Who can be interested to see his/her sister living single for the rest of her life? What is important between marrying a man of four and becoming a public property? The answer I think can be a positive one. That is why this article is here.
We all know that Islam does not obligate every Muslim to marry more than one wife but rather it allows doing so on condition that if you will be able to treat them equally.
God says in the Holy Quran what means “Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one.” Al-Qur’an (4:3)
Polygamy renders the best solution because if we look at mortality, we will se that the rate for men is higher than for women. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica: “In general, the risk of death at any given age is less for females than for males.”
It is widely established that the number of women outnumber the number of men due to certain reasons:
On going Wars: It is reported that In the First World War (1914-18) about 8 million soldiers were killed. Most of the civilians killed were also men. In the Second World War (1939-45) about 60 million people were either killed or maimed for life, most of them men. In the Iraq-Iran war alone (1979-1988), 82,000 Iranian women and about 100,000 Iraqi women were widowed. All in the space of ten years.
Imprisonment: In the U.S, no less than 1,300,000 people are convicted daily for one crime or another. A number of them – 97% of whom are men – are obliged to serve lengthy prison sentences. Work accidents and street accidents are also among the these reasons.
However, if we scroll down on the same chapter, we are finding the following verse which says “You will never be able to be fair and just among women (wives)….” Qur’an (4:129). Now the question is, why did Allah say this? It shows that He knew that it impossible to treat all wives uniformly due to other factors.
But why some people think that polygamy and poverty plays major role towards the spread of HIV/AIDS pandemic?
When a man who is depending on a less than dollar per day marries four wives, you will see an increase of adultery. Why I am saying? It is because when that man fails to treat one wife fairly, then that woman will be looking for other external partners in order to get her daily needs, hence the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Secondly, there are other men who take advantage in this polygamy practice. They get another woman apart from his four wives and he tells his wife that ‘I am going to sleep to your friend today’ but in real sense he is going to his girl friend, the practice which leads to the spread of HIV/AIDS as well.
Therefore, we have also to know that multiple marriages lay a heavy responsibility on us, men, that is why Allah allowed having more than one wife only if the husband treats his wives equally. If a man has more than one wife, he must treat them all in an equal manner, emotionally and financially. He has to provide separate living accommodation for each of his wives as well.
May Allah soften our hearts and be among faithful partners Ameen!
