Polygamy 411

There are people that may know very little about Islam.  But there is one thing many seem to know and that is a Muslim man can have four wives.  A Muslim man has the right to practice polygamy.

In Islam Muslim men are permitted to engage in polygamy- to have as many as four wives at the same time.  He is permitted to have one wife and be monogamous or have two, three or four wives and be polygamous.  Nonetheless, the number of wives that a man may have in Islam, if he chooses to practice polygamy, must not exceed four at a time.

A man that practices polygamy is required to deal justly with his wives in all matters that are within his limit, mainly in matters pertaining to maintenance.  He is to divide the time he spends between his wives equally, especially his nights.

SIMPLIFIED DEFINITION OF POLYGAMY IN ISLAM

Speaking from an Islamic perspective, polygamy means a man has more than one wife at a time and the number of wives does not exceed four at a time.

POLYGAMY IN GENERAL

In general, the word “polygamy” has been defined as marriage with more than one spouse at the same time.  One person from one sex marries several persons from another sex simultaneously.  It includes a man that has more than one wife at the same time or a woman that has more than one husband at the same time.

POLYGYNY

“Polygyny“ has been defined as marriage of one man with more than one wife at the same time.

POLYGAMY OR POLYGYNY?

There is no need to debate whether the proper word is “polygamy” or ” polygyny” when referencing Islam.  I am certain no one has ever heard of a Muslim woman having more than one husband at a time-never in Islam.

Arguing “polygamy” and “polygyny” in Islam seems useless and is merely a matter of semantics. We, in Islam, know what polygamy is, so why argue about the words?

POLYGAMY DID NOT BEGIN WITH ISLAM

Islam did not create polygamy.  Polygamy was practiced in varying degrees in different parts of the world, in diverse cultures before Islam was propagated.  Polygamy was practiced by Jews, Christians, Buddhist, and pre-Islamic Arabs, perhaps others as well.  What Islam did was to organize polygamy and restrict it to four wives under strict rules of justice.

There were, there still are, and there will be people that misuse what is given them.  In those cases it is wrong to blame the authority or the giver.  The man that misuses what he is given should be blamed. The man that misuses polygamy will be held accountable.

SOME REASONS MEN PRACTICE POLYGAMY

Numerous reasons have been cited for men to practice polygamy:

There were frequent wars between tribes and nations. These wars resulted in an excess of females over males, as many men were killed in battle.  In order to accommodate the excess number of women to men, polygamy was a remedy. 

Polygamy helped in the rehabilitation of widows and orphans and other women that were left without supporters or husbands, resulting from war.

Polygamy was said to heal the wounded heart of a woman whose husband was killed in battle.

Polygamy was practiced to ensure an increase in the birthrate.  It was necessary for every individual member of a tribe to try to increase the numbers in the tribe to which it belonged.

Polygamy was the solution for women that were helpless and destitute.  A polygamous marriage provided those women with a means of livelihood and protection.

It was considered a chivalrous act to marry as many women as a man could support.

It was considered a huge indignity on a family and the entire tribe, if a female remained unmarried or married below her social status.  Eligible girls of marriageable age had many offers of marriage.  Parents competed with each other in providing enticement in the form of jewelry and property as dower.

Polygamy was a solution in some cases in which a wife was chronically ill, incapacitated, or unable to bear children.

THE NEED FOR POLYGAMY IS NOT OBSOLETE

There are still wars that leave women widowed.

There are still single women that cannot find husbands.

For many women, marriage is their dream. It doesn’t matter whether she is a physician, educator, lawyer or whatever her position may be.  Regardless of how much she excels in her work, for a woman (not all women, of course) her subconscious aim is that of having a family of her own shared by a good man that is the father of her children.

There still are married women that are reproductively challenged (barren).

The Quran was written for all men, for all times. Polygamy is permissible in Islam. 

IS POLYGAMY EASY TO PRACTICE?

Practicing polygamy is probably challenging for anyone that lives it.  Polygamous marriages are not all the same, just as monogamous marriages aren’t all the same.  Neither polygamy nor monogamy is easy, evidenced by the divorce rates.

POLYGAMY 411

At polygamy 411 everyone, Muslims and non-Muslims, are invited and welcomed here.

All are invited to share their stories about their lives and experiences with polygamy.  All are welcomed to read the story of my journey, as I lived and live polygamy, as well.

I pray Allah (Great and Glorious is He) blesses us to become much better Muslims, become ”Believers”, and grow closer to Him.

All of us at polygamy 411 thank you for visiting, reading, and sharing with us!