Polygamy means a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two types:

A) Polygyny where a man marries more than one woman.

B) Polyandry where a woman marries more than one man.

In Islam, limited polygyny is permitted and polyandry is completely prohibited.

             2.    DID ISLAM INTRODUCE POLYGAMY?

It is evident that the association of "polygamy" with Islam is based on serious misunderstanding. Polygamy was practiced, often without limitations, in almost all cultures. It was allowed by various religions, and practiced both before Islam and for many centuries thereafter.

It is both honest and accurate to say that it is Islam that regulated this practice, limited it, made it more humane, and instituted equal rights and status for all wives

                   3.IS POLYGAMY IMMORAL?

 To shorten the discussion, let us begin with the assumption that religions are acceptable sources of "morals".

A)   In Judaism:

 It is notable that most of the Old Testament Prophets are polygamous. According to the Old Testament, Abraham had more than one wife, David had one hundred wives, and Solomon is even said to have had 700 wives and 300 concubines.

If polygamy is immoral, then these figures in the Biblical traditions are immoral. No sincere Jew, Christian or Muslim would regard God’s chosen Messengers as immoral persons!

B)    In Christianity:

There is no passage in the New Testament that clearly prohibits polygamy. This was the understanding of the early Church Fathers and for several centuries in the Christian era.

                     4. POLYGAMY IN THE QURAN.

The Verse that allows polygamy (was revealed after the battle of Uhud in which many Muslims were killed, leaving widows and orphans for whom due care was a duty of the Muslim survivors).

The translation of the verse is as follows: "If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then (marry) only one…" (Qur’an 4:3)

From this verse a number of facts are evident:

1. That polygamy is neither mandatory, nor encouraged, but merely permitted.

2. That the permission to practice polygamy is not associated with mere satisfaction of the sexual desire. Rather, it is associated with compassion, a matter that is confirmed by the atmosphere in which the verse was revealed.

3. That even in such a situation, the permission is far more restricted than the normal practice which existed among the Arabs and other peoples at that time when many married as many as ten or more wives.

4 That dealing justly with one’s wives is an obligation. This applies to housing, food, clothing, kind treatment…etc., for which the husband is fully responsible. If one is not sure of being able to deal justly with them, the Qur’an says: "then (marry) only one." (Qur’an 4:3)

This verse, when combined with another verse in the same chapter, shows some discouragement of such plural marriages. The other verse plainly states: "You are never able to be fair and just between women even if it is your ardent desire…" (Qur’an 4:129)

The requirement of justice rules out the fantasy that man can "own as many as he pleases." It also rules out the concept of a "secondary wife", for all wives have exactly the same status and are entitled to identical rights and claims over their husband. It also implies, according to the Islamic Law, that should the husband fail to provide enough support for any of his wives, she can go to court and ask for a divorce.

5. THE WISDOM BEHIND POLYGAMY

But if polygamy is discouraged and loaded with such constraints, could it have been better if the Quran simply forbade it? To answer this question, we may have to raise another one: Can Polygamy be a Better Solution in Some Cases?

The following are a few examples, which are tied in with the general approach of Islam to individual and social problems.

A) Individual Cases

1. A man who discovers that his wife is barren and who at the same time instinctively desires to have children. In a situation as this, then man would either have to:

        §          Suffer the deprivation of fatherhood for life and live a miserable life with his wife.

        §          Divorce his barren wife and get married to another woman who is not barren.

In many cases, neither solution can be considered as the best alternative. Polygamy would have the advantage of preserving the marital relationship without depriving the man of fathering children of his own.

2. A man whose wife becomes chronically ill would have one of possible alternatives:

        §          He may suppress his instinctive sexual needs for the rest of his life.

        §          He may divorce his sick wife at a time when she needs his compassion most, and get married to another woman, thus legally satisfying his instinctive needs.

        §          Or he could compromise by keeping his sick wife, and secretly take for himself one or more illicit sex partners.

Let us discuss these alternatives from the point of view of the Islamic Teaching.

-         The first solution is against human nature. Islam recognizes sex and sexual needs and provides legitimate means for their satisfaction.

-         The second solution is clearly less compassionate; especially where there is love between two parties. Furthermore, divorce is described by the Prophet Muhammad (saw) as the "permitted thing that is hated most by God".

-         The last solution is plainly against the Islamic teaching which forbids illicit sexual relationships in any form.

To sum up, Islam being against immorality, hypocritical pretence of morality, and against divorce unless no better solution is available, provides for a better alternative which is consistent with human nature and with the preservation of pure and legitimate sex relationships. In a situation like this, it is doubtful that any solution would be better than polygamy.

B) Social Cases

1. Anthropologists tell us that among various tribes and societies, polygamy is a social and economic necessity. In some very poor areas, the infant mortality is very high. Children on the other hand, are a source of additional labor for the polygamy, which is, after all, and optional solution.

Earning capacity of the family. To have more children under such circumstances would require the practice of polygamy. It is by this very reason that Christian missionaries in some African regions justified their permission to local people to practice polygamy without being forbidden by the church.

2. Aside from cases where women outnumber men, devastating wars, in the past and at present have reduced the number of men. The result is not simply more women who cannot find husbands, but even more widows who may aspire to a respectable family life. In such a situation, if polygamy is bad, the limitation on polygamy is even far worse.

           §          Both unmarried women and widows are human beings. Unless their instinctive needs are legitimately satisfied, the temptation is great for corruption and immorality.

           §          Aside from the moral question these women are also exploited. They are used as tools for men’s pleasures, yet have no guarantees, no rights or security, financial or emotional.

           §          Should they become pregnant, it is their burden alone.

           §          But even if such women are ready to pay the price for this personally, society also suffers seriously from such situations. The increasing number of illegitimate children born today under conditions such as these provides a potential base for tomorrow’s maladjusted and criminals.

           §          Furthermore it is inhuman, humiliating for those children to grow up without knowing who their fathers were and without enjoying a clean and normal family life.

Here’s an example from real life!

After the Second World War, there were 7,300,000 more women than men in Germany. (3.3 million of them were widows). Many of these women needed a man not only as a companion but also as a provider for the household in a time of unprecedented misery and hardship. The soldiers of the victorious Allied Armies exploited these women's vulnerability. Many young girls and widows had affairs with members of the occupying forces. Many American and British soldiers paid for their pleasures in cigarettes, chocolate, and bread. Children were overjoyed at the gifts these strangers brought. A 10 year old boy on hearing of such gifts from other children wished from all his heart for an 'Englishman' for his mother so that she need not go hungry any longer.

6. DOES ISLAM PROMOTE POLYGAMY?

No, polygamy in Islam is a permission not an order. For Muslim men to have more than one wife is a permission which is given to them in the Quran, for the welfare of the society.

There is a misconception that says that it is compulsory for a Muslim man to marry more than one wife.
Broadly, Islam has five categories of Do’s and Don’ts.
(i) ‘Fard’ = compulsory Many people
(ii) ‘Mustahab’ = recommended or encouraged
(iii) ‘Mubah’ = permissible
(iv) ‘Makruh’ = ‘not recommended’ or discouraged
(v) ‘Haram’ = prohibited or forbidden

Polygyny falls in the middle category of things that are permissible.

               7. OUR POLYGAMY … THEIR POLYGAMY!

Actually there are three kinds of polygamy practiced in Western societies:

(1)               Serial polygamy, that is, marriage, divorce, marriage, divorce and so on any number of times.

(2)             a man married to one woman but having and supporting one or more mistresses

(3)             unmarried man having a number of mistresses.

        Islam approves but discourages the first and forbids the other two.

An example from real life: …………………..         MAN SHARING

In the United States today, there is a severe gender crisis in the black community.

        §          One out of every twenty young black males may die before reaching the age of 21. For those between 20 and 35 years of age, homicide is the leading cause of death.

        §          Besides, many young black males are unemployed, in jail, or on dope.

As a result, one in four black women, at age 40, has never married, as compared with one in ten white women.

        §          Moreover, many young black females become single mothers before the age of 20 and find themselves in need of providers.

The end result of these tragic circumstances is that an increasing number of black women are engaged in what is called 'man-sharing'. That is, many of these hapless single black women are involved in affairs with married men. The wives are often unaware of the fact that other women are 'sharing' their husbands with them. Some observers of the crisis strongly recommend polygamy as opposed to the usually secret man-sharing. They suggested that polygamy should not be banned by law, particularly in a society that tolerates prostitution
and mistresses.

OUR POLYGAMY…… It should be noted that in many Muslim societies today the practice of polygamy is rare for several reasons. One can, safely, say that the rate of polygamous marriages in the Muslim world is much less than the rate of extramarital affairs in the West. i.e. men in the Muslim world today are far more strictly monogamous than men in the Western world.

8. POLYGAMY….. AND THE FIRST WIFE?

 It is fair also to say that polygamy may be inconvenient in many respects. Islam, however, does not regard polygamy as a substitute for monogamy. Realizing its disadvantages Islam allows it under strict conditions and when no better alternative is available. This is actually consistent with a general rule in Islamic Law, "The Lesser of Two Evils." This means that if a harm is certain, and if there is no way to turn away such harm unless some other harm is done, then it is better to cause the lesser harm in order to avoid the greater. It is like a captain who gets rid of the ship’s freight in order to save the lives of the sailors.

9. MUTUAL CONSENT

 It has to be added that polygamy in Islam is a matter of mutual consent. No one can force a woman to marry a married man. Besides, the wife has the right to stipulate that her husband must not marry any other woman as a second wife. (Although not all scholars agree to that). The Bible, on the other hand, sometimes resorts to forcible polygamy. A childless widow must marry her husband's brother, even if he is already married, regardless of her consent (Genesis 38:8-10).

10. WHY NOT POLYANDRY?

It is evident that the nature of women is physiologically and psychologically different from that of men.

1.        Psychologically speaking, the woman is monogamous by her very nature.

2.      In all cultures, new and old, the headship of the family is normally man’s. One can imagine what would happen if the family had two or more heads.

3.     If the woman were married to more than one husband, which would be the father of her children?