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As the news spread about the Bronx Fire story, seizing the lives of ten Muslim children, five from a single mother. The story shifted from "out-pouring of sympathy", to "polygamy", because the father of the children has two wives. It was reported that polygamy has not been prosecuted in the US for decades, with the exception of arranged child marriage - trial case of Warren Jeffs, the Mormon minister. Is polygamy widely practiced among Muslims? What is the ruling from Old, New, and Last Testaments? Which Scripture places limits and restrictions on Polygamy? The Answers may surprise you...
Polygamy (Polygyny)
What the Bible Says
In Jerusalem David took more wives... (1 Chronicles 14:3)
He (Solomon) had seven hundred wives (1 Kings 11:3)
What the Qur'an Says
If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, then 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 only one ..... (Qur'an, 4:3)
Commentary
The Bible does not prohibit polygamy and most of the Old Testament Prophets were polygamous. Criticizing polygamy implies criticizing those Messengers, and this should not be acceptable to any true Jew, Christian or Muslim.
Unlike the Bible, the Qur'an limits polygamy to a maximum of four wives provided that the husband deals with them justly. If not, then only one wife is allowed. Therefore, polygamy is not one of the pillars of Islam but a restricted permission! The Qur'an did not invent polygamy but limited it.
Islam allows polygamy not merely for the satisfaction of desires but as a solution to certain social problems. It is very clear that if the number of women in any society is equal to the number of men, then every man will marry one woman and as a result, no man can marry more than one woman. However, if the number of women is more than that of men, then polygamy is without doubt better than leaving some women without husbands which may result in fornication, prostitution, homosexuality, diseases, and illegitimate children. Therefore, many women, who could not get married, find in polygamy the right way to satisfy their emotions and enjoy the pleasure of having a family and children.
More about myths with (Polygamy)
1. One of the common myths is to associate polygamy with Islam as if it were introduced by Islam or is the norm according to its teachings. While no text in the Qur'an or Sunnah states that either monogamy or polygamy is the norm, demographic data indicates that monogamy is the norm and polygamy is the exception. In almost all countries and on the global level the numbers of men and women are almost even, with women's numbers slightly more than men.
As such, it is a practical impossibility to regard polygamy as the norm since it assumes a demographic structure of at least two thirds females, and one third males (or 80 percent females and 20 percent males if four wives per male is the norm!). No Islamic "norm" is based on an impossible assumption.
2. Like many peoples and religions, however, Islam did not out law polygamy but regulated it and restricted it. It is neither required nor encouraged, but simply permitted and not outlawed. Edward Westermarck gives numerous examples of the sanctioning of polygamy among Jews, Christians, and others.
3. The only passage in the Qur'an (4:3) which explicitly mentioned polygamy and restricted its practice in terms of the number of wives permitted and the requirement of justice between them was revealed after the Battle of Uhud in which dozens of Muslims were martyred leaving behind widows and orphans. This seems to indicate that the intent of its continued permissibility is to deal with individual and collective contingencies that may arise from time to time (i.e., imbalances between the number of males and females created by wars). This provides a moral, practical, and humane solution to the problems of widows and orphans who are likely to be more vulnerable in the absence of a husband/father figure to look after their needs: financial, companions, proper rearing, and other needs.
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 only one ... (Qur'an 4:3)
4. All parties involved have options: to reject marriage proposals as in the case of a proposed second wife or to seek divorce or khul' (divestiture) as in the case of a present wife who cannot accept to live with a polygamous husband.
While the Qur'an allowed polygamy, it did not allow polyandry (multiple husbands of the same woman). Anthropologically speaking, polyandry is quite rare. Its practice raises thorny problems related to the lineal identity of children, and incompatibility of polyandry with feminine nature.
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