The Truth About Polygamy In Islam

The Truth About Polygamy In Islam

A commonly known fact about Islam is that it allows polygamy (or polygyny, to be more accurate), i.e., men may marry more than one wife. This law is highly misunderstood and has been the source of much criticism of the Islamic faith.

Islam allows restricted polygyny, i.e., marriage to more than one woman, with a maximum of four. Before the coming of Islam, limitless polygamy was practised. Arab men would marry large numbers of women, and in most cases there was not even a concept of marriage, as women were bought and sold according to a man's desire.

Islam is a way of life and as such it encompasses every aspect of it. With regards to polygyny, the Quran says:

"If you fear that you will not be able to deal justily with the orphans, marry the women of your choice, two or three or four. But if you fear that you may not be able to deal justily with them, then only one" [1]

There are two key elements to this verse. The first refers to the conditions a man must meet so that he may "deal justly" with his wives, if he chooses to have more than one. These conditions are that:

He should have enough financial capacity to look after the needs of the additional wives that he has undertaken.

He must do equal justice to them all. Each wife should be treated equally in fulfilling their conjugal and other rights. [3]

The second important point highlighted by the verse is that if a man cannot fulfill these requirements then he must not marry more than one woman. Monogamy is by far the norm amongst Muslims and polygyny, although allowed, is an exception to this norm. However, polygyny can, in some cases, be a way of alleviating some difficulties within society.

When a wife is barren but the husband still wants children, it is better to have a second wife than to divorce the barren one. However, a barren wife has the option to seek separation from her husband if she so wishes, on the grounds of the second marriage of her husband.

If the first wife is chronically ill and she is unable to carry out her marital and household duties, the husband may marry another woman and thus restore family stability.

Polygyny may be the solution to the problems of a society that has more women than men. This happens especially after war. The verse outlined above was revealed after the battle of Uhud in which many Muslim men were martyred. The wisdom of this is such that a large number of women will not be left unmarried. [2]

Through marriage Islam has given a woman dignity. Restricted polygyny when practised with such strict conditions, honours the rights of a woman, something that is completely absent in cultures where women are kept as mistresses. Yet ironically, while polygyny is outlawed, men are free to enjoy women, and often father unwanted children without ever being held to account.

As an extention to this topic, it is often questioned as to why polyandry (a woman having more than one husband) is forbidden in Islam. Islamic laws exist to solve problems, but if polyandry was allowed it would create problems as opposed to solving them. It seems obvious, but a woman can only be pregnant to one man at a time; this would cause problems of unfairness to the other husbands. There would also be dilemmas regarding the paternity of any children; how and when that should be decided.

References

[1]Translation of the Quran, Chapter 4, Verse 3.
[2]Islam beliefs and teachings by Ghulam Sarwar
[3]Shariah: The Islamic Law by Abdur Rahman I.Doi