared the early dangers of the prophet's life. 穆罕默德的继任者被称为哈里发,意为"穆斯林的领袖"。首先继任的是他的岳父阿布?艾克尔,他曾与穆罕默德出生人死,一起经历了创业初期的患难岁月。
Two years later, Abu-Bekr died and Omar ibn Al-Khattab followed him. 两年后,阿布?艾克尔死去,由奥玛尔继位。
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