Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
8. Polygamy and Islam
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enter into the married state. This willingness on the
woman’s part is a must before a marriage can be
lawful in Islam. It is unlawful to marry a woman by
force. There is no example in the history of Islam
where a man has been allowed to force a woman
into marriage.
The Prophet Muhammad’s own view that “an
unmarried girl should not be married until her
permission has been taken”
155
had been recorded by
both Bukhari and Muslim. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, one
of the Prophet’s Companions and a commentator on
the Qur’an, narrates the story of a girl who came to
the Prophet complaining that her father had her
married off against her wishes. The Prophet gave her
the choice of either remaining within the bonds of
wedlock or of freeing herself from them.
156
Another such incident narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn
‘Abbas concerns a woman called Burairah and her
husband, Mughith, who was a black slave.
‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas tells the story as if it were all
happening before his very eyes: “Mughith is
following Burairah through the paths of Medina.
He is crying and his tears are running down his
