Why Does Islam Permit Polygamy?

Polygamy is a form of marriage wherein a person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two types. The first type is called polygamy can be two types. The first type is called polygamy, where a man marries more than one woman, and the other is polyandry, where a woman marries more than one man. In Islam, a limited form of polygamy is permitted, whereas polyandry is completely prohibited.

In contrast to Islam, one will not find a limit for the number of wives in the Jewish Talmud or the Christian Bible. According to these scriptures, there is no limit to how many women a man may marry. Therefore, polygamy is not something exclusive to Islam but was practiced by early Christians and Jews as well. According to the Talmud, Abrahm had three wives, while King Solomon had hundreds of wives. The practice of polygamy continued in Judaism until Rabbi Gershom ben Yehudah (955-1030CE) issued an edict against it. The Jewish Sephardi communities continued the practice until as late as 1950, when an act of the chief Rabbinate of Israel extended the ban on marrying more than one wife, thus prohibiting the practice for all Jews. In the early teachings of Christianity, men were permitted to take as many wives as they wished, since the Bible placed no limit on the number of wives, a man could marry. It was only in recent centuries that the Church limited the number of wives to one.

At a time when men were permitted an unlimited number of wives, Islam limited the number to a maximum of four. Before the Holy Quran was revealed, there was no upper limit for polygamy and many men had scores of wives. It gives a man permission to marry two, three or four women, on the strict condition that he deals with all of them equitably, benevolently and justly, as indicated by Almighty Allah’s statement:

فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا فَوَاحِدَةً

… Then if you fear that you cannot keep two women equally then marry only one… [Nisa 4:3]

It is not incumbent upon Muslims to practice polygamy. In Islam, taking an additional wife is neither encouraged nor prohibited. Furthermore, a Muslim who has two, three or Wives may not be a better Muslim as compared to a Muslim who has only one wife.

Although it is found in many religious and cultural traditions, polygamy is most often identified with Islam in the minds of westerners. In fact, the Glorious Quran and Islamic Law sought to control and regulate the number of spouses rather than give free license. The Holy Quran allows a man to marry up to four wives, provided he can support and treat them all equally. Muslims regard this Quranic command as strengthening the status of women and the family, for it sought to ensure the welfare of single women and widows in a society whose male population was diminished by warfare, and to curb unrestricted polygamy.

There are certain circumstances which warrant the taking of another wife. For example, if there is a surplus of unmarried women in a society, especially during times of war when widows are in need of shelter and care. Infant mortality rates among males are higher when compared to that of females. During wars, there are usually more men killed than women. The average life span of females is also generally longer than that of males. As a result at any given time in practically any given place, there is a shortage of men in comparison to women. Therefore, even if every single man got married to one woman, there would be millions of women who would still not be able to find a husband.

In western society, it is common for a man to have girlfriends or mistresses, or if he is married, to have extramarital affairs. Seldom is this practice ridiculed, despite the harms that stem from it. At the same time, polygamy is banned in western society although it produces none of these adverse effects; rather it preserves the honor and chastity of women. Within a second, third or fourth marriage the woman is a wife, not a mistress; she has a husband who is obligated by Islamic law to provide for her and her children, not a ‘boyfriend’ who may one day cast her aside or deny knowing her if she becomes pregnant.

There is no doubt that a second wife who is lawfully married and treated with honor is better off than a mistress without any legal rights or social respect. Islam strictly prohibits and penalizes prostitution, fornication, and adultery and permits polygamy under strict conditions.