Coran, hadith, et savants - les sources de l’islam and Polygamy in Islamic Law: Difference between pages

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According to the traditional Sunni reckoning, Allah revealed his message to his final messenger, the Prophet [[Muhammad]]. This final revelation, the [[Qur'an]], consists of the literal words of Allah, uttered by him before the existence of all time and space. As such the Qur'an is the unassailable, perfect guide on all matters upon which it speaks, from religion to marriage to the afterlife and everything in between. The Qur'an, though, does not touch upon many matters of religion and life about which Allah cares very much. In addition, much of the Qur'an is (despite its claim to be "clear" and "evident") actually very obscure and inscrutable. In order to explain the Qur'an and to fill in the gaps of what Allah wills for man, the scholars or [[Ulemaa'|Ulama]] rely upon the [[Sunnah]] or tradition of the prophet himself, who was according to their thought [[Uswa Hasana]], the "perfect man" whose conduct in all things is an example for mankind. The traditions of his words and deeds, passed down from his closest companions and family members (the [[Sahabah]]), and eventually put to writing in the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries, form a corpus of individual recollections called the [[hadith]]. In addition, historians working in the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries collected historical narratives of the prophets life, which provide both prophetic examples of conduct and explanations of verses in the Qur'an. These histories are called the [[sira]] of the prophet. Together this material is taken to be the prophet's [[Sunnah]] or tradition, and along with the Qur'an it is considered by the authorities of the Sunni Islam to be the perfect, unerring guide to mankind in all matters.
==Muhammad and Polygamy==


According to traditional sources, [[Muhammad]] practiced polygamy. Besides the numerous concubines, he married fifteen women and consummated his marriages with thirteen.<ref>al-Tabari vol.9 p.126-127</ref>  According to Tabari he was also accused of being a "womanizer".<ref>"....''Layla’s people said, "’What a bad thing you have done! You are a self-respecting woman, but the Prophet is a womanizer. Seek an annulment from him.’ She went back to the Prophet and asked him to revoke the marriage and he complied with [her request]''...." - al Tabari vol.9 p.139</ref> He was also attributed the sexual prowess of many men:
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|||268|darussalam}}|Narrated Qatada: Anas bin Malik said, "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night '''and they were eleven in number.'''" I asked Anas, "Had the Prophet the strength for it?" Anas replied, "We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty (men)." And Sa'id said on the authority of Qatada that Anas had told him about nine wives only (not eleven).}}


==Qur'an, Hadith and Sunnah==
==Reasons for Muhammad's Marriages==


Islamic scholarship gives the care of widows and poor woman as a societal reason for polygynous marriages. Yet Many of Muhammad's wives were not poor or widows. In fact, one of his wives (Muhammad's cousin, Zainab bint Jash) was originally the wife of his step-son Zaid bin Haritha. As was the case with [[Safiyah|Safiyah bint Huyayy]], the traditional sources indicate that many of his marriages were the results of Muhammad's desire, not compassion for widows or poor women. This is nowhere more evident than in his numerous divorces, which numbered six in total. For example; he divorced ‘Amrah bint Yazid on their wedding night,<ref>{{Tabari|9|p. 139}}; {{Tabari|39|pp. 187-188}}.</ref> due to her suffering from [[leprosy]].<ref>Ibn Ishaq, cited in Guillaume, A. (1960). ''New Light on the Life of Muhammad'', p. 55. Manchester: Manchester University Press</ref><ref>Ibn Hisham note 918 (here he has apparently confused her with Asma bint Al-Numan).</ref><ref>Bewley/Saad 8:100-101.</ref><ref> Women in Islam, By Anne Sofie Roald - Page 221 [Quoted: Najla Hamadeh, Page 335-6]</ref> He also divorced a women named Ghaziyyah bint Jabir when he realized that she was 'old'.<ref>al-Tabari vol.9 p.139</ref> Yet Muhammad refused to allow Ali bin Abu Talib (the husband of his daughter Fatima) to take even a second wife because "what hurts her, hurts me."<ref>{{Bukhari|||5230|darussalam}}</ref><ref>''"An indication of their special relationship is found in the fact that Ali never married another woman as long as Fatima was alive. Sunni sources explain this curiosity in a tradition in which Ali asks for Abu Jahl's daughter in marriage, but the Prophet does not allow him to marry her because it would upset Fatimah."'' - "The Image of Fatima in Classical Muslim Thought," Denise L. Soufi, PhD dissertation, Princeton, 1997, p. 51-52</ref> This seems to indicate that at least for his own daughter he thought that polygyny hurt women, but would not take this fact into account with regard to his own marriages.


===Understanding Scripture===
==Polygamy Permitted in Islam==


====Abrogation====
Regardless of it not being acceptable for the husband of Muhammad's daughter, Islam traditionally allows a man to marry up to four wives at any one time:


{{Quote|{{Quran|2|106}}|None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power over all things?}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|4|3}}|And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice (between them), then (marry) only one or what your right hands possess; this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course.}}


{{Quote|{{Quran|13|39}}|Allah doth blot out or confirm what He pleaseth: with Him is the Mother of the Book.}}
Islam also does not traditionally require that the man have the permission of his first wife before marrying a second:


{{Quote|{{Quran|16|101}}|And when We change (one) communication for (another) communication, and Allah knows best what He reveals, they say: You are only a forger. Nay, most of them do not know.}}
{{Quote|1=[http://www.fatwaislam.com/fis/index.cfm?scn=fd&ID=1052 The Acceptance of the first Wife is not a Condition for the one who wishes to marry another]<br>FatwaIslam, Permanent Committee for Research and Verdicts: Fatawa Islamiyah Darussalam Vol: 5 No. 353|2=It is not obligatory for the husband, when he wishes to marry another, to get his first wife's acceptance, but it is a noble trait of character and good relations for him to appease her by whatever decreases the pain which woman naturally feel in such situations. This may be achieved by smiling,greeting her warmly and speaking kindly to her, and by whatever money you can afford,if her acceptance requires it<br>}}


{{Quote|{{Muslim|3|675}}|The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) abrogated some of his commands by others, '''just as the Qur'an abrogates''' some part with the other.}}
==The Consequences of Polygamy==


See related: [[Abrogation]]
===Female Genital Mutilation and & other Chastity Assurance practices===
Polygamy causes Chastity Assurance practices such as [[Female Genital Mutilation in Islamic Law|Female Genital Mutilation]] (FGM), Veiling, harems and footbinding.


====The Qur'an is Easy to Understand====
In polygamous societies it is only the richest and most powerful men who are able to afford to keep multiple wives. However, these high-status polygamous men face a problem guaranteeing the fidelity of their many wives - and the more wives they have the greater the problem becomes. In a monogamous marriage a husband and wife can spend much of their time with one another, and become close to one another, and their sexual and emotional needs are more-or-less proportional. A polygamous man may have two, four, hundred or even a thousand wives, whom he must satisfy emotionally and sexually, and whose desire for motherhood he must also satisfy. If one of his wive's needs are not satisfied, she may be tempted be unfaithful, and this may result in the high-status man rearing a child that is not his own. Which, evolutionary speaking, is a disaster.


In order to assure themselves of the chastity and fidelity of their many wives, polygamous men have developed a variety of Chastity Assurance practices:


{{Quote|{{Quran|44|58}}|Verily, We have made this (Qur'an) easy, in thy tongue, in order that they may give heed.}}
*'''harems''' - which keep wives locked away, guarded by eunuchs;
*'''footbinding''' (as once practiced by the Chinese) - which keeps wives from being unfaithful by reducing their mobility and independence;
*'''chaperoning and gender segregation''' - which hamper and eliminate interactions between the sexes;
*'''arranged marriages''' - which obviate the dangers that romance and courting poses to a girl's chastity and reputation;
*'''veiling''' - which makes girls less interesting and identifiable to males;
*'''<nowiki/>'honour' culture''' - which exacts disproportionate punishments for (perceived or actual) 'un-chastity';
*'''Female Genital Mutilation''' - which reduces a girl's capacity for sexual pleasure both physically (through the removal of the clitoris and labia) and mentally (through the effects of trauma). Where a girl has been infibulated her chastity is further guaranteed because her vaginal opening is sealed with a covering of skin, the penetration of which is extremely painful and which leads to severe hemorrhaging that is difficult to conceal.


{{Quote|{{Quran|54|17}}|And '''We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand''' and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?|See also: {{Quran|54|22}}, {{Quran|54|32}}, and {{Quran|54|40}}}}
Marriages to high status men are highly advantageous, to both potential brides and their families, who will benefit from having a high status male as a relative. The urge for women to marry into higher strata of society is called ''hypergyny''. It is universal to all societies, but is much more intense in polygamous societies. This is probably because in monogamous societies, once a high-status man marries he is no longer available, whereas in polygamous societies a married high-status man remains available.


====Muslims Should Not Incorrectly Interpret Scripture====
The high status polygamous man will require that girls who aspire to marry him conform to his expectations and standards. And a family wishing to marry a daughter to a high status man must  persuade him that their daughter is 'pure', chaste and will be faithful to him. They demonstrate this by adopting (or having their daughter adopt) Chastity Assurance practices expected by that man, whether it be FGM or other practices in the above list.


Anyone interpreting the verses beyond their obvious meaning is misguided
The intensely hypergynous nature of polygamous societies means that the marriage practices of high-status polygamous men cascade down through the lower ranks of society, and are rapidly adopted by all families. Only the daughters of the poorest families, who can not afford to engage in such practices, are spared. These girls and their families are stigmatised as 'impure' and 'contaminating' and guaranteed to be unchaste, and will be considered as 'untouchables' and suffer from intense discrimination and persecution. Thus the avoidance of stigma becomes an added incentive for families to conform to the community's Chastity Assurance practices.


{{Quote|{{Quran|3|7}}|He it is Who has revealed the Book to you; some of its verses are decisive, they are the basis of the Book, and others are allegorical; '''then as for those in whose hearts there is perversity they follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead and ''seeking to give it (their own) interpretation.''''' but none knows its interpretation except Allah, and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge say: We believe in it, it is all from our Lord; and none do mind except those having understanding.}}
===Bride-Price (mahr)===
[[File:Polygamydowry2.jpg|alt=Maps comparing the global distributions of polygamy and of dowry systems|thumb|450x450px|Maps comparing the global distributions of polygamy and of dowry systems]]
Bride-price is a payment made by the bride-groom (or his family) to the bride (or her family). Marriages in polygamous kinship systems require that some form of bride-price be paid ([[Mahr (Marital Price)|mahr]]). This is because polygamy creates a scarcity of marriageable women. This makes unmarried girls and women a particularly valuable asset, which is realised when she is 'sold' in marriage to a husband. The scarcer marriageable women are the greater the value of dowries. This makes marriage unaffordable to low-ranking young men, even if they somehow manage to find a bride. The heros of folk tales of polygamous societies (such as ''<nowiki/>'One Thousand and One Nights''') are often poor young men (such as Aladdin) struggling to find the wealth necessary to pay the bride-price of the girl he loves. The story is resolved when he becomes rich and powerful enough to marry her.  


===Hadith and Sunnah===
Nobel prize-winning economist Gary Becker argues in his book 'A Treatise on the Family'<ref>[https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674906990 A Treatise on the Family] Gary S. Becker, Harvard University Press</ref> that families of young women become the biggest supporters of polygamy because they possess an inherently scarce resource. Love matches and courtship are frowned upon because they risk reducing the bride-price (the couple may be tempted to elope, or the bride request a merely symbolic bride-price). Thus in order to preserve their market value, the chastity and reputation of unmarried women must protected by such measures as FGM, purdah, child marriage and arranged marriage. . 


The Sunnah is an integral part of Islam.
===Child Marriage===
[[File:Polygamychildmarriage.jpg|alt=Maps comparing the global distributions of polygamy and of child marriage|thumb|450x450px|Maps comparing the global distribution of polygamy and of child marriage]]
Child Marriage is endemic to polygynous societies. One way of alleviating the 'bride famine' that polygyny creates amongst men in the lower strata of society is to bring prepubescent girls into the marriage market. Dowry further incentives parents to sell-off their daughters before adolescence, when there is a greater risk of her reputation being spoiled and her losing her economic value. And if the bride is still a child, the dowry goes to her father, not to the bride. The bride-price for a child is generally less than for an adolescent or adult woman. This makes children a more affordable option for poor and low status men. Because of the great age differences in such marriages, and the degree of power inequality between husband and bride, the personal bond between husbands and wives is not strong and there is very little companionate marriage.


====Emulate Muhammad====
In monogamous societies, the incest taboo generally extends not only to a man's daughters but also to ''all'' young women old enough to be a man's daughter. This separation of generations does not naturally occur in polygamous cultures, and is what makes childhood, as we understand it, possible. 


{{quote | {{cite quran|3|131|end=132|style=ref}} | Fear the Fire, which is repaired for those who reject Faith:<BR><BR>
===The Polygamous family===
And obey Allah and the Messenger; that ye may obtain mercy.}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|4|59}}|O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the messenger and those of you who are in authority; and if ye have a dispute concerning any matter, refer it to Allah and the messenger if ye are (in truth) believers in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and more seemly in the end.}}
{{quote | {{cite quran|4|64|end=66|style=ref}} | And We did not send any messenger but that he should be obeyed by Allah's permission; and had they, when they were unjust to themselves, come to you and asked forgiveness of Allah and the Messenger had (also) asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful.<BR><BR>
But no! by your Lord! they do not believe (in reality) until they make you a judge of that which has become a matter of disagreement among them, and then do not find any straitness in their hearts as to what you have decided and submit with entire submission.<BR><BR>
But no! by your Lord! they do not believe (in reality) until they make you a judge of that which has become a matter of disagreement among them, and then do not find any straitness in their hearts as to what you have decided and submit with entire submission.}}


{{Quote|{{Quran|4|69}}|And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, these are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favors from among the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the good, and a goodly company are they!}}
According to Somayya Jabarti of Arab News, Saudi Arabia has the second-highest divorce-rate in the world. Abdullah Al-Fawzan, a professor and sociologist at King Saud University in Riyadh, states that polygamy is responsible for up to 55 percent of divorces. He added that the loss of trust, sincerity, compassion and cooperation were also factors in the failure of marriages.<ref>Somayya Jabarti - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.arabnews.com/node/239330|2=2013-01-01}} Alarming Divorce Rate ‘Must Be Addressed Urgently’] - Arab News, October 24, 2003</ref> The Maldives, an Islamic country with a 100% Muslim population,<ref>The Maldives is the only country after Saudi Arabia that claims to have a 100 percent Muslim population. As per its constitution, only a Muslim can be a citizen of the country. Propagating any faith other than Islam, importing/publicly carrying literature that contradicts Islam or translation into the Dhivehi language of such books and writings, displaying in public any symbols or slogans belonging to any religion other than Islam, or creating interest in such articles are all against the law and are punishable with imprisonment, fines or banishment.</ref> also has the highest divorce rate in the world, with 10.97 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants per year.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-11000/highest-divorce-rate/|2=2013-01-05}} Highest divorce rate] - Guinness World Records, accessed January 5, 2013</ref>


{{Quote|{{Quran|4|80}}|'''He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah''': But if any turn away, We have not sent thee to watch over their (evil deeds).}}
==Islamic Defense of Polygamy==
Muslim scholars often claim that the reason why Allah allowed men to marry four wives is that men are killed in battle, thus resulting in women being in more numbers more than men. They also claim that the practice of polygyny curbs adultery, thus leading to more and happier marriages and fewer divorces. Yet these claims are not supported by the facts:


{{quote | {{cite quran|4|113|end=115|style=ref}} | But for the grace of Allah upon thee (Muhammad), and His mercy, a party of them had resolved to mislead thee, but they will mislead only themselves and they will hurt thee not at all. Allah revealeth unto thee the Scripture and wisdom, and teacheth thee that which thou knewest not. The grace of Allah toward thee hath been infinite.<BR><BR>
===World Population shows a surplus of men===
There is no good in much of their secret conferences save (in) him who enjoineth almsgiving and kindness and peace-making among the people. Whoso doeth that, seeking the good pleasure of Allah, We shall bestow on him a vast reward.<BR><BR>
And whoso opposeth the messenger after the guidance (of Allah) hath been manifested unto him, and followeth other than the believer's way, We appoint for him that unto which he himself hath turned, and expose him unto hell - a hapless journey's end!}}


{{Quote|{{Quran|5|92}}|Obey Allah and obey the messenger, and beware! But if ye turn away, then know that the duty of Our messenger is only plain conveyance (of the message).}}
Here's a breakdown of the world population according to CIA Statistics


{{Quote|{{Quran|8|24}}|O ye who believe! '''Obey Allah, and the messenger when He calleth you to that which quickeneth you''', and know that Allah cometh in between the man and his own heart, and that He it is unto Whom ye will be gathered.}}
:World Population age group 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 2,152,066,888/female 2,100,334,722)<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/xx.html#People Global Population Statistics] - CIA.gov</ref>


{{Quote|{{Quran|8|46}}|And obey Allah and His Messenger; and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: For Allah is with those who patiently persevere:}}
This means there are 51,732,100 extra males in the world at marriageable age. Even the worst war in history did not kill off enough males to make polygamy justified. In WW2, 24 million "military" died, leaving still another 26 million spare men.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WW2_casualties WW2 Casualties] - Wikipedia.org</ref>


{{Quote|{{Quran|21|107}}|We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures.}}
:GENERAL POPULATION: women and men casualties: 1,986,370,000 (probably mostly women)
:Military casualties: 24,456,700


{{Quote|{{Quran|24|53}}|They swear their strongest oaths by Allah that, if only thou wouldst command them, they would leave (their homes). Say: "Swear ye not; Obedience is (more) reasonable; verily, Allah is well acquainted with all that ye do."}}
===Allah creates more females than males===


{{Quote|{{Quran|33|21}}|Verily '''in the messenger of Allah ye have a good example for him who looketh unto Allah''' and the Last Day, and remembereth Allah much.}}
The ratio of births is 105 males to 100 females, so this does not seem to be the case.


{{Quote|{{Quran|33|36}}|It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.}}
==External Links==


{{Quote|{{Quran|47|33}}|'''O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey the messenger''', and render not your actions vain.}}
*[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.geohive.com/earth/pop_gender.aspx|2=2011-10-30}} Total Population by Gender and Gender ratio, by Country] ''- UN Statistics Division population 2009 (est.)''
 
*[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124093142.htm|2=2012-03-12}} Monogamy Reduces Major Social Problems of Polygamist Cultures] ''- University of British Columbia, ScienceDaily, January 24, 2012''
{{Quote|{{Quran|48|10}}|Lo! those who swear allegiance unto thee (Muhammad), swear allegiance only unto Allah. The Hand of Allah is above their hands. So whosoever breaketh his oath, breaketh it only to his soul's hurt; while whosoever keepeth his covenant with Allah, on him will He bestow immense reward.}}
*[http://webarchiv.ethz.ch/soms/teaching/OppFall09/MackieFootbinding.pdf Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account] Gerry Mackie, American Sociological Review
 
*[https://henrich.fas.harvard.edu/files/henrich/files/henrich_boyd_richerson_2012.pdf The puzzle of monogamous marriage] Joseph Henrich et al, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
{{Quote|{{Quran|59|7}}|That which Allah giveth as spoil unto His messenger from the people of the townships, it is for Allah and His messenger and for the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer, that it become not a commodity between the rich among you. '''And whatsoever the messenger giveth you, take it. And whatsoever he forbiddeth, abstain (from it).''' And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is stern in reprisal.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|64|12}}|Obey Allah and obey His messenger; but if ye turn away, then the duty of Our messenger is only to convey (the message) plainly.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|68|4}}|And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character.}}
 
====Emulate the Rightly-Guided Caliphs====
 
{{Quote|[http://www.islamworld.net/docs/nawawi.html#hadith28 Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadith, No. 28]|On the authority of Abu Najih Al-Erbadh bin Sariah, who said :
 
The messenger of Allah gave us a sermon by which our hearts were filled with fear and tears came to our eyes. We said: "O Messenger of Allah, it is as though this is a farewell sermon, so councel us." He said: "I councel you to fear Allah and to give absolute obedience even if a slave becomes your leader. Verily he among you who lives [long] will see great controversy, so you must keep to my sunnah and to the sunnah of the rightly-guided Khalifahs - cling to them stubbornly. Beware of newly invented matters, for every invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is a going astray, and every going astray is in Hell-fire."
 
related by Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmithi, who said that it was a fine and true Hadith.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|56|675}}|Narrated Abu Huraira:
 
The Prophet said, "Amongst the people preceding you there used to be 'Muhaddithun' (i.e. persons who can guess things that come true later on, as if those persons have been inspired by a divine power), and if there are any such persons amongst my followers, it is 'Umar bin Al-Khattab."}}
 
{{Quote|al-Waqidi|‘Ali: So what is stopping you from asking ‘Umar to make du’a for you? Do you know, Ibn Qurt, that his du’a is never rejected and always reaches Allah and that Rasulullah said in his regard: "Were there to be another prophet after me it would have been ‘Umar." Is he not that man whose decisions corresponded to that of the Quran until Rasulullah said, "Were punishment to fall from the sky to Earth, none would escape it except ‘Umar bin al-Khattab."
 
Do you not know that Allah revealed clear verses about him? Is he not ascetic, pious and always engaged in worship? Does he not greatly resemble the prophet Nuh? Should he offer du’a on your behalf it would be answered.<ref>Al-Imam al-Waqidi, The Islamic Conquest of Syria, A Translation of [http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/na_debate.htm Futuhusham: The Inspiring History of the Sahabah’s Conquest of Syria], translated by Mawlana Sulayman al-Kindi [Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., London 2005], Part 3: Al-Yarmuk, pp. 287-288</ref>}}
 
====Muslims Must Follow the Sunnah====
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|4|83}}|When there comes to them some matter touching (Public) safety or fear, they divulge it. If they had only referred it to the Messenger, or to those charged with authority among them, the proper investigators would have Tested it from them (direct). Were it not for the Grace and Mercy of Allah unto you, all but a few of you would have fallen into the clutches of Satan.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|49|14}}|The wandering Arabs say: We believe. Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Ye believe not, but rather say "We submit," for the faith hath not yet entered into your hearts. Yet, if ye obey Allah and His messenger, He will not withhold from you aught of (the reward of) your deeds. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|38|2641}}|that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "What befell the children of Isra'il will befall my Ummah, step by step, such that if there was one who had intercourse with his mother in the open, then there would be someone from my Ummah who would do that. Indeed the children of Isra'il split into seventy-two sects, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects. All of them are in the Fire Except one sect." He said: "And which is it O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "What I am upon and my Companions."}}
 
{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|40|4579}}|Narrated Abu Hurayrah (ra): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The Jews were split up into seventy-one or seventy-two sects; and the Christians were split up into seventy one or seventy-two sects; and my community will be split up into seventy-three sects.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|1|42}}|Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: The Prophet (peace be upon him) urinated and Umar was standing behind him with a jug of water. He said: What is this, Umar? He replied: Water for you to perform ablution with. He said: I have not been commanded to perform ablution every time I urinate. If I were to do so, it would become a sunnah.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|10|1794}}|Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab: As-Subayy ibn Ma'bad said: I raised my voice in talbiyah for both of them (i.e. umrah and hajj). Thereupon Umar said: You were guided to the practice (sunnah) of your Prophet (peace be upon him).|See also: {{Abu Dawud|10|1795}}}}
 
{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|18|2879}}|Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As:<BR>The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Knowledge has three categories; anything else is extra; a precise verse, or an established sunnah (practice), or a firm obligatory duty.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|24|3585}}|Narrated Mu'adh ibn Jabal: Some companions of Mu'adh ibn Jabal said: When the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) intended to send Mu'adh ibn Jabal to the Yemen, he asked: How will you judge when the occasion of deciding a case arises? He replied: I shall judge in accordance with Allah's Book. He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in Allah's Book? He replied: (I shall act) in accordance with the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him). He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and in Allah's Book? He replied: I shall do my best to form an opinion and I shall spare no effort. The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) then patted him on the breast and said: Praise be to Allah Who has helped the messenger of the Apostle of Allah to find something which pleases the Apostle of Allah.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Abu Dawud|40|4588}}; see also {{Abu Dawud|40|4587}} & [https://quranx.com/Hadith/AbuDawud/Hasan/Hadith-4589 Abu Dawud 4589]|Narrated AbuRafi': The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Let me not find one of you reclining on his couch when he hears something regarding me which I have commanded or forbidden and saying: We do not know. What we found in Allah's Book we have followed.}}{{Quote|[https://quranx.com/hadith/AbuDawud/Hasan/Hadith-4595/ Sunan Abu Dawud 4595] (not included in the USC-MSA edition)|Sufyan said (according to one chain), and Abu al-Salit said (according to another chain):
 
A man wrote to 'Umar b. 'Abd al-Aziz asking him about Divine decree. He wrote to him: To begin with, I enjoin upon you to fear Allah, to be moderate in (obeying) His Command, to follow the sunnah (practice) of His Prophet (ﷺ) and to abandon the novelties which the innovators introduced after his Sunnah has been established and they were saved from its trouble (i.e. novelty or innovation) ; so stick to Sunnah, for it is for you, if Allah chooses, a protection ; then you should know that any innovation which the people introduced was refuted long before it on the basis of some authority or there was some lesson in it, for the Sunnah was introduced by the people who were conscious of the error, slip, foolishness, and extremism in case of (the sunnah) was opposed. So accept for yourself what the people (in the past) had accepted for themselves, for they had complete knowledge of whatever they were informed, and by penetrating insight they forbade (to do prohibited acts); they had more strength (than us) to disclose the matters (of religion), and they were far better (than us) by virtue of their merits. If right guidance is what you are following, then you outstriped them to it. And if you say whatever the novelty occurred after them was introduced by those who followed the way other then theirs and disliked them. It is they who actually outstripped, and talked about it sufficiently, and gave a satisfactory explanation for it. Below them there is no place for exhaustiveness, and above them there is no place for elaborating things. Some people shortened the matter more than they had done, and thus they turned away (from them), and some people raised the matter more than they had done, and thus they exaggerated. They were on right guidance between that. You have written (to me) asking about confession of Divine decree, you have indeed approached a person who is well informed of it, with the will of Allah. I know what whatever novelty people have brought in, and whatever innovation people have introduced are not more manifest and more established than confession of Divine decree. The ignorant people (i.e. the Arabs before Islam) in pre-Islamic times have mentioned it ; they talked about it in their speeches and in their poetry. They would console themselves for what they lost, and Islam then strengthened it (i.e. belief in Divine decree). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) did not mention it in one or two traditions, but the Muslims heard it from him, and they talked of it from him, and they talked of it during his lifetime and after his death. They did so out of belief and submission to their Lord and thinking themselves weak. There is nothing which is not surrounded by His knowledge, and not counted by His register and not destined by His decree. Despite that, it has been strongly mentioned in His Book: from it they have derived it, and from it they have and so ? they also read in it what you read, and they knew its interpretation of which you are ignorant. After that they said: All this is by writing and decreeing. Distress has been written down, and what has been destined will occur ; what Allah wills will surely happen, and what He does not will will not happen. We have no power to harm or benefit ourselves. Then after that they showed interest (in good works) and were afraid (of bad deeds).}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|1|265}}|The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) narrated to us two ahadith. I have seen one (crystallized into reality), and I am waiting for the other. He told us: Trustworthiness descended in the innermost (root) of the hearts of people. Then the Qur'an was revealed and they learnt from the Qur'an and they learnt from the Sunnah. Then he (the Holy Prophet) told us about the removal of trustworthiness. He said: The man would have a wink of sleep and trustworthiness would be taken away from his heart leaving the impression of a faint mark. He would again sleep and trustworthiness would be taken away from his heart leaving an impression of a blister, as if you rolled down an ember on your foot and it was vesicled. He would see a swelling having nothing in it. He (the Holy Prophet) then took up a pebble and rolled it down over his foot and (said): The people would enter into transactions amongst one another and hardly a person would be left who would return (things) entrusted to him. (And there would be so much paucity of honest persons) till it would be said: There in such a such tribe is a trustworthy man. And they would also say about a person: How prudent he is, how broad-minded he is and how intelligent he is, whereas in his heart there would not be faith even to the weight of a mustard seed. I have passed through a time in which I did not care with whom amongst you I entered into a transaction, for if he were a Muslim his faith would compel him to discharge his obligations to me and it he were a Christian or a Jew, the ruler would compel him to discharge his obligations to me. But today I would not enter into a transaction with you except so and so.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|1|292}}|It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed: What would you do when the son of Mary would descend amongst you and would lead you as one amongst you? Ibn Abi Dhi'b on the authority of Abu Huraira narrated: Your leader amongst you. Ibn Abi Dhi'b said: Do you know what the words:" He would lead as one amongst you" mean? I said: Explain these to me. He said: He would lead you according to the Book of your: Lord (hallowed be He and most exalted) and the Sunnah of your Apostle (may peace be upon him).}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|4|1151}}|He ('Umar) further said: Allah! I call You witness on these governors of lands, that I sent them to (the peoples of these lands) so that they should administer justice amongst them, teach them their religion and the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him), and distribute amongst them the spoils of war and refer to me that which they find difficult to perform.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|7|2868}}|Abu Hassan al-A'raj reported that a person from Bani Hujaim said to Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with them): What is this religious verdict of yours which has engaged the attention of the people or which has become a matter of dispute among them that he who circumambulated the House can be free from Ihram? Thereupon he said: '''That is the Sunnah of your Apostle (may peace be upon him), even though you may not approve of it'''.|See also: {{Muslim|4|1566}}}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3236}}|Anas (Allah be pleased with him) reported that some of the Companions of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) asked his (the Prophet's) wives about the acts that he performed in private. Someone among them (among his Companions) said: I will not marry women; someone among them said: I will not eat meat; and someone among them said: I will not lie down in bed. He (the Holy Prophet) praised Allah and glorified Him, and said: What has happened to these people that they say so and so, whereas I observe prayer and sleep too; I observe fast and suspend observing them; I marry women also? '''And he who turns away from my Sunnah, he has no relation with Me'''}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|9|3524}}|Abu Ishaq reported: I was with al-Aswad b. Yazid sitting in the great mosque, and there was with us al-Sha'bi, and he narrated the narration of Fatima bint Qais (Allah be pleased with her) that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) did not make any provision for lodging and maintenance allowance for her. Al-Aswad caught hold of some pebbles in his fist and he threw them towards him saying: Woe be to thee, you narrate like it, whereas Umar said: We cannot abandon the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of our Apostle (may peace be upon him) for the words of a woman. We do not know whether she remembers that or she forgets. For her, there is a provision of lodging and maintenance allowance. Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, said:" Turn them not from their houses nor should they themselves go forth unless they commit an open indecency" (lxv. 1).}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|31|5948}}|Anas reported that the people of Yemen came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Send with us a person who should teach us Sunnah and al-Islam, whereupon he (the Holy Prophet) caught hold of the hand of Ubaida and said: He is a man of trust of this Umma.|See also: {{Abu Dawud|18|2888}}}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muwatta|46||3}}|Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "I have left two matters with you. As long as you hold to them, you will not go the wrong way. They are the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Prophet."}}
 
{{Quote|1=[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/3440/fabricated%2520hadeeth|2=2012-02-02}} The misguided sect of al-Qur’aaniyyeen]<BR>Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid, Islam Q&A, Fatwa No. 3440|2=Ahmad, Abu Dawood and al-Haakim reported with a saheeh isnaad from al-Miqdaam that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Soon there will be a time when a man will be reclining on his couch, narrating a hadeeth from me, and he will say, ‘Between us and you is the Book of Allaah: what it says is halaal, we take as halaal, and what it says is haraam, we take as haraam.’ But listen! Whatever the Messenger of Allaah forbids is like what Allaah forbids.” (Al-Fath al-Kabeer, 3/438. Al-Tirmidhi reported it with different wording, and said that it is hasan saheeh. Sunan al-Tirmidhi bi Sharh Ibn al-‘Arabi, al-Saawi edn., 10/132).}}
 
{{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||3|9|1846}}|It was narrated from Aishah that:
the Messenger of Allah said: “Marriage is part of my sunnah, and '''whoever does not follow my sunnah has nothing to do with me'''. Get married, for I will boast of your great numbers before the nations. Whoever has that means, let him get married, and whoever does not, then he should fast for it will diminish his desire.” (Hasan)}}
 
{{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||3|9|1989}}|It was narrated that 'Abdulleh said:
"The Messenger of Allah cursed the woman who does tattoos and the one who has them done, and those who pluck their eyebrows and file their teeth for the purpose of beautification, and those who change the creation of Allah." News of that reached a woman of Banu Asad who was called Umm Ya'qub. She came to him and said: "I have heard that you said such and such." He said: 'Why should I not curse those whom the Messenger of Allah cursed ? '''And it is in the Book of Allah." She said: "I read what is between its two covers 'and I have not found that." He said: "If you read it properly you would have found it. Have you not read the words: 'And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it).'?" She said: "Of course." He said: 'The Messenger of Allah forbade that."''' She said: 'I think that your wife does it.' He said: " Go and look." So she went and looked and she did not see what she wanted. She said: "I have not seen anything!’ 'Abdullah said: "If she was as you say, I would not have kept her with me. " (Sahih)}}
 
====The First 3 Generations of Muslims are the Best Muslims====
 
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|8|78|652}}|Narrated 'Abdullah:
 
The Prophet was asked, "Who are the best people?" He replied: The people of my generation, and then those who will follow (come after) them, and then those who will come after the later; after that there will come some people whose witness will precede their oaths and their oaths will go ahead of their witness." Ibrahim (a sub-narrator) said, "When we were young, our elder friends used to prohibit us from taking oaths by saying, 'I bear witness swearing by Allah, or by Allah's Covenant."'}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|31|6159}}|'A'isha reported that a person asked Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as to who amongst the people were the best. He said: Of the generation to which I belong, then of the second generation (generation adjacent to my generation), then of the third generation (generation adjacent to the second generation).}}
 
====Free Will====
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|3|19}}|'''Lo! religion with Allah (is) the Surrender (to His Will and Guidance).''' Those who (formerly) received the Scripture differed only after knowledge came unto them, through transgression among themselves. Whoso disbelieveth the revelations of Allah (will find that) lo! Allah is swift at reckoning.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|5|4}}|They ask thee (O Muhammad) what is made lawful for them. Say: (all) good things are made lawful for you. And those beasts and birds of prey which ye have trained as hounds are trained, ye teach them that which Allah taught you; so eat of that which they catch for you and mention Allah's name upon it, and observe your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is swift to take account.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|5|7}}|Remember Allah's grace upon you and His covenant by which He bound you when ye said: We hear and we obey; And keep your duty to Allah. Lo! He knoweth what is in the breasts (of men).}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|9|53}}|Say: Pay (your contribution), willingly or unwillingly, it will not be accepted from you. Lo! ye were ever froward folk.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|47|21}}|Obedience and a civil word. Then, when the matter is determined, if they are loyal to Allah it will be well for them.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|49|16}}|The wandering Arabs say: We believe. Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Ye believe not, but rather say "We submit," for the faith hath not yet entered into your hearts. Yet, if ye obey Allah and His messenger, He will not withhold from you aught of (the reward of) your deeds. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Quran|56|57}}|It is We Who have created you: why will ye not witness the Truth?}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|87|10}}|He who fears will mind,}}
 
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|52|203}}|Narrated Ibn 'Umar: The 'Prophet said, "It is obligatory for one to listen to and obey (the ruler's orders) unless these orders involve one disobedience (to Allah); but if an act of disobedience (to Allah) is imposed, he should not listen to or obey it."}}
 
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|89|256}}|Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah's Apostle said, "You should listen to and obey, your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian (black) slave whose head looks like a raisin."}}
 
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|89|258}}|Narrated 'Abdullah: The Prophet said, "A Muslim has to listen to and obey (the order of his ruler) whether he likes it or not, as long as his orders involve not one in disobedience (to Allah), but if an act of disobedience (to Allah) is imposed one should not listen to it or obey it. (See Hadith No. 203, Vol. 4)}}
 
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|9|92|384}}|Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "All my followers will enter Paradise except those who refuse." They said, "O Allah's Apostle! Who will refuse?" He said, "Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys me is the one who refuses (to enter it)." }}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|20|4604}}|It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. 'Umar who said: We used to take oath to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) that we would listen to and obey his orders. He would tell us (to say in the oath): As far as it lies in my power.}}
 
{{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|pages=322-323}}<br>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 1|page=669}}|‘And be not like those who said, “We hear’’ when they did not hear.’ i.e. Like the hypocrites who pretend to be obedient and are secretly disobedient to him.
‘The worst of beasts with God are the deaf and the dumb who do not understand.’ i.e. The hypocrites whom I have forbidden you to imitate. Dumb in reference to good, deaf to truth, not understanding and not knowing the vengeance and consequence which will come upon them.
‘Had God known that there was good among them, He would have made them listen.’ i.e. In performing for them the words which they spoke with their tongues, but their hearts contradicted them, and if they had come forth with you, ‘they would have turned their backs, going aside.’ i.e. Would not have been faithful to you in the purpose for which they had come out.
‘O you who believe, respond to God and the apostle when he summons you to that which will quicken you,’ i.e. to the war in which God exalted you after humiliation, and made you strong after weakness, and protected you from your enemies after you had been overcome by them.}}
 
{{Quote|{{citation|title=The History of al-Tabari|trans_title=Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk|volume=vol. VIII|ISBN=0-7914-3149-5|year=1997|publisher=SUNY Press|author=al-Tabari (d. 923)|editor=Michael Fishbein|url=https://archive.org/details/HistoryAlTabari40Vol/History_Al-Tabari_10_Vol/page/n2028/mode/2up|page=182}}<br>{{citation|title=تاريخ الرسل والملوك|author=أبو جعفر الطبري|url=https://app.turath.io/book/9783|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 3|page=61}}|The people assembled in Mecca to swear allegiance to the Messenger of God in Islam. As I have been informed, he sat for them on al-Safa. 'Umar b. al-Khattab was below the Messenger of God, lower than the place where he sat, administering the oath to the people. He received from them the oath of allegiance to the Messenger of God, to heed and obey God and His Messenger to the extent of their ability. That was the oath he administered to those who swore allegiance to the Messenger of God in Islam.}}
 
===The Qur'an Should Not Fall Into The Hands of Infidels===
 
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|4|52|233}}|Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: Allah's Apostle forbade the people to travel to a hostile country carrying (copies of) the Quran.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Muslim|20|4609}}|It has been narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Do not take the Qur'an on a journey with you, for I am afraid lost it should fall into the hands of the enemy. Ayyub (one of the narrators in the chain of transmitters) said: The enemy may seize it and may quarrel with you over it.|See also: {{Muslim|20|4607}}, and {{Muslim|20|4608}}}}
 
===Instruction to Question the Prophet or his Sunnah===
 
{{Quote|1={{Quran|5|101-102}}|2=O ye who believe! '''Ask not questions about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble'''. But if ye ask about things when the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be made plain to you, Allah will forgive those: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Forbearing. Some people before you did ask such questions, and on that account lost their faith.}}
 
{{Quote|{{Bukhari|2|24|555}}, see also {{Bukhari|3|41|591}}| Narrated Ash-sha'bi:
 
The clerk of Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba narrated, "Muawiya wrote to Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba: Write to me something which you have heard from the Prophet (p.b.u.h) ." So Al-Mughira wrote: I heard the Prophet saying, "Allah has hated for you three things:
 
1. Vain talks, (useless talk) that you talk too much or about others.
 
2. Wasting of wealth (by extravagance)
 
3. '''And asking too many questions (in disputed religious matters)''' or asking others for something (except in great need). (See Hadith No. 591, Vol. Ill), }}
 
{{Quote|{{Abudawud|40|4586}}|Narrated AbuHurayrah:
 
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Controverting about the Qur'an is disbelief.}}
 
{{Quote|Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur'an, vol. III, pgs. 76-77|"'''The Holy Prophet himself forbade people to ask questions ...so do not try to probe into such things.'''"}}
 
{{Quote|1=[http://www.tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=5&tid=14747 Unnecessary Questioning is Disapproved of]<BR>Tafsir Ibn Kathir|2=(O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble...)." Imam Ahmad recorded that `Ali said, "When this Ayah was revealed,  
 
(And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can bear the journey.)[3:97], they asked, `O Allah's Messenger! Is it required every year' He did not answer them, and they asked again, `Is it every year' He still did not answer them, so they asked, `Is it every year' He said,
 
(No, and had I said `yes', it would have become obligated, and had it become obligated, you would not be able to bear it.) Allah sent down,
 
(O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble.)." At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah also recorded this Hadith. The apparent wording of this Ayah indicates that '''we are forbidden to ask about things that if one has knowledge of, he would be sorry he had asked. Consequently, it is better to avoid such questions'''.}}
 
==Shia hadith==
===Shirk===
{{Quote|{{cite web|url=https://www.al-islam.org/greater-sins-volume-1-ayatullah-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi/first-greater-sin-shirk#f_a3fc3df0_8 |title=Wasa’il ul-Shia |publisher= |author= |date= |archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}|Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) says: “The greatest of the Greater Sins is to attribute partners to Allah.”}}
 
While explaining the Quranic verse 12:106, the sixth Shia Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq said:
 
{{Quote|{{cite web|url=https://www.al-islam.org/greater-sins-volume-1-ayatullah-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi/first-greater-sin-shirk#f_a3fc3df0_8 |title=Bihār al-Anwār |publisher= |author= |date= |archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}|"[one form of Shirk is] Like the saying of someone that if so and so had not been there I would have been destroyed. If so and so had not been there I would have got that thing. In the same way is (sic) to say that if so and so had not been there my children would have perished.”}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


[[Category:QHS]]
[[Category:Women]]
[[Category:Islamic History]]
[[Category:Shariah (Islamic Law)]]
[[Category:Sirah]]
[[Category:Marriage]]
[[Category:Hadith]]
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Qur'an]]
[[Category:Criticism of Islam]]
[[Category:Revelation]]
[[Category:Society and human nature]]

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Muhammad and Polygamy

According to traditional sources, Muhammad practiced polygamy. Besides the numerous concubines, he married fifteen women and consummated his marriages with thirteen.[1] According to Tabari he was also accused of being a "womanizer".[2] He was also attributed the sexual prowess of many men:

Narrated Qatada: Anas bin Malik said, "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night and they were eleven in number." I asked Anas, "Had the Prophet the strength for it?" Anas replied, "We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty (men)." And Sa'id said on the authority of Qatada that Anas had told him about nine wives only (not eleven).
Sahih Bukhari 268

Reasons for Muhammad's Marriages

Islamic scholarship gives the care of widows and poor woman as a societal reason for polygynous marriages. Yet Many of Muhammad's wives were not poor or widows. In fact, one of his wives (Muhammad's cousin, Zainab bint Jash) was originally the wife of his step-son Zaid bin Haritha. As was the case with Safiyah bint Huyayy, the traditional sources indicate that many of his marriages were the results of Muhammad's desire, not compassion for widows or poor women. This is nowhere more evident than in his numerous divorces, which numbered six in total. For example; he divorced ‘Amrah bint Yazid on their wedding night,[3] due to her suffering from leprosy.[4][5][6][7] He also divorced a women named Ghaziyyah bint Jabir when he realized that she was 'old'.[8] Yet Muhammad refused to allow Ali bin Abu Talib (the husband of his daughter Fatima) to take even a second wife because "what hurts her, hurts me."[9][10] This seems to indicate that at least for his own daughter he thought that polygyny hurt women, but would not take this fact into account with regard to his own marriages.

Polygamy Permitted in Islam

Regardless of it not being acceptable for the husband of Muhammad's daughter, Islam traditionally allows a man to marry up to four wives at any one time:

And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice (between them), then (marry) only one or what your right hands possess; this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course.
Quran 4:3

Islam also does not traditionally require that the man have the permission of his first wife before marrying a second:

It is not obligatory for the husband, when he wishes to marry another, to get his first wife's acceptance, but it is a noble trait of character and good relations for him to appease her by whatever decreases the pain which woman naturally feel in such situations. This may be achieved by smiling,greeting her warmly and speaking kindly to her, and by whatever money you can afford,if her acceptance requires it

The Acceptance of the first Wife is not a Condition for the one who wishes to marry another
FatwaIslam, Permanent Committee for Research and Verdicts: Fatawa Islamiyah Darussalam Vol: 5 No. 353

The Consequences of Polygamy

Female Genital Mutilation and & other Chastity Assurance practices

Polygamy causes Chastity Assurance practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Veiling, harems and footbinding.

In polygamous societies it is only the richest and most powerful men who are able to afford to keep multiple wives. However, these high-status polygamous men face a problem guaranteeing the fidelity of their many wives - and the more wives they have the greater the problem becomes. In a monogamous marriage a husband and wife can spend much of their time with one another, and become close to one another, and their sexual and emotional needs are more-or-less proportional. A polygamous man may have two, four, hundred or even a thousand wives, whom he must satisfy emotionally and sexually, and whose desire for motherhood he must also satisfy. If one of his wive's needs are not satisfied, she may be tempted be unfaithful, and this may result in the high-status man rearing a child that is not his own. Which, evolutionary speaking, is a disaster.

In order to assure themselves of the chastity and fidelity of their many wives, polygamous men have developed a variety of Chastity Assurance practices:

  • harems - which keep wives locked away, guarded by eunuchs;
  • footbinding (as once practiced by the Chinese) - which keeps wives from being unfaithful by reducing their mobility and independence;
  • chaperoning and gender segregation - which hamper and eliminate interactions between the sexes;
  • arranged marriages - which obviate the dangers that romance and courting poses to a girl's chastity and reputation;
  • veiling - which makes girls less interesting and identifiable to males;
  • 'honour' culture - which exacts disproportionate punishments for (perceived or actual) 'un-chastity';
  • Female Genital Mutilation - which reduces a girl's capacity for sexual pleasure both physically (through the removal of the clitoris and labia) and mentally (through the effects of trauma). Where a girl has been infibulated her chastity is further guaranteed because her vaginal opening is sealed with a covering of skin, the penetration of which is extremely painful and which leads to severe hemorrhaging that is difficult to conceal.

Marriages to high status men are highly advantageous, to both potential brides and their families, who will benefit from having a high status male as a relative. The urge for women to marry into higher strata of society is called hypergyny. It is universal to all societies, but is much more intense in polygamous societies. This is probably because in monogamous societies, once a high-status man marries he is no longer available, whereas in polygamous societies a married high-status man remains available.

The high status polygamous man will require that girls who aspire to marry him conform to his expectations and standards. And a family wishing to marry a daughter to a high status man must persuade him that their daughter is 'pure', chaste and will be faithful to him. They demonstrate this by adopting (or having their daughter adopt) Chastity Assurance practices expected by that man, whether it be FGM or other practices in the above list.

The intensely hypergynous nature of polygamous societies means that the marriage practices of high-status polygamous men cascade down through the lower ranks of society, and are rapidly adopted by all families. Only the daughters of the poorest families, who can not afford to engage in such practices, are spared. These girls and their families are stigmatised as 'impure' and 'contaminating' and guaranteed to be unchaste, and will be considered as 'untouchables' and suffer from intense discrimination and persecution. Thus the avoidance of stigma becomes an added incentive for families to conform to the community's Chastity Assurance practices.

Bride-Price (mahr)

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Maps comparing the global distributions of polygamy and of dowry systems

Bride-price is a payment made by the bride-groom (or his family) to the bride (or her family). Marriages in polygamous kinship systems require that some form of bride-price be paid (mahr). This is because polygamy creates a scarcity of marriageable women. This makes unmarried girls and women a particularly valuable asset, which is realised when she is 'sold' in marriage to a husband. The scarcer marriageable women are the greater the value of dowries. This makes marriage unaffordable to low-ranking young men, even if they somehow manage to find a bride. The heros of folk tales of polygamous societies (such as 'One Thousand and One Nights') are often poor young men (such as Aladdin) struggling to find the wealth necessary to pay the bride-price of the girl he loves. The story is resolved when he becomes rich and powerful enough to marry her.

Nobel prize-winning economist Gary Becker argues in his book 'A Treatise on the Family'[11] that families of young women become the biggest supporters of polygamy because they possess an inherently scarce resource. Love matches and courtship are frowned upon because they risk reducing the bride-price (the couple may be tempted to elope, or the bride request a merely symbolic bride-price). Thus in order to preserve their market value, the chastity and reputation of unmarried women must protected by such measures as FGM, purdah, child marriage and arranged marriage. .

Child Marriage

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Maps comparing the global distribution of polygamy and of child marriage

Child Marriage is endemic to polygynous societies. One way of alleviating the 'bride famine' that polygyny creates amongst men in the lower strata of society is to bring prepubescent girls into the marriage market. Dowry further incentives parents to sell-off their daughters before adolescence, when there is a greater risk of her reputation being spoiled and her losing her economic value. And if the bride is still a child, the dowry goes to her father, not to the bride. The bride-price for a child is generally less than for an adolescent or adult woman. This makes children a more affordable option for poor and low status men. Because of the great age differences in such marriages, and the degree of power inequality between husband and bride, the personal bond between husbands and wives is not strong and there is very little companionate marriage.

In monogamous societies, the incest taboo generally extends not only to a man's daughters but also to all young women old enough to be a man's daughter. This separation of generations does not naturally occur in polygamous cultures, and is what makes childhood, as we understand it, possible.

The Polygamous family

According to Somayya Jabarti of Arab News, Saudi Arabia has the second-highest divorce-rate in the world. Abdullah Al-Fawzan, a professor and sociologist at King Saud University in Riyadh, states that polygamy is responsible for up to 55 percent of divorces. He added that the loss of trust, sincerity, compassion and cooperation were also factors in the failure of marriages.[12] The Maldives, an Islamic country with a 100% Muslim population,[13] also has the highest divorce rate in the world, with 10.97 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants per year.[14]

Islamic Defense of Polygamy

Muslim scholars often claim that the reason why Allah allowed men to marry four wives is that men are killed in battle, thus resulting in women being in more numbers more than men. They also claim that the practice of polygyny curbs adultery, thus leading to more and happier marriages and fewer divorces. Yet these claims are not supported by the facts:

World Population shows a surplus of men

Here's a breakdown of the world population according to CIA Statistics

World Population age group 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 2,152,066,888/female 2,100,334,722)[15]

This means there are 51,732,100 extra males in the world at marriageable age. Even the worst war in history did not kill off enough males to make polygamy justified. In WW2, 24 million "military" died, leaving still another 26 million spare men.[16]

GENERAL POPULATION: women and men casualties: 1,986,370,000 (probably mostly women)
Military casualties: 24,456,700

Allah creates more females than males

The ratio of births is 105 males to 100 females, so this does not seem to be the case.

External Links

References

  1. ↑ al-Tabari vol.9 p.126-127
  2. ↑ "....Layla’s people said, "’What a bad thing you have done! You are a self-respecting woman, but the Prophet is a womanizer. Seek an annulment from him.’ She went back to the Prophet and asked him to revoke the marriage and he complied with [her request]...." - al Tabari vol.9 p.139
  3. ↑ Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, p. 139; Al-Tabari, Vol. 39, pp. 187-188.
  4. ↑ Ibn Ishaq, cited in Guillaume, A. (1960). New Light on the Life of Muhammad, p. 55. Manchester: Manchester University Press
  5. ↑ Ibn Hisham note 918 (here he has apparently confused her with Asma bint Al-Numan).
  6. ↑ Bewley/Saad 8:100-101.
  7. ↑ Women in Islam, By Anne Sofie Roald - Page 221 [Quoted: Najla Hamadeh, Page 335-6]
  8. ↑ al-Tabari vol.9 p.139
  9. ↑ Sahih Bukhari 5230
  10. ↑ "An indication of their special relationship is found in the fact that Ali never married another woman as long as Fatima was alive. Sunni sources explain this curiosity in a tradition in which Ali asks for Abu Jahl's daughter in marriage, but the Prophet does not allow him to marry her because it would upset Fatimah." - "The Image of Fatima in Classical Muslim Thought," Denise L. Soufi, PhD dissertation, Princeton, 1997, p. 51-52
  11. ↑ A Treatise on the Family Gary S. Becker, Harvard University Press
  12. ↑ Somayya Jabarti - Alarming Divorce Rate ‘Must Be Addressed Urgently’ - Arab News, October 24, 2003
  13. ↑ The Maldives is the only country after Saudi Arabia that claims to have a 100 percent Muslim population. As per its constitution, only a Muslim can be a citizen of the country. Propagating any faith other than Islam, importing/publicly carrying literature that contradicts Islam or translation into the Dhivehi language of such books and writings, displaying in public any symbols or slogans belonging to any religion other than Islam, or creating interest in such articles are all against the law and are punishable with imprisonment, fines or banishment.
  14. ↑ Highest divorce rate - Guinness World Records, accessed January 5, 2013
  15. ↑ Global Population Statistics - CIA.gov
  16. ↑ WW2 Casualties - Wikipedia.org
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