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Wisdom polygamy four marriages.

Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Are there any pre-conditions for a Muslim to get into a second marriage? Does he need to take permission from his first wife/wives? Does he require to have any prerequisites (such as money or a second house or a permission or agreement with any person (his parents or relatives or community)) before he can marry a second or third..? Are there any stated reasons in Islam for a person to marry more than once? Does Islam encourage or discourage marrying more than once (specifically in a state where the man has accomplished everything almost from his first wife)? Is it permitted for a muslim to marry more than once just for the sake of lover/lust/desire/etc..?

 

I apologize for the many questions asked above, but these are a collection of questions that have been given to me by a group of friends in our gatherings. I sincerely request for anyone to provide in-depth details on the above questions with references if possible so that we may have the concepts of more than one marriage in Islam clear to all our readers. Jaza’k Allah Khaire.

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

Wisdom polygamy four marriages

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Your Question: Are there any pre-conditions for a Muslim to get into a second marriage?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 3:

3 If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans marry women of your choice two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then only one or (a captive) that your right hands possess. That will be more suitable to prevent you from doing injustice.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 129:

129 Ye are never able to be (totally and absolutely) fair and just as between women even if it is your ardent desire: but turn not away (from a woman) altogether so as to leave her (as it were) hanging (in the air)!. If ye come to a friendly understanding and practice self-restraint Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.

 

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 2128 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Prophet (saws) said: ‘When a man has two wives and he is inclined to one of them, he will come on the Day of resurrection with a side hanging down.’

 

The one and only pre-condition which Allah Subhanah has laid upon the believers who wish to exercise their option to marry more than one wife is that they should be able to deal justly amongst their wives. If one fears that one shall not be able to do justice amongst his wives if he exercises his option to marry more than one wife, then it would be akin to piety that he remain satisfied with only one.

 

Your Question: Does he need to take permission from his first wife/wives?

For the husband to seek the permission of his first wife to marry a second one is neither a requirement nor an obligation in Shariah. If the husband wishes to inform his first wife regarding his intention to take a second wife, it is fine and acceptable….and if for any reason the husband does not wish to inform his first wife, that too is fine and acceptable.

 

Your Question: Does he require to have any prerequisites (such as money or a second house or a permission or agreement with any person (his parents or relatives or community)) before he can marry a second or third..?

Unless the second wife herself and of her own free will gives up her right, the husband would obviously be liable to bear the complete financial burden of her upkeep, including her housing, her clothing, her food, her expenses, etc.

 

Provided all the obligatory conditions of a ‘nikaah’ are fulfilled (proposal by one party and acceptance by the other, the determination of the ‘mehr’, the presence of at least two witnesses, and the consent of the bride’s parents)….there is absolutely no obligation upon the husband in Shariah to take the permission or consent of anyone if he intends to marry more than one wife.

 

Your Question: Are there any stated reasons in Islam for a person to marry more than once? Does Islam encourage or discourage marrying more than once (specifically in a state where the man has accomplished everything almost from his first wife)? Is it permitted for a muslim to marry more than once just for the sake of lover/lust/desire/etc..?

There are absolutely no stated reasons in Shariah for one to exercise their option to marry for a second or third or fourth time.

 

The very nature bestowed by the Lord upon men is polygamous, as opposed to the nature bestowed upon women, who are inherently monogamous. Just as every individual does not have the exact same level of appetite to consume food, not every individual has been bestowed with the same level of sexual desire and appetite; thus it is very possible that one amongst men has a much larger appetite for sex than the other, and that would be absolutely normal and natural. Islam has recognized the polygamous nature of men and allowed such men to lawfully fulfill their natural desire through the sacred institution of marriage, rather than transgress the prescribed boundaries of the Lord and approach the unlawful.

 

Your Statement: I apologize for the many questions asked above

Respected brother in Islam, never ever hesitate or apologize for asking any questions in the deen; for the deen or ‘way of life’ called Al-Islam is based on the Perfect Wisdom and Knowledge of the All Knowing Lord, and every single command of the All Wise Lord is abundant in common-sense and logic. Asking any type of questions in Islam to gain more knowledge, or to confirm the Truth so that one’s heart is more content, or to understand and thus follow with more conviction the dictates of the deen is not only permissible, but absolutely encouraged in Islam. It is the right of the brother or sister to ask anything they wish to clarify in the deen; and it is the responsibility and duty of the good scholars to address the question asked to the best of their knowledge and ability, and in the most polite and humble manner.

 

What is discouraged in Islam is if one asks questions for the sake of asking, or arguing to ridicule the Truth with absolutely no intention of obeying or following when the Truth is made clear to them, etc. But if one asks questions to clarify and seek knowledge so that one may better follow the deen; such seeking of the Knowledge of Truth is absolutely encouraged in Islam

 

Your Question: …..but these are a collection of questions that have been given to me by a group of friends in our gatherings. I sincerely request for anyone to provide in-depth details on the above questions with references if possible so that we may have the concepts of more than one marriage in Islam clear to all our readers.

Please find below an answer to this frequently asked question from the website of our beloved and respected brother and teacher, and one of the most respected scholars in Islam in this day and age, Dr. Brother Zakir Naik of Islamic Research Foundation, India.

 

1. POLYGAMY


Question:

Why is a man allowed to have more than one wife in Islam? i.e. why is polygamy allowed in Islam?

Answer:


Definition of Polygamy
Polygamy means a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two types. One is polygamy where a man marries more than one woman, and the other is polyandry, where a woman marries more than one man. In Islam, limited polygamyy is permitted; whereas polyandry is completely prohibited.


Now coming to the original question, why is a man allowed to have more than one wife?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 3 (part):

3 If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then only one.

 

The Qur’an is the only religious scripture in the world that says,"marry only one".

The Qur’an is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase ‘marry only one’. 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. It was only later, that the Hindu priests and the Christian Church restricted the number of wives to one.

Many Hindu religious personalities, according to their scriptures, had multiple wives. King Dashrat, the father of Rama, had more than one wife. Krishna had several wives.

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.

Polygamy is permitted in Judaism. According to Talmudic law, Abraham had three wives, and Solomon had hundreds of wives. The practice of polygamy continued till Rabbi Gershom ben Yehudah (960 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.


Hindus are more polygamous than Muslims

The report of the ‘Committee of The Status of Woman in Islam’, published in 1975 mentions on page numbers 66 and 67 that the percentage of polygamous marriages between the years 1951 and 1961 was 5.06% among the Hindus and only 4.31% among the Muslims. According to Indian law only Muslim men are permitted to have more than one wife. It is illegal for any non-Muslim in India to have more than one wife. Despite it being illegal, Hindus have more multiple wives as compared to Muslims. Earlier, there was no restriction even on Hindu men with respect to the number of wives allowed. It was only in 1954, when the Hindu Marriage Act was passed that it became illegal for a Hindu to have more than one wife. At present it is the Indian Law that restricts a Hindu man from having more than one wife and not the Hindu scriptures.

Let us now analyse why Islam allows a man to have more than one wife.


Qur’an permits limited polygamy

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; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one."

[Al-Qur’an 4:3]

 

Before the Qur’an was revealed, there was no upper limit for polygamy 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 i.e. Surah Nisa verse 129 says:

 

"Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women...."

[Al-Qur’an 4:129]

 

Therefore polygamy is not a rule but an exception. It is not an order or commandment, but rather something which is permitted. Many people are under the misconception that it is compulsory for a Muslim man to have more than one wife.

Broadly, Islam has five categories of Do’s and Don’ts:

i.        Fard’ i.e. compulsory or obligatory

ii.       Mustahab’ i.e. recommended or encouraged

iii.     Mubah’ i.e. permissible or allowed

iv.    Makruh’ i.e. not recommended or discouraged

v.      Haraam’ i.e. prohibited or forbidden

Polygamy falls in the middle category of things that are permissible. It cannot be said that a Muslim who has two, three or four wives is a better Muslim as compared to a Muslim who has only one wife.


Average life span of females is more than that of males

By nature males and females are born in approximately the same ratio. A female child has more immunity than a male child. A female child can fight the germs and diseases better than the male child. For this reason, during the pediatric age itself there are more deaths among males as compared to the females.

During wars, there are more men killed as compared to women. More men die due to accidents and diseases than women. The average life span of females is more than that of males, and at any given time one finds more widows in the world than widowers.


India has more male population than female due to female foeticide and infanticide

India is one of the few countries, along with the other neighbouring countries, in which the female population is less than the male population. The reason lies in the high rate of female infanticide in India, and the fact that more than one million female foetuses are aborted every year in this country, after they are identified as females. If this evil practice is stopped, then India too will have more females as compared to males.

World female population is more than male population

In the USA, women outnumber men by 7.8 million. New York alone has one million more females as compared to the number of males, and of the male population of New York one-third are gays i.e sodomites. The U.S.A as a whole has more than twenty-five million gays. This means that these people do not wish to marry women. Great Britain has four million more females as compared to males. Germany has five million more females as compared to males. Russia has nine million more females than males. God alone knows how many million more females there are in the whole world as compared to males.

 

Restricting each and every man to have only one wife is not practical

Even if every man got married to one woman, there would still be more than thirty million females in U.S.A who would not be able to get husbands (considering that America has twenty five million gays). There would be more than four million females in Great Britain, 5 million females in Germany and nine million females in Russia alone who would not be able to find a husband.

Suppose my sister happens to be one of the unmarried women living in USA, or suppose your sister happens to be one of the unmarried women in USA. The only two options remaining for her are that she either marries a man who already has a wife or becomes public property. There is no other option. All those who are modest will opt for the first.

In Western society, it is common for a man to have mistresses and/or multiple extra-marital affairs, in which case, the woman leads a disgraceful, unprotected life. The same society, however, cannot accept a man having more than one wife, in which women retain their honourable, dignified position in society and lead a protected life.

Thus the only two options before a woman who cannot find a husband is to marry a married man or to become public property. Islam prefers giving women the honourable position by permitting the first option and disallowing the second.

There are several other reasons, why Islam has permitted limited polygyny, but it is mainly to protect the modesty of women.

 

POLYANDRY


Question:

If a man is allowed to have more than one wife, then why does Islam prohibit a woman from having more than one husband?

Answer:

A lot of people, including some Muslims, question the logic of allowing Muslim men to have more than one spouse while denying the same ‘right’ to women.

Let me first state emphatically, that the foundation of an Islamic society is justice and equity. Allah has created men and women as equal, but with different capabilities and different responsibilities. Men and women are different, physiologically and psychologically. Their roles and responsibilities are different. Men and women are equal in Islam, but not identical.

 

Surah Nisa’ Chapter 4 verses 22 to 24 gives the list of women with who you can not marry and it is further mentions in Surah Nisa’ Chapter 4 verse 24 "Also (prohibited are) women already married"

 

The following points enumerate the reasons why polyandry is prohibited in Islam:

·         If a man has more than one wife, the parents of the children born of such marriages can easily be identified. The father as well as the mother can easily be identified. In case of a woman marrying more than one husband, only the mother of the children born of such marriages will be identified and not the father. Islam gives tremendous importance to the identification of both parents, mother and father. Psychologists tell us that children who do not know their parents, especially their father, undergo severe mental trauma and disturbances. Often they have an unhappy childhood. It is for this reason that the children of prostitutes do not have a healthy childhood. If a child born of such wedlock is admitted in school, and when the mother is asked the name of the father, she would have to give two or more names! I am aware that recent advances in science have made it possible for both the mother and father to be identified with the help of genetic testing. Thus this point which was applicable for the past may not be applicable for the present.

 

·         Man is more polygamous by nature as compared to a woman.

 

·         Biologically, it is easier for a man to perform his duties as a husband despite having several wives. A woman, in a similar position, having several husbands, will not find it possible to perform her duties as a wife. A woman undergoes several psychological and behavioral changes due to different phases of the menstrual cycle.

 

·         A woman who has more than one husband will have several sexual partners at the same time and has a high chance of acquiring venereal or sexually transmitted diseases which can also be transmitted back to her husband even if all of them have no extra-marital sex. This is not the case in a man having more than one wife, and none of them having extra-marital sex.

·         The above reasons are those that one can easily identify. There are probably many more reasons why Allah, in His Infinite Wisdom, has prohibited polyandry.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzaab verse 36:

It does not behove a believing man and a believing woman that when Allah and His Messenger have given their decision in a matter, they should exercise an option in that matter of theirs. For whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, has indeed strayed into manifest error.

 

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan

 


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