Woman Between Islam and Western Society
7. Polygamy and Islam
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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”
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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.
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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
