In Islam, polygyny is allowed, with the specific limitation that a man can have four wives at any one time. The Muslim Prophet Muhammad had total nine wives, but not all at the same time, depending on the sources in his lifetime. He had nine wives at the time of his death. The Quran clearly states that men who choose this route must deal with their wives justly. If the husband fears that he cannot deal with his wives justly, then he should only marry one. The Quran does not give preference in marrying more than one wife but allows it to make it easier on a woman who has no support. A husband does not have to have permission from his first wife.[89] However, the wife can set a condition, before marriage, that the husband cannot marry another woman during their marriage. In such a case, the husband cannot marry another woman as long as he is married to his wife.[90] Women, on the other hand, are only allowed to marry one husband, although they are allowed to remarry after a divorce. Although many Muslim countries still retain traditional Islamic law that permits polygyny, secular elements within some Muslim societies challenge its acceptability. Polygyny is prohibited by law in some Muslim-majority countries that have not adopted Islamic law for marital regulations, such as Azerbaijan, Tunisia and Turkey. Polygyny, and laws concerning polygyny, differ greatly throughout the Islamic world and form a very complex and diverse background from nation to nation. Whereas in some Muslim countries it may be fairly common, in most others it is often rare or non-existent. According to traditional Islamic law, a man may take up to four wives, and each of those wives must have her own property, assets, and dowry. Usually the wives have little to no contact with each other and lead separate, individual lives in their own houses, and sometimes in different cities, though they all share the same husband. In the modern Islamic world, polygyny is found in Saudi Arabia, and West and East Africa; in Sudan it was encouraged by the President Omar al-Bashir in 2001 to increase the population.[91] Among the 22 member states of the Arab League, Tunisia alone explicitly prohibits polygyny; however, it is generally frowned upon in many of the more secularized Arab states, such as Egypt.[citation needed] Few other countries including Libya and Morocco require the written permission of the first wife if her husband wishes to marry a second, third, or fourth wife.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:52:21 +0000
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