Polygamy and Islam
The Islamic Way
~ 17 ~
The permission to practice polygamy in Islam was
not given in order to enable men to satisfy their
sexual urges. It was designed as a practical strategy
to solve a particular problem. Marrying more than
one woman is possible only when there are more
women than men. Failing this, it is out of the
question. Is it conceivable that Islam, just to satisfy
man’s desires, would give us a commandment that
is neither possible nor practical?
The
Encyclopaedia Britannica
(1984) aptly concludes
that one reason for adopting polygamy is the
surplus of women. Among most peoples who
permit or prefer it, the large majority of men live in
a state of monogamy because of the limited number
of women.
11
To have more than one wife is not an ideal in Islam.
It is, in essence, a practical solution to a social
problem.
