Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
8. Polygamy and Islam
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control a natural process whereby the male
population dwindles, leaving “surplus” women,
coupled with the outlawing of polygamy, has given
rise to the evil of the “mistress” (defined by
Webster’s Dictionary as “a woman who has sexual
intercourse with and, often, is supported by a man
for a more or less extended period of time without
being married to him; paramour”). This, in effect,
sets up a system of illegal polygamy.
The system of keeping a mistress is prevalent in all
those countries, including India, where there are
legal constraints on polygamy or where polygamy
is looked down upon socially. In such a situation,
the real problem is not whether or not to adopt
polygamy. The real problem is whether or not to
legalize its adoption. The problem of surplus
women in society can be solved only by polygamy,
whether we choose to consider it legal or not.
THE ISLAMIC WAY
The solution to this problem in the Islamic
shari’ah
is
the giving of permission to men, under special
conditions, to marry more than one woman. This
principle of polygamy, as enshrined in the Islamic
