The implications of the above-cited text are: 1 Justice must be done to orphans because this is what God desires. The writer is an Islamic scholar and professor emerita, University of Louisville. Published in Dawn, November 27th, Read more. On DawnNews. Comments 12 Closed. Popular Newest Oldest. Marquis de Sade.
Nov 27, am. The greatest harm to all religions has been done by people who appoint themselves as the guardians and teachers: priests. And they achieve this by keeping the followers illiterate, thus ensuring that the population is unable to interpret holy texts in a way that is different from the interpretation that is served to them.
Recommend 0. Perfect understanding of Quranic Verse on Poygamy in Islam. Thanks sister Riffat Hassan. Is it polygyny or polygamy? Adnan Mazher Khan. Well written article. Rohit Sen. Very enlightening. Surya Kant. Doing equal justice to all four wive. This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access. Haifaa A. Jawad 1 1. Westhill College Birmingham UK.
Personalised recommendations. Cite chapter How to cite? ENW EndNote. By having an outlet for those natural desires, a person can freely and calmly pursue the real goal in life which is the worship of God. Whether it is a monogamous marriage or a polygamous marriage, this objective remains the same. Furthermore, the four purposes of marriage listed above can apply both in the case of a monogamous marriage and a polygamous marriage.
For instance, if the purpose of marriage is to guard oneself against evils, and this purpose is not being fulfilled with one wife, the husband is given the permission to marry a second wife.
Hazrat Mirza Bahir Ahmad ra explains this scenario as follows:. However, it is possible that a person is confronted with circumstances whereby he is unable to uphold his righteousness and purity, whilst maintaining relations with a sole lady, who happens to undergo periods of menstruation, pregnancy, delivery, suckling, and other forms of ailments, etc. Then, even if by an extraordinary effort he is able to safeguard himself from practical indecency, in the least, one aspect of impurity continues to dominate his thoughts, or perhaps there is a risk of him becoming afflicted by some physical ailment.
Hence, the correct remedy for such a person is none other than polygamy. This is just one example. There can be other situations where any one of the purposes of marriage is not being achieved with one wife. In such circumstances a man may seek remedy for his situation with a second wife. Given the above understanding for the reasoning behind polygamy, critics have raised two important questions:. The answer to the first question is that it takes a great amount of naivety to suggest that men should remain patient all the time and never ever have recourse to having another wife.
This is especially evident in the long line of Prophets in the Bible who were men of God and yet had multiple wives. One critic has taken specific issue with the idea that a man decides to marry a second wife because he is not able to have a male child from the first wife.
He argues that having children is much more important to women as compared to men. If the husband and wife collectively decide that the man should take on a second wife because the first wife is unable to bear children or have a male child, what objections can any critic lay on them?
What moral authority do the critics have over any husband and wife who have decided to do this for their own circumstances and their collective happiness? In fact, this is not just a hypothetical situation.
Women and men have indeed taken this option where the first wife was unable to have children. The man married a second time and was able to have children from the second wife who were loved dearly by the first wife. The fundamental issue at hand is one of intention , not the action itself. The Holy Prophet sa beautifully said:. Islam teaches that all human actions are to be judged by intentions. The fundamental requirement is that Muslims live their lives with Taqwa God Consciousness.
They should be constantly aware that God is watching their actions and will hold them accountable for even their evil thoughts as Allah says in the Quran:. If the husband has a sinister intention in marrying any of his wives, he will be held accountable by Allah. However, if his intention is pure and his decision is taken with Taqwa and with a firm conviction that he is accountable before Allah, no critic should raise any questions from any presumed role of a moral high ground.
Men and women are not identical units. The fact that we are similar also means we are not the same. Because we have deviated from divine design and intent, it is the key reason why many are so conflicted about polygamy.
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