RE: Why is a man allowed to have more than one wife in Islam? i.e. why is polygamy allowed in Islam?

Submitted by SoManyContradictionSoLittleTime (United Kingdom), Jul 30, 2010 at 21:09

Firstly, let me say there are some great comments on this fantastic debate, but also some credence must be given to comments that suggest that Dr. Muqtedar Khan has either ducked certain major issues (apostacy, divorce, adultery etc.) or tried to suggest that it is only the interpretation of Islam that is the problem. My question to Dr. Muqtedar Khan would be - how do you suggest changing the interpretations of Islam in countries where (you specify; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Taliban, and others) it is apparently interpreted wrongly according to yourself?

Anyway, on to the comment I wish to take issue with; RE: Why is a man allowed to have more than one wife in Islam? i.e. why is polygamy allowed in Islam? "The Qur'an is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase 'marry only one'. "There are several other reasons, why Islam has permitted limited polygyny, but it is mainly to protect the modesty of women." I'm sorry, either you 'marry only one' or you allow polygamy, it can't be both depending on if you can treat them all fairly or not. Then you start with 'The females outnumber males so it makes sense to marry multiple wives' theorem; I've also seen this reasoning on Newstatesman website and to be honest it is rubbish - You assume that all women must be married or become public property. By public property - do you mean remain single and unmarried? - as I have no problem with my sister remaining in this state if SHE so chooses. You later argue that Islam give women an honourable option by allowing them to marry a married man - I would contest it is far more honourable for a woman to be independent and to earn money herself and take care of herself, than to simply take an easy option and become wife no.2, no.3 etc. Would you be able to let a second wife leave you for a different man to marry if SHE wanted this or would she be subject to an honour killing? ("or suppose your sister happens to be one of the unmarried women in USA. The only two options remaining for her are that she either marries a man who already has a wife or becomes public property. There is no other option.

All those who are modest will opt for the first.") Apart from the fact this would more than likely lead to an ever decreasing gene pool of people that could mate together due to the increased likelihood of being someone's' half-brother or half-sister or cousin etc. since the size of families would increase almost exponentially. You have also forgotten about the existence of lesbians or those of trans-gender and to include those figures in your reasoning, since you make reference to 'gays' several times. Although to be honest, from looking at how you label gay people as 'sodomites' it is clear what your personal views of gay people are..... You are also forgetting about the discriminatory manner of Chinas' preference to male children. You also make reference to India having a larger male to female ratio - so along with china is over 1/3 of the world population that either has a greater ration (or in chinas' case, desires it). "A female child has more immunity than a male child." Where is your source for this statement and the statements in the same paragraph that follow it? Are you meaning a specific part of the world perhaps? (although it is widely accepted females have a longer average lifespan)

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