R
>From: "MEMRI" <memri at memri.org>
>Subject: The Wisdom of Polygamy: Islamic Clerics Explain the Rationale
>Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 20:41:54 -0500
>
>Inquiry and Analysis
>February 7, 2002
>No.82
>
>The Wisdom of Polygamy:
>Islamic Clerics Explain the Rationale
>
>Nearly every year, Egyptian television broadcasts special
>series for the month of Ramadan, which enjoy particularly
>high ratings. Frequently, these annual series make media
>waves in the Arab world. During Ramadan 2000, for example,
>the character of the Coptic woman married to a Muslim in
>one series sparked a heated debate on Christian-Muslim
>relations. More recently, the polygamist Hajj Mutawali, in
>a series for Ramadan 2001, engendered a storm about
>polygamy in the Islamic world.
>
>Polygamy is an issue that makes headlines in the Arab media
>every few years. Clerics and religious-leaning journalists
>hasten to state their various arguments regarding it. The
>most popular of these is theological: The Koran permits
>polygamy. However, since some Muslim countries, for example
>Tunisia, have found a way to prohibit polygamy, many
>clerics feel a need to buttress the theological argument
>with more practical rationalizations.
>
>Following is a review of the main arguments in favor of
>polygamy, as presented in the Arab media in recent years.
>
>Legalized Polygamy Is Better Than Mass Adultery in the West
>One common argument is that in practice, polygamy exists in
>all societies, and legalized polygamy is better than mass
>adultery. On his Al-Jazeera television religious program,
>Sheikh Yussef Al-Qaradhawi, a leading religious authority
>in Sunni Islam, said: "There is no society without
>polygamy. Westerners who condemn and reject polygamy are
>doing it themselves. The difference between their polygamy
>and our polygamy is that theirs is immoral and inhuman. The
>man [in the West]... sleeps with more than one woman, and
>if [the second woman] gets pregnant, he denies
>responsibility for the child and does not support the woman
>financially. It is nothing more than lust..."(1)
>
>Sheikh Taysir Al-Tamimi, acting head of the Palestinian
>Authority's Shari'a Judicial System, also emphasized this
>view: "...As everyone knows, in non-Islamic societies that
>prohibit polygamy there are many lovers and mistresses
>alongside the wife. I say to those who demand equality and
>whine about women's rights that by permitting polygamy,
>Islam protects the woman's humanity and emotions, and
>secures her right to marry and gain honor and esteem,
>instead of becoming a professional paramour lacking in
>rights whose children are thrown onto the garbage heap."(2)
>
>Polygamy and Sexual Appetite
>Polygamy's advocates, such as Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi, claim
>that men's "raging sexual appetite" is uncontrollable and
>might lead them into adultery - as happens in the West -
>while women's sexual appetites are not equal to those of
>men. In addition, women have menstrual periods "which in
>some cases last 10 days or more" and during which their
>husbands cannot have sexual relations with them. Therefore,
>it has been determined that a man might have a hard time
>being satisfied with one woman, and that it is better to
>rescue him from the sin of adultery by allowing polygamy.
>
>As Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi continued, "In societies prohibiting
>polygamy... there are many men whose wives have little
>desire... while their husbands have raging sexual
>appetites. What can they do? Some men's wives have lengthy
>menstrual periods, lasting 10 days or more, and so the
>husbands decide to take an additional wife..."
>
>"Statistics and scientific studies have proven that the
>man's sexual energy is more vigorous. This is a fact
All
>women arouse a man, but not all men arouse a woman. Even
>among animals, the females need sex less than the males.
>This is the case with cows, buffalo, or she-goats; they
>desire the stallion, ram, or bull only when they want to
>become pregnant. Afterwards, their desire passes. In
>contrast, the stallion or ram is [always] willing. This is
>nature, and woman is this way too..."(3)
>
>In an article, lawyer 'Isa Abu Libda explained that
>polygamy solves the problem of men with a strong sexual
>urge "who cannot restrain themselves when their wives are
>menstruating or have just given birth, and therefore it is
>better that they take another wife than secretly visit
>prostitutes." He also offered two unique pro-polygamy
>arguments: One, if the husband travels frequently to
>distant lands, sometimes even staying "a few months," it is
>best that he take another wife rather than visit
>prostitutes. Two, if a man's brother dies, under polygamy
>he can wed his widowed sister-in-law, thus saving her and
>his nephews and nieces from "disintegration and
>perdition."(4)
>
>"Some husbands with [great] sexual prowess need women
>regularly," wrote the chairman of the Nablus Shari'a
>Judicial System Sheikh Hamed Al-Bitawi. "During the 40
>days of [the wife's] hiatus after giving birth, or during
>menstruation, these men cannot restrain themselves, and
>they have a right to take another wife."(5)
>
>The clerics arguing thus claim they are not concerned only
>about the men; women too may fall victim to a "raging
>sexual appetite." Jerusalem Supreme Sufi Council head
>Sheikh Muhammad Sa'id Al-Jamal Al-Rifa'i explained,
>"Perhaps some men cannot be satisfied with one woman. In
>these cases, if the door to taking another wife is closed
>to them, they will wear out their only wife [with unceasing
>sexual relations] or will cast their eyes upon other
>women... Accordingly, there is a need to allow men with
>such a nature to find a way of satisfying their powerful
>physical hunger by means of [women] permitted in marriage
>by Allah."(6)
>
>Polygamy and Barrenness
>Another argument often espoused is that polygamy solves the
>problem of men married to barren women. "What happens when
>a man marries a woman and finds out she can't have
>children?" asked Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi. "Okay, he can wait
>patiently for a year, two, three, or 10, but then he yearns
>for children. A relative of mine, a wealthy man, took a
>wife whom he loved, and she loved him. He lived with her
>for 25 years and she never had children. Then this woman,
>because she was righteous, told him, 'You must wed
>[another].' He objected but she persisted, and she herself
>arranged an engagement for him to another woman. He
>consummated the marriage and she bore him sons and
>daughters..."(7)
>
>Sheikh Muhammad Sa'id Al-Jamal said: "It may happen that a
>woman falls ill and cannot have sexual relations or do
>housework. If she is dear to her husband and he doesn't
>want to divorce her... there is nothing to do but permit
>him to take a second wife."(8)
>
>Demographics
>Also in support of polygamy is the claim that there are
>simply more women than men. Without polygamy, many women
>would die old maids, never experiencing the joys of
>motherhood. Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi, for example, said,
>"Doubtless, these marriages meet a certain need of the
>woman, and satisfy a certain desire, primarily in light of
>the fact that there are many more women than men require.
>In some countries, the number of women is greater than the
>number of men, especially after a war. Even in America,
>they say, there are 8.8 million more women than men. This
>is a known fact. The number of marriageable women is always
>greater than the number of men... What do we do with this
>surplus of women? We have three options: We deny women
>partnership and the emotions of motherhood all their
>lives... Or, we give [them] the freedom to do what [they]
>want, as the Westerners do - licentiousness and that kind
>of thing - and [they] are likely to get pregnant as a
>result of prostitution and bring bastards into the world.
>Or, maybe, half a husband is better than none..."(9)
>
>Personal Reasons for Polygamy
>Still others insist there is no need to seek out
>justification for polygamy. Qatari sheikh Walid bin Hadi
>set out the different rationales for polygamy - barrenness,
>demographic inequality, preventing adultery, and increasing
>the birth rate - but, he explained, in the final analysis
>every man has his own reasons: "The Prophet said: 'Do not
>ask a husband why he beats his wife'... According to the
>same principle, 'Do not ask a husband why he takes a second
>wife.'"(10)
>
>Islam Restricts Polygamy
>Often, polygamy's advocates say that, contrary to popular
>opinion, Islam actually puts restrictions on polygamy, in
>that it permits a man to take only four wives. Sheikh
>Al-Qaradhawi explained: "We prohibit adultery, while
>[Westerners] permit it. That's the difference. With us,
>polygamy is not absolute - that is, the door is not wide
>open. Before Islam, the door to polygamy was wide open in
>the various nations: the Arabs, the Romans - even in the
>Old Testament of the Holy Scriptures it is written that
>David had 300 women, of which 100 were wives and 200 were
>maidservants, and Solomon had 700 women, of which 300 were
>wives and 400 were maidservants. Namely, this was accepted.
>When Islam came, it imposed a single limit and a single
>stipulation on polygamy: that there could be no more than
>four wives... When a man like Ghilan Al-Thaqafi, who had 10
>wives, converted to Islam, the Prophet told him: 'Choose
>for yourself four of them and separate from the rest'...
>The stipulation is that [the polygamist] be convinced that
>he is treating [his wives] equally... There is also another
>stipulation to every marriage, and that is that [the man]
>be able to support and protect the woman. That is, if a man
>wants to wed, even to the first wife, he must be able to
>support her - not to mention a second wife. He also needs
>to be physically and sexually capable..."(11)
>
>The Question of Equality
>As mentioned, the religious stipulation for taking a
>second, third, or fourth wife is the husband's ability to
>treat them all equally. This is also how Sheikh
>Al-Qaradhawi explains why polyandry is prohibited: "Some
>people say, why not allow women to be polygamous?... But we
>say to the man that he must treat the wives equally, and if
>he fears he cannot, he must be satisfied with one. How can
>a woman treat her husbands equally? How can she divide
>herself amongst them? For example, if all four want
>children, who gets to have the first one?"
>
>"Additionally, a woman could become pregnant without
>knowing whether the father was Zeid or Amr [i.e. any of her
>husbands]. Okay, so today they say that there are
>laboratories and such things [that can determine paternity]
>but even if it is possible to know who the father is, how
>is it possible to say [to the husbands]: 'You first, the
>second two years afterwards, and the third eight years
>after that?' Is this equality? The woman cannot treat her
>husbands equally, but the man can treat his wives equally,
>if he is a man of faith, morality, and conscience..."(12)
>
>Supporters of polygamy frequently dismiss women's rights'
>supporters, saying that they (polygamy supporters) are
>defending the right of the second wife to marry. Thus, for
>example, Dr. Muhammad Al-Masir, a cleric from Egypt's
>Al-Azhar University, said: "Some people claim that polygamy
>harms the rights and honor of women, although the second or
>third wife is also a woman!! Is the second wife of a
>different gender? Is she from another planet? Every woman
>has the right to live in the shadow of a husband who will
>defend her purity and honor... In the days of the Prophet,
>not even one woman remained without a husband - not a
>spinster, nor a widow, nor a divorcee... I ask our women
>and daughters not to be egotistical..."(13)
>
>Endnotes:
>
>(1) Al-Jazeera television (Qatar), December 30, 2001.
>(2) Al-Quds (Palestinian Authority), March 8, 2001.
>(3) Al-Jazeera television (Qatar), December 30, 2001.
>(4) Al-‘Awda (Palestinian Authority), May 1, 1998.
>(5) Al-Ayyam (Palestinian Authority), August 12, 1999.
>(6) Al-Quds (Palestinian Authority), April 17, 1998.
>(7) Al-Jazeera television (Qatar), December 30, 2001.
>(8) Al-Quds (Palestinian Authority), August 17, 2001.
>(9) Al-Jazeera television (Qatar), December 30, 2001.
>(10) Al-Rai (Qatar), January 5, 2002.
>(11) Al-Jazeera television (Qatar), December 30, 2001.
>(12) Al-Jazeera television (Qatar), December 30, 2001.
>(13) Aakhr Sa’ah (Egypt), December 6, 2001.
>
>*********************
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