Polygamy
Polygamy
has always existed among practically all ancient cultures, and India is no
exception. Indian mythology is replete with stories of polygamous kings, the
most prominent of them being Dashrath and Krishna. Arab culture, too, was
inherently polygamous. But Islam capped the number of wives a man could simultaneously
have to four. The Qur’anic injunction concerning polygamy that we find in Surah
anNisa does not introduce polygamy; rather, it restricts it and make it
conditional. The man is obliged by law to treat all his wives equally. And if
he cannot do so, he is required to marry only one woman. Since the other ladies
whom he would marry would necessarily marry him with their own free consent,
there is no reason why any third person should have any problem with it.
Societies which do not permit polygamy by law inadvertently promote promiscuity
and licentiousness. The man then has multiple partners and extra marital
affairs and live in relationships, but he is not allowed to bring in a second
lady home in the capacity of his rightful wife and give her all marital rights.
As ridiculous as it may seem, in many ‘developed and civilized’ countries, having
multiple partners is worn as a badge of honour while having a second wife is seen
as an injustice unto women and the man who marries twice is liable to punishment.
There
are many reasons why a man would want to have a second/third/fourth wife. Some of
these are:
Various situations warranting
Polygamy
1.
The wife is unable to bear a child. She might
be barren, or she might be suffering from some infertility issues. The husband
does not want to remain childless and forsake the desire to have children of
his own.
Does Polygamy among Muslims lead to an increase in
Population?
1. First and foremost, let us clearly
understand that almost all Indian Muslim men have ONLY ONE WIFE. A minuscule
minority has two, and hardly anyone has three or four.
2. Increase in population is related to the
fertility rate of women. A woman with more fertility bears more children. This
fertility of hers obviously does not increase if her husband marries another
woman.
3. If a man has two wives, it is very highly
probable that this is so because his first wife cannot bear children and he
marries again to father a child.
4. The financial capacity of the family also
plays an important role. A man (who is the earning member in a Muslim
household) can fulfil the needs of only as many children as his monthly income
permits. If lets say, I earn Rs. 30,000 per month, and I can bear the expenses
of a wife and two children, if I marry two ladies, I would still earn 30,000
and be able to bear the expenses of two children only. Additionally, I would
also be required to support my second wife in the same 30,000. So I would try
to have less children, not more. More wives does not mean more children!
Instead, the contrary is true.
5. The population growth rate of Indian Muslims and
Hindus is almost the same. Even if it is found to be more somewhere, it is
because female foeticide is almost non-existent among Muslims. We don't murder
our daughters in the womb.
So please don't get swayed by hollow and
divisive slogans like "hum panch hamare pacchis" and "4 biwiya
40 bachhe". It is against fact, against demographic statistics and it is
against logic.
Polygamy
has always existed among practically all ancient cultures, and India is no
exception. Indian mythology is replete with stories of polygamous kings, the
most prominent of them being Dashrath and Krishna. Arab culture, too, was
inherently polygamous. But Islam capped the number of wives a man could simultaneously
have to four. The Qur’anic injunction concerning polygamy that we find in Surah
anNisa does not introduce polygamy; rather, it restricts it and make it
conditional. The man is obliged by law to treat all his wives equally. And if
he cannot do so, he is required to marry only one woman. Since the other ladies
whom he would marry would necessarily marry him with their own free consent,
there is no reason why any third person should have any problem with it.
Societies which do not permit polygamy by law inadvertently promote promiscuity
and licentiousness. The man then has multiple partners and extra marital
affairs and live in relationships, but he is not allowed to bring in a second
lady home in the capacity of his rightful wife and give her all marital rights.
As ridiculous as it may seem, in many ‘developed and civilized’ countries, having
multiple partners is worn as a badge of honour while having a second wife is seen
as an injustice unto women and the man who marries twice is liable to punishment.
There
are many reasons why a man would want to have a second/third/fourth wife. Some of
these are:
Various situations warranting
Polygamy
1.
The wife is unable to bear a child. She might
be barren, or she might be suffering from some infertility issues. The husband
does not want to remain childless and forsake the desire to have children of
his own.
2. The
wife is suffering from some venereal disease and the gynaecologist asks the
husband not to have sexual relations with her. The husband is naturally unable
to rein in his sexual desires.
3. There’s
a widow with no one to look after her or her children in her maiden or marital home. She has to
face psychological, emotional, familial, social, financial and moral issues.
She is naturally unable to fulfil her sexual desires, with fear of insecurity, stigma,
abuse, oppression and depression lurking around her- real or potential. No
unmarried man is ready to marry her (which is understandable, and a social
reality).
5. Many
men have fallen on the battlefield in some battle or war, making the number of
unmarried and widowed women disproportionately higher than that of surviving
men.
6. A Syrian patient of mine who used to frequent India had one wife here and one wife in Syria, so that he does not remain deprived of family life in either country.
Does Polygamy among Muslims lead to an increase in
Population?
1. First and foremost, let us clearly
understand that almost all Indian Muslim men have ONLY ONE WIFE. A minuscule
minority has two, and hardly anyone has three or four.
2. Increase in population is related to the
fertility rate of women. A woman with more fertility bears more children. This
fertility of hers obviously does not increase if her husband marries another
woman.
3. If a man has two wives, it is very highly
probable that this is so because his first wife cannot bear children and he
marries again to father a child.
4. The financial capacity of the family also
plays an important role. A man (who is the earning member in a Muslim
household) can fulfil the needs of only as many children as his monthly income
permits. If lets say, I earn Rs. 30,000 per month, and I can bear the expenses
of a wife and two children, if I marry two ladies, I would still earn 30,000
and be able to bear the expenses of two children only. Additionally, I would
also be required to support my second wife in the same 30,000. So I would try
to have less children, not more. More wives does not mean more children!
Instead, the contrary is true.
5. The population growth rate of Indian Muslims and
Hindus is almost the same. Even if it is found to be more somewhere, it is
because female foeticide is almost non-existent among Muslims. We don't murder
our daughters in the womb.
So please don't get swayed by hollow and
divisive slogans like "hum panch hamare pacchis" and "4 biwiya
40 bachhe". It is against fact, against demographic statistics and it is
against logic.
And even if the man has two kids frm first wife n two kids frm second n can manage in thirty salary then Wats the harm his living per capita income is sufficient for him n plus he has sheltered a women who was under evil eyes of the world wen she was unmarried,and now after marriage she under a supportive cover of her husband which is the real life.
ReplyDelete