Why do muslims allowed to practice polygamy

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. The man married a second time and was able to have children from the second wife who were loved dearly by the first wife. The fundamental issue at hand is one of intention , not the action itself. The Holy Prophet sa beautifully said:.

Islam teaches that all human actions are to be judged by intentions. The fundamental requirement is that Muslims live their lives with Taqwa God Consciousness. They should be constantly aware that God is watching their actions and will hold them accountable for even their evil thoughts as Allah says in the Quran:.

If the husband has a sinister intention in marrying any of his wives, he will be held accountable by Allah. However, if his intention is pure and his decision is taken with Taqwa and with a firm conviction that he is accountable before Allah, no critic should raise any questions from any presumed role of a moral high ground.

Men and women are not identical units. The fact that we are similar also means we are not the same. Because we have deviated from divine design and intent, it is the key reason why many are so conflicted about polygamy. The way men are wired by God, two husbands to one wife is bound to cause conflict and violence in the family and in the society at large.

The lineage of each child would almost always be a suspect despite DNA testing. Islam is a universal religion and rules are made keeping in mind the greater good of society and the community.

From the perspective of a woman, if the objectives of her marriage are not being fulfilled, Islam allows her recourse through divorce, and to find another husband. That is the path which will bring her far greater benefits as compared to having two or more husbands. Why does Islam allow polygamy? Let us explore why Islam permits a man to have up to four wives. Not a Rule! Other reasons for polygamy While the primary reason for multiple marriages provided in the Quran is to take care of orphans, there can arise other situations where a second wife may be sought.

Rulings change with time, place and context—this is what happened in the example above. However, in the case of polygamy, we seem reluctant to do so, perhaps because it involves disadvantaging men. In another situation, we would welcome the change if it brings us convenience, and rarely do we hear protests that we are changing Islam.

He responded that there are three elements to address this question:. Another renowned 20 th century Tunisian scholar al-Tahir al-Haddad , who was a reformist and famous for his book Our Women and the Shariah and Society , maintained that polygamy should be abolished altogether. In pre-Islamic Arabia, women were exploited through polygamy, as men were allowed to marry an unrestricted number of women.

This practice was restricted during the revelation by limiting the number of wives to only four, and by obligating husbands to be just to all their co-wives. And He has placed between you compassion and mercy. If we want to understand polygamy better, it is important to trace the context in which the relevant verses were revealed, along with the cultural norms and environment at that time.

Polygamy is mentioned in Surah a n -Nisa in the context of protecting widows and orphans and ensuring justice for them, as men used to marry widows and treat them unjustly. The literature on the circumstances of the revelation of this verse shows that it was revealed after the Battle of Uhud in A. D, where a great number of Muslim women were widowed after their husbands were killed in the war. In this particular case, widows who were immigrants from Mecca did not have families to support them, so they married men with existing wives for protection.

This gives us an indication that marriage was the principal social protection system in that era. But the juristic tradition that came much later did not give proper attention to the aforementioned context. Instead, jurists stipulated that polygamy is a permissible practice in general.

Yasser Selmi, an Egyptian researcher and preacher, stated in an interview to the Raseef22 website that polygamy should not be abolished, but rather restricted. Several countries have introduced laws that place conditions on the practice. Second, because polygamy is not a right, Allah placed conditions on its practice.

There is an overriding concern for justice in this short verse, and conditions are set to ensure that justice is done. Third, it is often forgotten that there was a socio-historical context within which the verse was revealed. That context was a period of tragedy in Islam after the battle of Uhud, when dozens of men from the still formative Muslim community in Medina were killed in one day.

Numerous women and children were left without support. To deal with this problem, Allah revealed the verse permitting men to be polygamous. Given the tragedy of the battle of Uhud, Allah could have sanctioned the existing practice of unlimited polygyny; but instead, while allowing men to be polygynous, Allah restricted the number to four. We wish to emphasize that the clear intention in the Qur'an is to restrict polygyny.

Unfortunately, in practice, the restrictions imposed in the Qur'an have often not been applied, and the context within which the verse was revealed has been completely overlooked. By stressing the need for just conduct toward women and the need for equal treatment of each wife and recognizing the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of doing so , this verse, in fact advocates monogamy as the original and ideal state of marriage in Islam.

Another interpretation concludes:. Muhammed Asadi, a contemporary author and independent rationalist scholar of Islam, has published an extensive Web site and several books arguing, for example, that Islam and science are complementary. He views Islam as more progressive than other world religions in regard to women. Polygamy is only encouraged by the Koran where it concerns "oppressed or the orphans among women" , if justice can be done by marrying more than one.

If justice cannot be done by marrying more than one from among the "oppressed yatama " class of women, then the Koran suggests monogamy as the ONLY acceptable marriage bond in Islam. As a political party in opposition in Pakistan, the statements of the Jamaat-I Islami can be seen as part of an ideology for changing Pakistani society if they come to power.

One may observe that, although it has been abused in some times and some places, polygamy has under certain circumstances a valuable function. In some situations it may be considered as the lesser of two evils, and in other situations it may even be positively beneficial arrangement.