POLYGYNY AND WOMEN'S LIBERATION

 

©Ibn Abdillah As-sudaisiy Al-Iloori

Islām permits men to marry more than one wife with the conditions earlier discussed in this book. Women who feel they might not be able to cope with polygyny can also stipulate option of divorce in their marriage contract from the beginning, at least according the view of some reliable scholars of Sunnah. But it is better to be prepared to accept the decree of Allāh. Most women who leave their marriage on the ground of polygyny end up marrying a polygynous man. So, what is the essence of leaving the first marriage?

The sharī'ah is just in that it grants all women in a polygyny equal rights and they occupy the same status before their husband. The husband is to maintain equity in dealing with them and their children. All members of a polygynous relationship are expected to respect one another. No one should be placed over another. 

So, what can be more perfect and just than this sharī'ah arrangement in a world that is facing high rate of divorcees, widows and single sisters seeking a husband they can call their own? At least, every woman deserves a husband subject to sharī'ah guidelines. The main problem affecting the ummah as far as this in matter is concerned is ignorance, insincerity and the influence of western civilisation in the name of "women's right" or "women's liberation".