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Polygyny
Under category :
Refuting Misconceptions about Women in Islam
3104
2010/09/26
2024/11/05
polygyny is one of the most questioned principles that islam grants men and women. indeed, many people wrongfully accuse islam of injustice because it allows a man to have up to four wives. nevertheless, like every instruction in the quran, polygyny has a reason. you see, islam is a practical religion that acknowledges the needs and temptations of human beings and provides laws that deal with them, thus preserving harmony and morality.
· polygyny might be the solution for a couple if the wife is barren, the husband wants children of his own and the option of separation does not appeal to both parties.
· if a woman is chronically ill and is unable to perform her marital duties. polygyny may also be the solution when the couple does not want divorce.
· polygyny is the religion's answer to cases where some men have excessive sexual needs that cannot be fulfilled by one wife. this in no way means that men should abuse this right and use it whenever they fancy a woman. it is rather a chance islam has provided to prevent men from committing adultery. many people who condemn polygyny cheat on their wives, calling this phenomenon a 'swift affair.' islam, at least, has offered the second woman the option of being called 'a wife' rather than 'a mistress', especially in some countries where women remarkably outnumber men.
· polygyny may settle the problem of an increased number of unmarried women, especially during wars.
however, polygyny has some limits and conditions to be met. indeed, the quran instructs the man to be fair with his wives on all levels, including treatment, money, house, etc. the only level where the man may have an uneven stance is the level of the feelings that he cannot control:
allaah says (what means): {you will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire, so do not incline too much to one of them [by giving her more of your time and provision] so as to leave the other hanging [i.e. neither divorced nor married]. and if you do justice, and do all that is right and fear allaah by keeping away from all that is wrong, then allaah is ever-forgiving and all-merciful.} [quran 4:129]
finally, it is worth knowing that islam gives a woman the right to refuse polygyny for her husband by setting it as a condition during the marriage procedures. if this condition is set, then the woman is granted divorce if her husband marries another while he is still married to her.
you might ask, why could not there be polyandry (a woman having more than one husband)? the answer is simple. islam did not allow it because allaah is all-aware that it will create a problem of kinship. this means that the child may not know who is actually his father (it could be anyone of the four husbands). in addition to the psychological damage it may cause, this problem also complicates the issue of inheritance. even birds and animals do not allow polyandry.
