Polygny: The Sharee‘ah Perspective and Reality

11/04/2011| IslamWeb

A French historian believes that the West should legalize polygny in order to solve its moral problems. Indonesian women demand the legalization of polygny in order to prevent their husbands from having extramarital affairs. Egyptian women consider polygny to be the answer to the problem of unmarried women. Tunisian law prohibits polygny and permits adultery.

The first wife’s consent is not a condition for concluding the second marriage, but it is better to inform her. The issue of polygny is still an issue that concerns many people, both Muslim and non-Muslims. Polygny has always been a much discussed issue among Muslim scholars. Although they all agree on its permissibility, they disagree regarding its acceptable justifications, conditions and considerations. In Egypt, the television drama serial ‘Al-Haaj Mutawalli’ was regarded as an overt call for polygny. It opened the subject for discussion by all segments of the society. Some people believe that polygny can be an answer to the problem of the three million Egyptian spinsters who are over thirty. This figure is according to the last statistic by the National Center for Social and Criminological Research. The television serial provoked the secularists, leftists and women’s liberation activists who used it as a pretext to attack Islam and its teachings. In Tunisia, which is a Muslim country, positive law prohibits second marriages. Newspapers there once issued a story of the arrest of a husband who married a second wife. They were caught together in their flat. During the trial, the lawyer persuaded that man to say that the woman who was with him in the flat was his mistress and not his wife. Based on this, the court set him free!

 

After discovering that a great number of government officials and employees had begun keeping girlfriends and mistresses, many Indonesian women campaigned for annulling a law that had been issued in 1983 which stipulates that governmental employees should not get married to a second wife unless the first one agrees. While, some Muslim states restrict or prohibit polygny, the Christian West, which has been suffering for many centuries because of prohibiting second marriage, has began admitting that they were mistaken in this and are asking for these laws to be amended after adultery and forbidden love have become widespread under the fake slogan of friendship.

 

The French historian Gustave Le Bon says, “The 'Eastern' principle of polygny is a good system for enhancing the moral standards of the nations that adopt it. It boosts good relations among the members of the family and provides a woman with respect and happiness that are not experienced by women in Europe, because the woman gets legally married and does not commit adultery. I do not see the basis on which Europeans found their judgment that polygny is degrading. There are reasons that make me favor this system of polygny to other ones.”

 

Conditions for Polygny

 

The caller to Islam, Shaykh Muhammad Husayn ‘Eesa, says, “Many nations and religions before Islam would allow men to have a great number of wives. Some men were married to tens of women, and others to hundreds, without restrictions or conditions. When Islam came, it specified a number and stipulated a condition. It restricted the maximum number of wives to four. When Ghaylaan Ath-Thaqafi converted to Islam he had ten wives; the Prophet, , said to him: ‘Choose four of them and leave all the others.’”

 

Shaykh ‘Eesaa says that some men had five or eight wives when they embraced Islam, but the Prophet, , forbade this and asked them to keep only four. The Prophet, , had nine wives, but that was exclusive to him for the sake of Da‘wah (Islamic propagation) in his lifetime and for the Ummah (Muslim nation) to keep learning his Sunnah after his death. He adds,

 

The condition that Islam stipulated for polygny is that the polygamist must be able to treat all his wives justly with regard to food, drink, clothing, housing, financial maintenance and spending the night with each of them. It is prohibited for the one who is not sure that he would perform these duties equally to get married to more than one wife. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one} [Quran 4:3] The Prophet, , said: “The one who has two wives and favors one of them over the other, he will come on the Day of Judgment dragging one of his sides, which will be fallen or spilt open.”

 

Shaykh ‘Eesaa says that this Hadeeth warns against denying any of them any of her rights. It does not refer to affection, because affection cannot be controlled, and Allah forgives this. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And you will never be able to be equal [in feeling] between wives, even if you should strive [to do so]. So do not incline completely [toward one]}[Quran 4:129] That is why the Prophet, , would treat his wives equally, and say: “O Allah! This is my division in what I can control, so please pardon me for what You control and I can not.”The Prophet, , was referring to love and feelings. He would draw lots to choose which one of his wives would accompany him when he was traveling. The Prophet, , did this to satisfy them all and avoid stirring up hatred among them. Shaykh ‘Atiyyah Saqr, the ex-chairman of the Fatwa Center in Al-Azhar, says,

 

Polygny was known and widespread in man-made legislations as well as early divine religions. Islam approved of it, provided that the man would not marry more than four wives and that he does not doubt his ability to treat them equally. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice].}[Quran 4:3] Polygny was made lawful for the sake of men as it is agreed that they are, by nature, ready for fertilization at any time and normally yearn for this pleasure.

 

Shaykh ‘Atiyyah Saqr adds, saying, “On the other hand, women are, by nature, not ready for fertilization during pregnancy and during menstruation, which is one fourth of every month until she reaches menopause. During the breastfeeding period, which can be as long as two years, a woman is usually disinterested in having sexual intercourse, except for a period of time every month when the ovum is ready for fertilization. Thus, it is fair and wise for polygny to be lawful, as long as the man can afford it and can be just.”

 

Shaykh Saqr continues,

 

A wife may be unable to give her husband the pleasure that he aspires to, for a reason that is related to her or to her husband, and the husband may not want to divorce her. Also, a wife may be infertile and her husband yearns for a child, just like any man or woman. However, a husband might wish to keep his infertile wife for one reason or another. Moreover, there may be financial, moral or emotional interests that the man would achieve through the second marriage and the man may not want to achieve those interests in an unlawful way. Polygny is also useful for the woman if she is infertile or sick and wants to be kept as a wife, because she would not feel secure if she got divorced. She may be in love with her husband and does not want to be separated from him because it would be an honor to be married to him or because he has some merits that other men might lack. Polygny is also useful for the society as a whole as it helps to care for widows and orphans, especially in times of emergencies. Polygny can protect the society against adultery. It can increase the population of the countries that have an under-population problem. A man is ready for fertilization at all times. By having more than one wife, the amount of offspring would increase. Women, on the other hand, are not ready for fertilization during pregnancy, menstruation, post-partum, and breastfeeding. During pregnancy, and sometimes during breastfeeding as well, she cannot conceive no matter how often she may have intercourse with her husband.

 

Taking the Wife’s Permission

 

Should the husband take the permission of his wife if he wants to marry another one? Shaykh Muhammad Husayn says,

 

Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was married to Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, the daughter of the Prophet, , and wanted to marry the daughter of Abu Jahl, but the Prophet, , refused. He pointed out that the reason for this is that a man should not get married to the daughter of the Prophet, , and the daughter of the enemy of Allah The Almighty at the same time. However, after the death of Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, ‘Ali got married to more than one wife as this reason no longer existed. This story shows that ‘Ali asked for permission before getting married. He did so because of his good manners and not as an obligation or Sharee‘ah ordinance, but we can conclude that it is better for the husband to tell his wife and explain the reasons so that she would help him to continue their life together. This is not a duty and she can not prevent him from getting married again.