Why does islam allow 4 wives

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.

It is an undeniable fact that polygamy has always existed in the history of human civilization. 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:. The fundamental requirement is that Muslims live their lives with ta qwa God-consciousness. 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.

Critics also allege that a woman has a greater right to the certain explanations and reasons that are given for a man to have more than one wife.

For instance, as mentioned earlier, a woman would have a greater desire to have children as compared to a man. In such a scenario, would it not be more logical to grant her the permission to marry a second husband? Why is this provision only allowed for the man? In fact, expanding this issue further, questions can be asked on behalf of women for each of the purposes of marriage discussed above.

What if it is scientifically proven that her husband is the one who cannot bear children? What is the point behind this seemingly special treatment for the husband as compared to the wife? All these questions seem fair. However, it should be understood that Islam views men and women differently. The natural tendencies of each gender are different, and a false notion of equality in the absolute sense does not exist in Islam. Instead, Islam promotes equality in the best form, and this is something discussed in another article: Gender Equality in Islam.

One result of the fact that men and women have different tendencies, is that women have a kind of nature that allows them to be more co-operative than men.

Two husbands to one wife would have a higher likelihood to the eventual breakup of the family unit, as compared to a household where there are two wives of one husband. Men have a far lesser chance of being co-operative when sharing one wife. Other than that, it should be noted that one of the primary objectives of marriage, as explained earlier, is procreation. If a woman has two or more husbands, each one of them would naturally desire to have children.

It would be a huge burden on the single wife of multiple husbands to bear children for each one of her husbands. Those who are parents can understand that having even one child causes the mother to go through years of various kinds of pressures.

Modern life seems to have increased those pressures on women, as current social trends show that mothers today choose to have 2. Imagine then, if a woman has more than one husband and is expected to have even 2 children for each husband. How many years would that take? That is the nearest way for you to avoid injustice.

Prior to the decision to marry a second wife, the man must first ensure that he will deal with his wives and any orphans with justice. If he is not able to ensure that, he should stick to monogamy. While the primary reason for multiple marriages provided in the Quran is to take care of orphans, there can arise other situations where a second wife may be sought.

The Detailed Commentary of the Holy Quran discusses some of those situations in light of Prior to fully understanding these secondary reasons for polygamy, we should understand what the Quran defines as the purpose of marriage itself. There are four objectives given in the Quran for marriage:. It is important to note that nowhere does the Quran state the purpose of marriage as pursuit of lust and sensuality. That is not a purpose of marriage in Islam, whether it is with a single wife or multiple wives.

Hence, any notion that Islam is making a provision here for men to lead lustful lives is a complete misconception. There is a subtle difference between a marriage intended to fulfil lustful pursuits and a marriage meant for gratification of natural desires.

In the case of the former, marriage may become the means of exploring sensuality without bounds and limits and such marriages eventually become deprived of comfort, tranquility, sense of purpose, and love. Comparatively, in the case of the latter, marriage becomes a means to curtail and fulfill natural desires along with the intended goal of finding comfort, love, procreation and protection against evils.

Some religions view any fulfilment of natural desires as lowly or worldly, and have taken the position that the most spiritual way to live life is to be celibate. Islam, on the other hand, does not take this extreme approach, and considers marriage a necessary means to guard a person from evils by providing an outlet for those natural desires, which exist in order to ensure procreation and the continuation of human life.

Without marriage, a person would be in constant danger of committing sin in order to fulfill those desires. An acknowledgement of the existence of such desires does not however mean that Islam has opened the door for lustful pursuits of sensuality as the only objective. Marriage, therefore, is an institution in Islam aimed at helping a person become more spiritual and connected with God.

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 could be avoided in some cases if the parties agreed on a second marriage. There are other cases where a marriage has not been very successful and the husband loves another woman.

This situation is so familiar that it is known as the Eternal Triangle. Under Western laws the husband cannot marry the second woman without divorcing the first one. But the first wife may not wish to be divorced. She may no longer love her husband, but she may still respect him and wish to stay with him for the security of marriage, for herself and their children.

Similarly the second woman may not wish to break up the man's first family. There are certain cases such as this where both women could accept a polygamous marriage rather than face divorce on the one hand or an extra-marital affair on the other.

I have mentioned some of these examples because to the majority of Westerners polygamy is only thought of in the context of a harem of glamorous young girls, not as a possible solution to some of the problems of Western society itself. I have given some time to it not in order to advocate its indiscriminate use, but in an attempt to show that it is a practice not to be condemned without thinking of its uses and possible benefits in any community.

Position One: Islam restricts or forbids polygyny. Condition A: Polygyny is permitted within the context of war and orphans. It is permitted only if the men fear they would not be able to deal justly with the orphans.

Condition B: The man who wants to be polygynous must have the capacity to be fair and just to all his wives. The verse is a call for just conduct towards women, not a right for men to fulfill their alleged lustful desires or their egos.

And just treatment here means more than a man's financial capacity to support more than one wife: He must be fair in all ways, including in the time, support, and companionship he provides to his wives and children.

Condition C: If the man fears he cannot deal justly with all his wives, then Allah advocates that he should marry only one as this will ensure equality.

This is explicitly stated in the verse.