Prohibition of polygamy

Polygamy is allowed as a way to thoroughly eliminate extramarital sexual pleasure in Islam, which strictly prohibits everything from something minor such as sight and touch to something major as intercourse. The basis for allowing polygamy is that any sexual intercourse with more than one woman should be done only through marriage. The fact that polygamy existed widely in all civilizations and that the prophets mentioned as role models in the Bible and the Qur’an, the acharyas and incarnated personalities mentioned in the legends and myths, and many of the modern thinkers who lived as materialists were polygamists denote that polygamy is inevitable for at least some who want to live a sacred life. What Islam did was regulate the practice of polygamy, which existed rampantly, and lay down rules in the field in such a way that women were never oppressed. Laws that give people the freedom to contact any number of people for sexual pleasure, and stipulate that only one person can be a spouse will only create immorality in society.

The reality is that polygamy is the only solution among those who decide not to have extra-marital sexual relations, for both personal imperatives such as impotence of the spouse, terminal diseases, infertility, and social imperatives including protection of orphans, protection of widows, increase in the female population, and taking in war widows. According to sexual psychology, men are polygamous by nature. What Islam did was just acknowledge this fact. Islam does not encourage polygamy or encourage men to do so. It is only that Islam, being a natural religion, accepts it as a natural necessity for some of those who wish to lead a moral life.

Forbidding what is permitted by Allah (polygamy) to eliminate extramarital sex and to safeguard widows and orphans within a family environment, and allowing what is banned (the possibility of extramarital affairs), Muslims fear that there will be a surge of immorality and violence in society. The sexual anarchy, moral and psychological issues due to the breakdown of family institutions, and crimes committed against women, all of which can be widely found in societies that prohibit what Islamic Shari’ah approved and allow what it forbade, solely vindicate this fear. It is only by allowing polygamy can all women live as authentic spouses of men who have physical relations with more than one woman. And it is only then will their rights as spouses be protected.

In India, Polygamy is allowed only for Muslims by law. However, polygamy exists in all religions. According to the National Family Health Survey 2019–20, the rate of polygamy is highest among Christians, followed by Muslims, and then Hindus. 2.1% of Christians, 1.9% of Muslims, 1.3% of Hindus, and 1.6% of other religions are polygamists. This is to be remembered in a country where polygamy is prohibited for Christians under Sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 and for Hindus under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955. Although the law imposes penalties of up to seven years in prison and fines for marrying multiple wives, those who do so are rarely convicted. In proportion to the Muslim population that is permitted by the polygamy law, there are twice as many Hindus in India who are polygamists. They marry multiple wives by breaking the law, Muslims do that while following the law, that is the only difference.

It is Muslim women who are the beneficiaries of this difference. Only a Muslim woman who legally becomes the second spouse of a man can have the title of wife. If a Muslim has four wives, they all have the status of wives, remain entitled to all the rights of that status, and receive an equal share in the husband’s inheritance. However, the second wives of Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians are only their sexual partners and the mothers of their children. They have neither the status of wives nor the right to inheritance. If polygamy is banned, Muslim women will also be subjected to the same degradation. The law against polygamy, built in the guise of women’s protection, will harm the rights of sisters who become second wives for various reasons. And it is due to issues like these that Muslim men and women believe that absolute humanity lies only in the laws of Allah, the Creator, who knows exactly about the nature of men and women and understands the limitations and possibilities of each. And for this reason, they proclaim that Allah’s laws are sufficient for them.

Translation: Azra Gafoor, Fathima Ameera, Hamida Abdullah & Sumayya Muhammed