Family Life

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?

Adapted from the book: "Why Polygamy is Allowed in Islam?" by: "al-Hajj Ahmad H. Sheriff"