Why Polygamy Allowed in Islam

Does Polygamy Encourage Sensuality?

The above quotation has brought us to the 34next objection of the Christian priests, that polygamy encourages lust and sensuality. We have already shown by arithmetical calculations and historical facts that the system of monogamy has compelled and is compelling millions and millions of unfortunate girls to live immoral life, and these writers still have the cheek to tell us that polygamy (which is the only cure to this malady) leads to sensuality!

The following paragraphs, taken from Polygamy in Islam, give us a fair picture of Western monogamy:-

"Islam allows its followers legal marriage in addition to the first one and, having allowed fullest possible legitimate outlet to the sex impulse, it prescribes very severe and deterent punishment for adultery, because adultery destroys peace, harmony, tranquillity prevailing in homes, throws doubt on the fatherhood of children and legitimacy of inheritance, and ultimately results in broken homes, ruined families and dissolutions of marriages.

"In Europe and America, it is just the other way about, and they have solved the problem of sexual outlet in a peculiar way. They have allowed women full and free inter-mixing with strangers of opposite sex in the name of so-called emancipation of women, and this has resulted in over-increasing cases of fornication and adultery.

Bertrand Russell says, `With the growth of women's freedom there has come a much greater opportunity for conjugal infidelity than existed in former times. The opportunity gives rise to the thought; the thought gives rise to the desire and in the absence of religious scruples, the desire gives rise to the act.

'( Marriage and Morals, p.72) "The result is that the men and women born during the present century is the so-called civilized Europe and America do not believe that fornication and extra-martial relations as such are a sin. There is neither internal nor external control in matters of sex. Conjugal fidelity is not expected now-a-days. The sexual revolution is in full swing.

"Of course, polygamy is considered an infringement of the rights of women, but practically these monogamists go on practising surrep titious, clandestine and underhand polygamy by defiling secretly the wives, daughters and sisters of other people.

Polygamy is considered an evil but left-handed wives are kept without any scruples. No eye-brows are lifted on sexual promiscuity. Enticement is provided by seminude dresses, freedom of intermixing with strangers of opposite sex, posters showing nude women, sex symbols, sex-insinuating material and obscenity in cinemas where physical contours move in synchronisation with seductive and vulgar music." (pp.9-11)

Mrs. Annie Besant worte on this subject:- "There is pretended monogamy in the West, but there is real polygamy without responsibility.

The mistress is cast off when the man is weary of her and she sinks gradually to be the woman of the street: for the first lover has no responsibility for her future: and she is hundred times worse off than a sheltered wife and the mother in the polygamous home.

When we see thousands of miserable women, who crowd the streets of Western towns during the night, we must surely feel that it does not lie in Western mouths to reproach Islam for its polygamy. It is better for a woman, happier for a woman, more respectable for a woman to live in Islamic polygamy united to one man only with the legitimate child in her arms and surrounded with respect, than to be seduced, cast out in the streets perhaps with an illegitimate child, outside the pale of law, un-sheltered and uncared for, to become a victim of any passerby, night after night, rendered incapable of motherhood, despised by all."

George Bernard Shaw advised the people of Europe to adopt the system of polygamy to save Europe from inundation of adultery.

Another Western writer, J.E. McFarlance, writes in his The Case for Polygamy or The Case Against the System of Monogamous Marriage:- "Whether the question is considered socially, ethically or religiously; it can be demonstrated that polygamy is not contrary to the highest standards of civilization. The suggestion offers a practical remedy for the Western problems to destitute families; the alternative is continued and increased prostitution, concubinage and distressing spinsterhood."

A Bishop from lbadan (Nigeria), Rev. Odotula, in a religious conference held in Toronto, shed another light on this subject. He said: "The West by prohibiting; the law of (polygamy) act with hypocrisy, as by frequent divorces they have in fact been practising this custom." And that Bishop is not alone. Even as early as last century the Christian clergy had realized that Islamic polygamy is infinitely better than the Western monogamy. Rev. Canon Issac Taylor, LL. D. speaking on `Mohamedanism' at the Church congress at Wolverhampton, on 7th October, 1887, said:-

"Owing to polygamy, Muslim countries are free from professional out-casts, a greater reproach to Christendom than polygamy is to Islam. The strictly regulated polygamy of Muslim lands is infinitely less degrading to women and less injurious to men than the promiscuous polyandry which is the curse of Christian cities, and which is absolutely unknown in Islam." (The Times, London, Saturday, 8th Oct., 1887) And recently, such a personality as

Dr. Billy Graham said:-

"Christianity cannot but compromise on the question of polygamy. If present day Christianity cannot do so, it is to its own detriment. Islam has permitted polygamy as a solution to social ills, and has allowed a certain degree of latitude to human nature but only within the strictly defined framework of law.

Christian countries make a great show of monogamy, but actually they practice polygamy. No one is unaware of the part mistresses play in Western society. In this respect Islam is a fundamentally honest religion, and permits a Muslim to marry a second wife if he must be strictly forbidden all clandestine amatory associations in order to safeguard the moral policy of the community."

(quoted in The Position of Woman in Islam, published by the Islamic Foundation, Karachi)

Does Polygamy Injure The Feelings of Woman?

The third objection is that polygamy has social disadvantages, and injures the delicate feelings of women. We have already seen that far from creating social disadvantages, polygamy cures the social disadvantages, and that it is the pretended monogamy which is the rootcause of the vast array of the social abuses in the Western countries.

Now, we may briefly explain the subject of the supposed injury to the delicate feelings of the women. One wonders if the prevalent permissiveness of the Christian countries does not injure the delicate feelings of the wives who see their husbands flirting with all types of `emancipated' women.

So far as Islamic societies are concerned.

the instances are not uncommon, where a wife herself persuades the husband to marry a second wife. Often, she herself chooses the bride-to-be.

The writings of Westerners do not carry any weight on this subject, because they do not live in a Muslim society, and whatever they write is based on mere presumption and imagination. If there is to be any discussion on this subject, it must be based on the data gathered from Islamic societies.

According to the Ittila'at (daily), Tehran, (no.13114), "A man with his three wives approached the Matrimonial Tribunal to seek their permission to marry a fourth wife. All three existing wives recommended and approved the intended marriage. The reporter of Ittila'at approached the mother of the wife-to-be, to investigate the background of this incident.

He learnt that in that village there were 2000 women compared to 400 males (half of them still below fourteen years of age). The wouldbe mother-in-law preferred to give her daughter to a man already having three wives to the alternative of keeping her unmarried for the rest of her life."

The same paper (no.13075) published the following news:-

"A young wife who did not bear children and, as a result, was very much distressed, approached the Matrimonial Tribunal and asked them to persuade her husband to take a second wife. `Do not think that I do not love my husband, or that there is no accord between us. On the contrary, because of my deep love to him, I do not want him to remain without child, due to no fault of his own. I have tried to persuade him to marry another wife, but he does not agree.

Therefore, I request this Tribunal to intervene. I solemnly pledge to live in harmony and with co-operation with the second wife.' " The same newspaper (no.13091) reported another woman saying:-

"Some years ago, my husband married me so that the two sons of his late brother do not remain without a guardian. Later we had a child of our own, but he died after one month only. My husband is younger than me; and I resolved to find for him a younger wife. Now I have succeeded in getting him married to another girl."

These are a few examples to show that polygamy does not injure the feeling of the wives. Of course, there are instances of discord and disputes in a polygamous household. But they are neither more nor less than the discords and disputes in a monogamous household.

Will the Western writers suggest to abolish the institution of `Marriage' because it creates domestic troubles, disputes and discords, which sometimes result in divorce?

Polygamy VS. Family Planinng

This objection is based on short-sightedness. In Islam, the husband is responsible to maintain his wife or wives and all his children. It is an obligation which must be fulfilled in all circumstances.

If a husband follows the tenets of Islam, he is bound to think twice before entering a new marriage whether he would be able to meet his financial and other obligations concerning the new wife and her off-spring. If his financial condition is not strong, he has to refrain from the new marriage. Therefore, the question of `economic problems' does not arise at all.

Thus, in the words of John Davenport:-

"Mohammed, therefore, did but legalize a practice not only honoured but even blessed by God himself, under the old dispensation, and declared to be lawful and honourable under the new one; and, consequently, he must be exonerated from the charge of having sanctioned polygamy, and thereby encouraged licentiousness." (An Apology for Mohammed and the Koran p.159)

Before ending this booklet, I would like to quote here a letter written by an African Mr. S.M. Werottere of Karatina (Kenya) which was published in the Sunday Post (Nairobi) of 19th August, 1973. He writes:-

"POLYGAMY OR PROSTITUTION?"

"IN A SURVEY to find out the cause of the increase of prostitution and continued marriage breakages in Nyeri District, I have discovered various reasons. But one that caught my attention is that women out-numbered men.

"It will be interesting to note that except in very few families, girls are more than boys in most cases; 5-3, 4-3, 2-l, 6-2, 4-1 and so on. These figures indicate that women are, roughly, two thirds of the country's population. "Normally, it is a boy that approaches a girl when he considers it fit to marry her; a girl simply waits to be consulted by anyone who may be interested in her.

"It is a common belief, especially in Christian circles, that the system of `one man, one wife' should be maintained. That would mean that `one half' of girls would never be married. The Church has remained mute as to where the half of the girl population should go.

"The Church teaches that the Bible directs a man should have, one wife. Yet we know of some holy men in the Bible that were poly gamous. There seems to exist some contradic48 tions, anyway.

"Indeed, people appreciate present Government efforts to control human population by introducing Family Planning services; they com mend some religious institutions, for example Muhammedans, who allow polygamy to their followers.

"Through experience, we now know that although the system of `one man, one wife'- is aimed at having peaceful families, a good many families in this category have not justified the situation. Some have even divorced or are separated.

"We cannot deny that `one half of the girls' (or even more) are without husbands. We have not been able to direct them on how to face life - especially as we arc already aware that life is too brutal to them. Particularly when the majority of young girls lack skills to enable them earn a living.

"The Church priests, the peasants, the economists, the administrators and others quietly admit that the unmarried women should struggle to survive even if it is by prostitution, perhaps (?). `It is time,' one man told me, `that the Christian churches examined the present state of affairs and relax the `one man, one wife' rule to help save the situation now facing the world.' "And one Christian woman told me: `I won't mind being a second wife of a man I love.

Life becomes hopeless when a woman doesn't have a man's protection. It is better than remaining unmarried.'

"Said a known prostitute: `When I got my baby boy and took five years without getting married, day to day problems pushed me towards prostitution. I have no choice; I can be second or third wife if consulted. Life has been very insecure.'

"One Christian minister told me that although he agreed that polygamy would reduce prostitution to a certain degree, he does not believe that it would serve the situation fully. He maintains further that with family planning, the problem would be saved in future. He had no answer as to what would be done to the problem at present.

"In general, the majority of the people I have talked to - married or not - want the Church to reconsider its stand so that people can be free to choose between polygamy and monogamy, depending on one's wealth." (Sunday Post, Nairobi)

And with this quotation, I close this booklet, hoping that the readers will fully appreciate

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