(A Muslim Uighur man, a Hajji Pilgrim, rests with his two wives and their six children in front of their house at the Buzak Commune. Near Khotan, Xinjiang Province, People's Republic of China.)

From the above discussion, it can be safely concluded that polygamy in Islam was above all, a response to a contingency in the early days of Islam.

While there are those in the more traditional schools of Islamic thought, who would continue to tout the virtues of polygamy, others espousing a converse viewpoint, have subjected the nature of the permission for polygamy in the Qur’an, to impartial and diligent scrutiny.

The verses of the Qur’an allowing polygamy read as follows:

“If you fear that you cannot treat orphans with fairness, then you may marry other women who seem good to you, two, three or four of them. But if you fear that you cannot maintain equality among them, marry one only, or any slave-girl you may own. This will make it easier for you to avoid injustice.”(4:3)

In another verse, the Qur’an forewarns Muslim men that they would in all probability, not be able to maintain justice, and hence fall short of meeting the Qur’an’s strict condition for contracting a second marriage. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, reading both relevant verses of the Qur’an in conjunction, concludes in his learned commentary, that while the Qur’an may reluctantly permit a man to take more than one wife in rare cases, it undoubtedly endorses a monogamous union under normal circumstances.(The Holy Qur’an, Translation and Commentary, Abdullah Yusuf Ali.)

Scholars, both traditional and modernist, have offered sundry explanations as to why men were granted even a reluctant permission to take more than one wife. Chauvinistic arguments among these, tend to associate masculinity with a stronger 

	Chauvinistic arguments among these, tend to associate masculinity with a stronger sexual urge, hence the justification for polygamy.

sexual urge, hence the justification for polygamy. Others suggest that polygamy is the lesser of two evils in society, and assert that it would be preferable to have a lawfully wedded second wife, rather than a liaison on the sly. Yet other explanations offer a practical or political vindication of polygamy, but few seem to take the feminine viewpoint into consideration.

What is often ignored, for example, is that given the social conditions in Pre-Islamic Arabia, polygamy was allowed primarily to provide protection to women. Giving license to men to suit their fancy was not the main intent of the Qur’an, if at all. Verse 4:3 therefore addresses the economic and social need of most seventh century Arabian women, who were neither financially nor professionally independent. Being cared for by a husband was the only option for many of these women, mainly in times of war and the gender imbalance resulting from it.

Furthermore, verse 4:3 of the Qur’an must be read in conjunction with the preceding verse, which exhorts Muslims to give orphans their due share. Men responsible for the care of orphans would have to ensure their financial, as well as their social well-being. If these guardians or care givers felt they were faltering in their duty to these orphans, the Qur’an recommended that they take the mothers of these orphans into wedlock. Thus, in the first instance the protection 

	If these guardians or care givers felt they were faltering in their duty to these orphans, the Qur’an recommended that they take the mothers of these orphans into wedlock.

of women was the paramount concern of the Qur’an, and in the second instance, the interest of orphans was to be given priority. It was never the intention of the Qur’an to simply cater for a man’s more pronounced sexual drive, while ignoring the sentiments of women. Such chauvinistic arguments make a mockery both of Islam and the restricted permission for polygamy it allowed under the special circumstances described.

The fact that polygamy was allowed largely for the protection of women and orphans is amply demonstrated by the example of the prophet Muhammand pbuh. Most of his wives were older, destitute women who had been left at the mercy of inhospitable relations, or pagan Meccans who missed no opportunity to harass them for having embraced Islam. The prophet therefore took them under his protection, when none other would undertake this responsibility. Also, most of these marriages were contracted after the prophet had turned fifty. His monogamous marriage with Khadijah (Ra) lasted for twenty five years till she passed away. Never during her lifetime, did the prophet consider a second, third or fourth marriage, when he could have easily contracted one as a much younger man.

A fact often ignored about the Qur’anic permission for a restricted polygamy is, that Islam by no means introduced the institution. Polygamy, an age-old institution, had been in vogue since biblical times, most 

	This was deemed an additional responsibility on the man rather than a license catering to his propensity towards a promiscuous lifestyle.

biblical prophets having contracted polygamous marriages. In Pre- Islamic Arabia, polygamy and polyandry were both common. They were practiced without any obligation or restriction on the man or the woman. Islam, far from introducing the institution, in fact regulated its practice by restricting the number of multiple marriages a man could contract in order to protect women and orphans, This was deemed an additional responsibility on the man rather than a license catering to his propensity towards a promiscuous lifestyle.

Why then did Islam not continue to allow a restricted polyandry? Keeping in view the conditions in seventh century Arabia, there would have been no means by which to determine the paternity of a child. Also, since Islam holds the man responsible for the support and maintenance of his wife, a polyandrous woman would have benefited from the income of many husbands, resulting in an imbalance of resources in society.

From the above discussion, it can be safely concluded that polygamy in Islam was above all, a response to a contingency in the early days of Islam. The permission is to be understood more as a contextual, rather than a normative one. However, if similar special circumstances were to occur again, the restricted permission would perhaps apply again. Under normal circumstances, Islam favors monogamy, as it strives to eliminate all avenues of friction, being ever mindful of the rights and sentiments of Muslim women.

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