Polygyny in Islam

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Part of a series on the Islamic Jurisprudence – a discipline of Islamic studies

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This is a sub-article to Polygyny and Islamic marital jurisprudence

In Islam, polygamy is allowed and practised under certain restricted conditions. Muslim men are allowed to practise polygyny and can have more than one wife at the same time, up to a total of four. Muslim women are not allowed to practise polyandry.

Although many Muslim countries have Islamic law (sharia) which permits polygyny, certain elements within Islam challenge its acceptability. See this discussion on the extent to which states can and do recognize these forms as valid.

Polygamy for Muslims, in practice and law, differs greatly throughout the Islamic world, where polygamous marriages constitute only 1–3% of all marriages.^[1] In some Muslim countries, polygamy is relatively common, while in others, it is rare or non-existent. Tunisia, for example, is an Arab country where polygamy is not legal.

Contents 1 Historical context 2 Qur'an 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Historical context

Unrestricted polygamy existed in pre-Islamic Arabia.^[2] It was, reportedly, practiced by Hebrew patriarchs in the Old Testament such as David, Moses, Abraham, and Jacob (See Polygamy in Judaism and Christianity).

Polygamy was the standard practice of most Muslim world powers until the 20th century. Most famously the Ottoman sultans had an extensive harem of wives and concubines which ensured the biological continuation of the dynasty.^{[citation needed]} This helped prevent the dynastic struggles and wars that plagued western European monarchies when no legitimate heir was produced. It did, however, contribute to intense rivalries between the women of the harem, each seeking to promote her own son to the throne. For individual examples see Hurrem, Kösem and Turhan Hadice.

[edit] Qur'an

The Qur'an addresses guardians of the orphans to marry the mothers of the orphans that are lawful to them if they fear that they would not be able to do justice to the onerous responsibility of protecting the rights of the orphans and taking care of their wealth and property. Men are allowed to engage in polygamy with two conditions:^[3]

1. Even for as noble an objective as the welfare of orphans, a person cannot marry more than four wives.
2. If a person is not able to deal justly with all four wives he should not marry more than the number he can be just with. Justice is a value that has to be maintained at all costs and cannot be sacrificed even for such a noble cause.^{[citation needed]}

As the Qur'an states:^[3]

Qur'an encourages wives to adjust and adapt to the situation, but in spite of the wife's efforts, if the family does not remain intact then it is not her responsibility. As the Qur'an says:^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ The New Encyclopedia of Islam(2002), AltaMira Press. ISBN 0-7591-0189-2 . p.477
2. ^ Khadduri, Majid (Spring, 1978). "Marriage in Islamic Law: The Modernist Viewpoints". The American Journal of Comparative Law 26 (2): 213–218. doi:10.2307/839669. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, Mizan, Chapter:The Social Law of Islam, Al-Mawrid
4. ^ Amin Ahsan Islahi, Tadabbur-i-Qur'an, 2nd ed., vol. 2, (Lahore: Faran Foundation, 1986), p. 400

[edit] See also

• Nikah Misyar
• widow inheritance

[edit] External links

• Why Polygamy Is Allowed In Islam?