What is polygamy Polygamy in Islam is a process of marriage that permits a man to have more than one wife at the same time. Also, there are two different interpretations on polygamy as a term. They are polygyny and polyandry. Polygny which is basically the same act that has the same meaning as polygamy in Islam; which is a man marrying more than one woman at the time1. On the other hand, there is Polyandry which is a woman who marries more than one man at the same time; however, according to Islam this practice is not recognized and is utterly prohibited2. Moreover, polygamy as a process is known in different cultures and different religions and not Islam only; so we can find polygamy present in different Islamic countries, tribes in Africa
As a result polygamy in the point of view of a lot of scholars is permitted in Islam and even in some Muslim communities they are encouraged and thought of as a one of the positives that would have a positive impact on the society. However, when continuing more in the Quran we will find out that the Quran states that it's very difficult to achieve fairness and be fair towards the two women3. Moreover, this phrase in Quran was used by scholars in order to challenge the status of polygamy and it was further interpretation by some scholars that there is impossibility to be fair and as a result polygamy should be banned and based on his interpretation Habib Bourguiba was able to take the decisions of banning polygamy in Tunisia in 1956.yet, this was always considered as a very unique way of looking to polygamy; besides, a lot of scholars kept of believing that justice can be achieved even with the existence of polygamy and started to create different interpretations of justice so we find some scholars start to argue that the justice meant in this Quranic phrase is by providing to both wives financially equal which can be achieved easily and this makes polygamy fair in their
This is ironic because the anti-polygamists believed in the Bible, but not polygamy, one of its teachings. Many of God’s righteous followers in the Old Testament practiced polygamy. Abraham married Hagar, Sarai’s handmaiden (Genesis 16:1-3). Jacob was married to Leah, Rachel, Billah, and Zilpha, all at the same time.
The article Breaking the Cycle Mother, Daughter Find It Can Be Difficult to Leave Polygamy behind Polygamy: It 's Tough to Break the Cycle by Joan O 'Brien is about a mother’s experience leaving a polygamous marriage. This mother, Betsy Barlow of Salt Lake City also inspired her daughter, Ellen to do the same thing. It is explained that Mrs. Barlow felt that being a part of a polygamous marriage was defeating for women and herself. O’Brien states, “Barlow believes that in practice, polygamy ``suppresses ' ' women”. Most women would drop out of High school to raise children for the one husband and Mrs. Barlow was taught that this was the only way to reach the celestial kingdom. Her parents taught her this and she openly admits to teaching her
The husbands may take double of the family’s inheritance. I feel that there is a lot of gender equality. For example, a woman’s testimony counts as half of her husband’s, because a woman is prone to forget. The Koran has plenty of sexual passages. For example, a man may have up to four wives, a man may marry a child, and slaves and girls can be used as sexual property for his pleasure.
Polygamy is not something many Americans are accustomed to. Western culture teaches that monogamy, as opposed to polygamy, is the proper, accepted form of marriage. Western culture places that morality into it's people, often from youth.
Polygamy is defined as “a marriage that includes more than two partners.” There are different types of polygamy, these include: polygyny, where a man has multiple wives, polyandry, in which a woman has multiple husbands, and group marriage, where a family consists of multiple husbands and wives. Of these different types of polygamy, polygyny is definitely the most popular of the three. In America, the practice of any form of polygamy is illegal and due to this law, many adherents of the lifestyle stay hidden ("What is Polygamy?"). Polygamy became an issue in the United States in the year 1852 when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the LDS Church, made it so that plural marriage became a part of its religious doctrine. However, due to the storm of controversy that followed this movement, in 1890 the Mormon Church officially abandoned the practice. The Mormon’s who disagreed with the movement broke away from the Mormon Church and became known as Fundamentalist Mormons. Although the practice was almost unheard of in regions such as the Midwest, Northeast and South, in the Western portion of the United States, polygyny marriage is still prevalent. Those who are found to be practicing the belief are fined and sometimes are forced to split up with the rest of their families. For this reason many remain in the dark about their lifestyle, considering the severity of the consequences ("History of Fundamentalist Mormons"). However, recently many families have come out of hiding and proclaimed to the world that they are a practicing polygamist family, raising the question: is it right for the government to tell people who they can and cannot marry?
A sensitive subject, in the Islamic religion, is the status that a women holds - specifically with respect to the theme of how women are treated within polygamous relationships. Smith’s main thesis is that the Islamic religion has been accused of degrading women and he plans to share information to prove that this is a very valid fact. A polygamous relationship is a relationship or marriage with many partners. The Islam’s believe in polygamous relationships and the rules are specifically stated within the Koran. The Koran allows for a man to have up to four wives/partners, although, if he cannot equally share his love with all of his wives/partners, then he must only marry one . Smith has a very valid point, although there are many sources that support and refute his opinion. Mohammad Ali Syed discovered that the Islamic law allows for polygamy under certain circumstances, such as the treatment towards orphans. ...
Polygamy: “A marriage form in which one individual has multiple spouses at the same time; from the Greek words' poly (“ many”) and Gamos (“marriage”)”. Examples of this would the whole history of Africa like no other continent in the world. African societies have managed to see children being a structure of prosperity and a family that has more children were considered to be more powerful.
Polygamy in Islam serves a strictly religious purpose. Polygamy was a way of life until the Quran was revealed 1400 years ago. When the earth was young and under-populated, polygamy was one way of populating it and bringing in the human beings needed to carry out God's plan. By the time the Quran was revealed, the world had been sufficiently populated, and the Quran put down the first limitations against polygamy. Polygamy has become an established part of traditional Islamic law and practice; Muslims are accustomed to accepting that a man's right to more than one wife is firmly established in the Qur'an and the Hadith. Polygamy (specifically polygyny, the marriage of one man to many women) is thus considered unquestionably moral, even though it is obviously unfair; only men are allowed the privilege of it. However, a close study of the Qur'an can enable one to see that the Islamic ideal of marriage is monogamous, with only husband-wife pairs. In fact, the Qur'anic stance on polygamy is the same as its stance on slavery; both are objectionable on ethical grounds, but tolerated due to the particular circumstances of Muhammad's community.
Polygamy is considered illegal in the United States, which would make it a deviant practice. That fact is on the bottom burner for me when considering this situation. Forcing someone to theoretically spend the rest of their life with someone not of their choosing is definitely out of the norm in my opinion. On to...
The world polygamy means the practice of having more than one wife. It comes from poly meaning ‘many’ and gamos meaning ‘marriage. Polygamy has been around for many years, and by many years, it’s been around since the biblical ages. In the Old Testament of the bible polygamy was allowed, not only was it practiced or allowed in the Old Testament but other cultures and religions practiced polygamy as well. These religions included Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. The Old Testament gives multiple examples of men being married to more than one wife at a time. The patriarchs Abraham and Jacob are known to be examples of righteous men who had several wives in the Old Testament. It is said that in ancient times when a man had more than one wife or wives and concubines(a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives) these wives and concubines were segregated by position and authority within the husband’s family. The first wife held the highest position and it was to her first –born son that the husband’s inheritance was given. (www.bibleresearch.org)
Mention the concept of polygamy in any “civilized” gathering, and you just may be able to see the shiver of repulsion that ripples through the crowd. By substituting the word “polyamory” in, you will be able to circumvent this reaction – but only because everyone is staring at you in baffled silence instead. So we begin, as always, with definitions.
“Polygamy is defined as a marriage in which a spouse of either gender has more than one mate at the same time. Polygamy is considered a valid form of marriage in many countries and communities around the globe” (Al-Krenawi). However, polygamy is illegal in the United States. Those who practice polygamy in America can only be “legally” married to one spouse; therefore, the subsequent spouses in a polygamist relationship hold a “singl...
“Polygyny is the marriage of one man to more than one woman at the same time” (Powell 167). This structure of marriage is prevalent among the families of Okonkwo’s village, and Okonkwo himself has three wives. A man with many wives was looked upon in a better light than a man with only one wife or no wife at all. In the novel, Okonkwo is said to have had a hard start as a young man because “he neither inherited a barn, nor a title, nor even a young wife” (Achebe 18). Men view wives as a means to gain titles and respect as well as extra labor power for thier combines. Women bring a number of benefits to a man: sexual services, reproductive power, labor, farms for women’s crops, in-laws with goods, land, and livestock. Men typically have only one wife if they lacked wealth (Amadiume 30-31). This is a feminist issue because the people of the village treat women as property that can be inherited. A feminist critic sees how polygyny devalues women and treats them the same as animals. According to Nigerian law, a woman is categorized “as an object who is not quite human” (Bazza 176). In Nigeria, if a woman is involved in polygyny and her husband divorces her for whatever reason, she cannot remarry and often turns to prostitution or extreme poverty for herself and her children (Kunhiyop 44). There is no good that comes from polygyny for
In today’s society the assumption asserts that there must be only two adults integrated in a relationship, however in polygamous environments, having more than one spouse is traditional. Some may argue that Polygamy is simply just an alternate lifestyle. This, however, ceases to be true. Young girls are being forced to marry older men and sometimes relatives. Little boys are often abandoned because it appears to be competition for older men. Children are victims of sexual and physical abuse. Whereas, for women, they generally become stripped of their money and experience competition against the multiple wives a husband. Although Polygamy is viewed as immoral by society, the main focus point should be saving young children and women because
(Bâ, 2008, p. 38). This speech reveals that both wife and husband have the obligation of supporting the polygamy. Modou’s obligation is to God as he intentionally wanted Modou to marry again while according to Tamsir, Ramatoulaye’s obligation is to allow the marriage to occur and accept the situation as it is her duty to support her husband’s decisions. Furthermore, Mawdo also married again. His and Nabou’s marriage is to some extent similar to Modou’s.