THE ISLAMIC WAY
As the solution to the problem where the number of women exceeds men in society, Islamic Shariah gives permission to men, under special conditions, to marry more than one woman. This principle of polygamy, as enshrined in the Islamic Shariah, is designed to save women from the ignoble consequences mentioned above. This commandment, although general in application, was given only as a solution to a specific social problem. It provides an arrangement whereby surplus women may save themselves from sexual anarchy and have a proper, stable family life. That is to say, it is not a question of adopting polygamy rather than monogamy. The choice is between polygamy and sexual anarchy.
If the commandment to practice polygamy is seen in the abstract, it would appear to be biased in favour of men. However, when placed in the context of social organization, it favours women. Polygamy is both a proper and a natural solution to women’s problems.
The permission to practice polygamy in Islam was not given to enable men to satisfy their sexual urges. It was designed as a practical strategy to solve a particular problem. Marrying more than one woman is possible only when there are more women than men. Failing this is out of the question. Is it conceivable that Islam, to satisfy man’s desires, would give us a commandment that is neither possible nor practical?
The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1984) aptly concludes that one reason for adopting polygamy is the surplus of women. Among most people who permit or prefer it, the large majority of men live in a state of monogamy because of the limited number of women. (Encyclopaedia Britannica (1984), Vol. 8, p.97)
To have more than one wife is not an ideal in Islam. It is, in essence, a practical solution to a social problem.
In Conclusion
In normal situations, the birth rates of men and women are almost equal in number. Subsequently, the number of men in society decreases for various reasons, leaving an excess of women. Under such circumstances, by following the principle of monogamy, hundreds of thousands of women fail to find husbands for themselves and are thus denied an honourable place in society. Monogamy as an absolute principle may seem pleasing to some, but events show this is not entirely practicable today. The choice for us, therefore, is not between monogamy and polygamy but rather between the lawful polygamy of Islam and the illicit polygamy of non-Islamic peoples. The latter system leaves “surplus” women to lead lives of sexual anarchy and social destruction. On the other hand, the former permits them to opt for their own free will in marriage to anyone who can give fair treatment to more than one wife.
