06-23-2006, 12:29 AM
Bismillah:
Quote:What is the Muslim stance on Polygamy. In my University I read in a book that Muslim men are permitted up to 4 wives. Is this still the case? What is the basis/arguement for polygame in the Qur'an?
Yes, a Muslim man is allowed to marry up to 4 wives under the condition that he must deal justly between all of his wives. and yes it is still the case today, and in fact <b>sometimes it is a solution to many problems.</b>
However, the Qur’an <b>is the only religious book</b>, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase<b> ‘marry only one’. </b> There is no other religious book that instructs men to have only one wife. In none of the other religious scriptures, whether it be the Vedas, the Ramayan, the Mahabharat, the Geeta, the Talmud or the Bible does one find a restriction on the number of wives. According to these scriptures one can marry as many as one wishes. <b>It was only later, that the Hindu priests and the Christian Church restricted the number of wives to one.</b>
In earlier times, Christian men were permitted as many wives as they wished, since the Bible puts no restriction on the number of wives. It was only a few centuries ago that the Church restricted the number of wives to one.
Polygyny is also permitted in Judaism. According to Talmudic law, Abraham had three wives, and Solomon had hundreds of wives. The practice of polygyny continued till <b>Rabbi Gershom ben Yehudah </b> (95% C.E to 1030 C.E) issued an edict against it. The Jewish Sephardic communities living in Muslim countries continued the practice till as late as 1950, until an Act of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel extended the ban on marrying more than one wife.
As I mentioned earlier, Qur’an is the only religious book on the face of the earth that says ‘marry only one’. The context of this phrase is the following verse from Surah Nisa of the Glorious Qur’an:
"Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; <b>but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one."</b> [Al-Qur’an 4:3]
Before the Qur’an was revealed, there was no upper limit for polygyny and many men had scores of wives, some even hundreds. Islam put an upper limit of four wives. Islam gives a man permission to marry two, three or four women, only on the condition that he deals justly with them.
In the same chapter it says:
<b>"Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women</b>...[Al-Qur’an 4:129]
Therefore polygyny <b>is not a rule but an exception</b>. Many people are under the misconception that it is compulsory for a Muslim man to have more than one wife. which is wrong.
for any more clarification do let me know.
Salam
Wael.