Why does islam allow polygamy

Without marriage, a person would be in constant danger of committing sin in order to fulfill those desires.

An acknowledgement of the existence of such desires does not however mean that Islam has opened the door for lustful pursuits of sensuality as the only objective. Marriage, therefore, is an institution in Islam aimed at helping a person become more spiritual and connected with God.

By having an outlet for those natural desires, a person can freely and calmly pursue the real goal in life which is the worship of God. Whether it is a monogamous marriage or a polygamous marriage, this objective remains the same. Furthermore, the four purposes of marriage listed above can apply both in the case of a monogamous marriage and a polygamous marriage. For instance, if the purpose of marriage is to guard oneself against evils, and this purpose is not being fulfilled with one wife, the husband is given the permission to marry a second wife.

Hazrat Mirza Bahir Ahmad ra explains this scenario as follows:. However, it is possible that a person is confronted with circumstances whereby he is unable to uphold his righteousness and purity, whilst maintaining relations with a sole lady, who happens to undergo periods of menstruation, pregnancy, delivery, suckling, and other forms of ailments, etc.

Then, even if by an extraordinary effort he is able to safeguard himself from practical indecency, in the least, one aspect of impurity continues to dominate his thoughts, or perhaps there is a risk of him becoming afflicted by some physical ailment.

Hence, the correct remedy for such a person is none other than polygamy. This is just one example. There can be other situations where any one of the purposes of marriage is not being achieved with one wife. In such circumstances a man may seek remedy for his situation with a second wife. Given the above understanding for the reasoning behind polygamy, critics have raised two important questions:.

The answer to the first question is that it takes a great amount of naivety to suggest that men should remain patient all the time and never ever have recourse to having another wife.

This is especially evident in the long line of Prophets in the Bible who were men of God and yet had multiple wives.

One critic has taken specific issue with the idea that a man decides to marry a second wife because he is not able to have a male child from the first wife. He argues that having children is much more important to women as compared to men. If the husband and wife collectively decide that the man should take on a second wife because the first wife is unable to bear children or have a male child, what objections can any critic lay on them?

What moral authority do the critics have over any husband and wife who have decided to do this for their own circumstances and their collective happiness? In fact, this is not just a hypothetical situation. Women and men have indeed taken this option where the first wife was unable to have children. And would Zunie — a financially independent feminist — ever contemplate another polygamous marriage?

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A marriage contract disallowing the man to take another wife is binding on him. In the absence of such a clause, the man has to notify the designated court about his intention to marry again, and provide proof of his financial capacity to maintain multiple wives. The court summons the first wife, hears both parties in camera, and may permit the man to marry again after stating its reasons in writing. In Somalia, a man can contract another marriage only for specified reasons — his wife is certified sterile by a panel of doctors, or suffers from an incurable disease, or is imprisoned for over two years, or is absent from her matrimonial home for a year.

A Somali man must have verifiable reasons to be polygamist. Legal justification and financial capacity are factors that courts both in Syria and Iraq must examine before allowing a man to have more than one wife.

In Iraq, a court can also disallow the husband from marrying again if it concludes there is a possibility he would be unjust to them. In many other Middle Eastern countries, though, protection to women against the inherent harshness of polygamy is feeble or non-existent.

In Egypt, for instance, the man has to state whether he is already wedded while registering his marriage. In case he is, his first wife is informed of the new marriage. While permitting marriage, Quran, on one hand limited the number of marriages up to four and on the other hand, envisaged that 'the economic responsibility for maintenance of wife would counterbalance access to the wealth of the orphaned female through the responsibility of management'.

The quranic injunction aimed to improve the conditions of weaker segments of the society like orphans and the poor in general. The key argument of modernists is that while the Quran apparently, allowed polygamy, it added a moral rider to the effect that if a man cannot do justice among co-wives, then he must have only one wife.

The meaning of justice does not only imply equality in terms of providing food, shelter, and clothing, it also signifies equality in love, affection, and esteem which is impossible to be rendered by a human being.

In support of their argument, modernists relied on the quranic verse IV: 'Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women, even if it is your ardent desire'. The interpretation of this verse along with the previous verse of polygamy indicated that quranic injunction is functional on two levels: i a legal level where limited polygamy was permitted under exceptional circumstances ii a moral level where Quran had apparently expected that society would transform with the change of time.

The classical jurists, however, did not consider the 'justice' requirement as a condition precedent to a polygamous marriage rather they left the issue to be decided by the private judgment of every individual husband. Their understanding of quranic verse by giving supremacy to the decisions of individual husbands reflected the notion that men are superior to women.

They also relied on the quranic verse II In interpreting this verse, traditionists preferred to emphasise the later portion of the verse that gives superiority of men over women disregarding the parity of men and women.