Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
8. Polygamy and Islam
~ 193 ~
man’s desires, would give us a commandment
which 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.
160
To have more than one wife is not an ideal in Islam.
It is, in essence, a practical solution to a social
problem.
160.
Encyclopaedia Britannica
(1984), 8/97.
CONCLUSION
In terms of the birth rate, men and women are
almost equal in number. But, subsequently, for a
variety of reasons, the number of men in society
decreases, leaving an excess of women. Now the
question arises as to what should be the solution to
this problem. In view of the inevitability of this
imbalance, how is a healthy relationship between
the sexes to be established?
