Question 9 : Polygamy in Islam
The experts in the affairs of the Western society noticed clearly that illegal relationships are very common to the point that a single man practises sex with many women exceeding four and more. Isn't this called polygamy? Of course, so we can say that the Western society accepts pluralism, but out of the frame of wedlock.
polygamy wasn't an Islamic new invention rather it existed in the Arabian Peninsula before Islam came to limit and restrict it. Men used to marry more than 10 women, so Islam limited it to four. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) ordered his companions who married more than four women "to keep four of them and divorce the rest".
Polygamy isn't permitted by Islam just for lust, but it is a law with rights and duties.So only mature, honest and responsible men can do polygamy.The Almighty God has directed men in the Holy Quran (if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice].) Quran4:3
God has permitted polygamy for many wise reasons as :- any woman may become sick or can't have children.Or her husband may have high physical sexual strength which might expose him to temptation in the legal excuse (or the period of time) for his wife.
Polygamy isn't confined to Islam as:
1_ Ibrahim peace be upon him as comes in Safar Altakween 29: that he had 3 wives "Sara, Hagar and Kattora". 2_ Yaqoup peace be upon him was married to "Lieya, Rahel and had Zalfa, Palha". 3_ Suleiman peace be upon him as in the Bible "He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart". 4_ If you read the "Ramayana" holy Hinduisian book, you will find that "Seih Ram" had had more than one wife. 5_ Moreover, in "Mahaharass" charts, Krishna had had (16108) wives. 6_ Although, among the Christian history there were many troops called for polygamy like: Anglicanism, Anabaptist in Germany which called for polygamy until 16 century ,Almarmon was supporting polygamy very much until it reaches (20-30)wives until 19 century , priest Fonester said( 513) that who wants to be a true Christian should marry many wives.
Polygamy is the best solution for the social problems encountered by the western society like America which:
1- has 5 million women more than the number of men, so if every man marries one woman, there will still be 5 million women who can’t get married. (49.4% =men / 50.6= women) statistics of 2017. 2- has 25 million gays which means that 25 million women more can't have husbands. (25.6 million homosexuals, about 11% of the total population) 2011 statistics. 3- 93% of the prisoners Gender are males
When the Islamic law permitted polygamy, it set many conditions to protect the woman's rights as:
⁃ To be able to equally and justly treat them as narrated in the Hadith of Sahih Ibn Haban by Abo Huraira, from the apostle of God (peace be upon him) which says "Who has two women, then inclines with one of them on the day of judgement he will come with one of his body side inclined" ⁃ To equally divide the nights between them that means he should spend each night with each of them, however, he spends the day working or doing whatever he likes. ⁃ To fulfil their various needs. polygamy has many benefits as: ⁃ Guarding chastity. ⁃ Establishing a new house. ⁃ Having a good offspring. ⁃ Acquainted with a new ancestry. ⁃ Increasing Muhammad's nation. ⁃ Reducing the phenomenon of spinsterhood.
Why did Muhammad, peace be upon him, marry more than four wives?
Whenever Prophet Muhammad’s name is mentioned, the anti Islam elements tend to portray his family life in negative terms, describing his marriage of 11 wives was for lustful purpose just to blackmail Islam and to ridicule its message. For Muslims, his multiple marriages had meaning and immense implications for Islam, and by extension, the history of the world.
His marriage is drive to Spread Islam
The Prophet Muhammad was driven by the goal to ensure that his mission as the Messenger of God was fulfilled and to establish a society based on God’s commands, and not his own. In order to achieve this goal, he did everything that was humanly possible: he forged relations with the various tribes of Arabia, concluded peace treaties with his sworn enemies and kept relations with the heads of various tribes, nations and religions. Taken together, his marriages were one way by which he fostered relationships with various influential tribes. If one were to view the marriages of the Prophet from this context, the motivating factors behind his marriages became clear. It would be uncharitable and ridiculous to view his marriages as being merely for lustful ends.
Context of His Marriages
From the outset, it is of ultimate importance to note that, except for one of his wives, all of his eleven wives were widowed or divorced. Most were in fact widowed. Khadijah, 45 Year Old Widow His first marriage was to a widow named Khadijah, who had been married twice and whom he married when she was forty years old and he was twenty five. She was the first woman to embrace Islam. She provided great consolation to him throughout his life and he continued to remember her in his later years as his most beloved wife. He stayed with her faithfully for 25 years until her death, at which time he was 50 years old, and she was 65 years old. If he was driven by lustful desires as accused by his opponents, he could have married several, beautiful young women in a society where having numerous wives was a norm – there would be no reason to faithfully remain with an older woman until the age of 50. This single fact would be sufficient to totally refute the charges against him in this regard. However, an examination of all of his marriages, as we shall see, should put this question to rest. Sawda, 65 Year Old Widow After Khadija’s death, he married another widow, Sawda, who was 65 years old. She and her previous husband, Sakran, were among those who had immigrated to Ethiopia, fleeing from the oppression and persecution of the Meccans. It was during their return to Mecca that her husband had died. Seeing her difficult condition, the Prophet married her.
Aisha, His Only Virgin Wife Then he married Aisha, daughter of his lifelong friend and companion Abu Bakr. Child marriages were evidently the norm at that time. She was the only virgin among the Prophet’s wives and the only one who was born into a Muslim family. One of the Prophet’s goals in this marriage was to strengthen the bond of his brotherhood with Abu Bakr, who was his main defender against the Meccans. Second, Aisha was of a lineage known for honour and intelligence. The Prophet (peace be upon him) knew that she would tremendously benefit his nation (ummah) by transmitting crucial knowledge from his life, especially family and personal matters that others were not privy to. Indeed, the Prophet advised his community to learn half of the knowledge of the religion from Aisha. The foresight of the Prophet proved itself, for she had lived for 45 years after his death, and thus became one of the main sources of Prophetic wisdom and knowledge.
Umm Salama, Widow, Single Mother of four: He married another widow, Umm Salama. Her previous husband, Abu Salama, was murdered in the Battle of Uhud, leaving behind four orphans. Umm Salama was pregnant at that time and was extremely distressed and very sad. Needless to say, she needed much support. After her delivery, The Prophet married her.
Does the Bible prohibit polygamy!!
MARRIAGE ! ! !
Polygamy Is Biblical - Why then are Christians Opposing It?
David had six wives and many maids. (2 Samuel 5:13; 1 Chronicles 3:1-9, 14:3.)
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 Maid. (1 Kings 11:3)
Rehoboam had 18 wives and 60 Maid. ( 2 Chronicles 11:21)
"If a man who has married a slave wife takes another wife for himself, he must not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy." [Exodus 21:10]
Apart from Sarah (Genesis 17:15), Hagar (Genesis 16:3), (Genesis 25:1) says this : "Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah."
Where did God or Jesus say having more than one wife is a sin in the Bible?
Reconsidering polygamy as a Christian choice
Huston Smith points out, "multiple wives are seldom found in Islam today" (The World's Religions, p. 252). Ira Zep p, Jr. says that "less than 2% of Muslim marriages are polygamous" (A Muslim Primer, p.180).
About this being a solution for the problem of surplus women, Ira Zepp, Jr. comments on page 181 of his book: The Roman Catholic Church is facing the same problem today in parts of Africa. Social and economic reasons are forcing the Church to reconsider polygamy as a Christian option. (See Polygamy Reconsidered by Eugene Hillman, New York: Orbis Press, 1973).