Islamic Center of Irvine

Polygamy

QUESTION Islam is often criticized for fostering the institution of polygamy. The prophet of Islam is maligned by some critics as a sensualist who married numerous women; is severely chastised for marrying a nine year old girl by the name of ?��Ǩ��Aishah and for causing the break-up of the marriage of his dear companion Zaid and then marrying his bride (Zainab). There are four distinct aspects to this question:

polygamy in Islam
the Prophet?��Ǩ�Ѣs numerous marriages
the Prophet?��Ǩ�Ѣs marriage to ?��Ǩ��Aisha
and his marriage to Zainab after her divorce from Zaid

ANSWERS

Polygamy in Islam Islam allows polygamy, neither prescribing it nor enjoining it. Among Muslims it is an exception rather than a norm, an exception that has unfortunately been take for granted by some and out of context by abusers in order to try and justify the chauvinistic demands of those who consider woman somewhat less that a man; none of which is sanctioned by the Qur?��Ǩ�Ѣan. The verse in the Holy Qur?��Ǩ�Ѣan that permits polygamy (Chapter 4: Verse 4) also stipulates the limits thereof and the condition for it. The limit being four spouses and the condition being justice and equity; a condition precedent, inviolable, enforceable as a moral obligation with legal consequences. The basis for marital relationship in Islam (Q 30:22) is mawaddah (self caring for the other with intense compassion) and rahmah (mercy and tenderness), the object thereof being life-long loving companionship, perpetuation of the human race through procreation; protection from spiritual, physical and moral diseases as well as widening the circle of relationships. The permission to marry more than one wife is granted without being ordained and is aimed at serving a social purpose, when required, in human society. When analyzing the verse on polygamy in the context in which it was revealed one becomes immediately aware of the great social function of polygamy in Islam. The verse reads, ?��Ǩ?�And if you fear that you cannot deal equitably with orphans then marry women as seem good to you, two, three, and four; but if you fear that you may not do justice to them, then marry only one.?��Ǩ�� (Q 4:4). This verse was revealed after the Battle of Uhud where 10 percent of the Muslim fighters had died and a social concern for the protection of widows and orphans arose. Polygamy already existed without limitation and without due right of the women, but the occasion of revelation served to reform and regulate the institution with a sense of balance and equity. The institution of polygamy thus appears to be directed at alleviating an imbalance in society; e.g. the consequence of war where children are orphaned and women are widowed, to provide care and protection for those left unattended, where and when such provision and protection is required. No apology is needed for upholding this balanced approach to social relationships as the polygamy conditionally allowed in Islam is neither uncivilized nor immoral. It is true that the institution of polygamy has been abused by some, but then again so has every institution, especially by those who have nefarious interests. Dr. J.S. Clear McFarlane writes in the book The Case of Polygamy; ?��Ǩ?�Whether the question is considered socially, ethically or religiously, it can be demonstrated that polygamy is not contrary to the highest standards of civilization. The suggestion (of polygamy) offers a practical remedy for the problem of the destitute and unwanted female; the alternative is continual and increased prostitution, concubinage and distressing spinsterhood?��Ǩ�� (The Case of Polygamy; pg 30). Dr. Rom Landau states that; ?��Ǩ?�All the evidence provided by history and science makes it imperative that polygamy should be recognized more honestly?��Ǩ��. (Sex, Life and Faith- A Modern Philosophy of Sex, Faber and Faber Ltd. Pg 136)
The Prophet?��Ǩ�Ѣs Numerous Marriages The Encyclopedia Britannica bears testimony to the fact that; ?��Ǩ?�As an institution polygamy exists in all parts of the world?��Ǩ��. (Volume 14 pg. 949, 14th Edition). A study of the Bible too shows that revered Prophets (such as David and Solomon) had much more than one wife. Why then is the Prophet Muhammad singled out and taken to task for his marriages and accused of being overcome with his need for sensuous gratification? Let us consider the facts honestly:
1. Prophet Muhammad spent his youth in exemplary purity marrying Khadijah his employer, fifteen years his senior (who proposed to him), remaining married to her for twenty five years and who bore him all his children, except one. This at a time when marrying multiple women was the norm in Arabia.
2. The type of women and the condition under which he married them clearly shows that his marriages were motivated by considerations other than sensuous gratifications. Except for ?��Ǩ��Aishah, none of his wives were in their youth and most of them were either widows, former slaves or divorcees. After himself being widowed on the death of Khadijah, the Prophet married Saudah, who was of advanced age. He married Hafsah after her husband was killed in the Battle of Badr. (Both Abu Bakr and Uthman passed over the offer of marrying the widowed Hafsah due to her reportedly bad temper). He married Zainab bint Khuzaimah whose husband was killed in the Battle of Uhud; Ummi Salmah whose husband died after the Battle of Uhud; Ummi Habibiah (widowed daughter of the then enemy Abu Sufyan) whose husband died while they were in exile for the sake of their faith in Abyssinia. Maimunah was another widow who proposed to the Prophet while his marriage to the widowed Juwairiyah led to a hundred families of the Bani Mustaliq being liberated through pacification of her tribe by this marriage. He married the highly respected Zainab binti Jahsh, who felt deeply humiliated at being divorced by Zaid in a marriage in which the Prophet played the role of matchmaker. He married Mariah the Copt of Egyptian descent and elevated that former slave girl to the eminent status of ?��Ǩ?�Mother of the Faithful?��Ǩ��. All this indicates that the holy Prophet?��Ǩ�Ѣs marriages were dictated by much higher and nobler considerations that personal pleasure or sensual gratification.
3. The prophet never divorced any of his wives and while married to Khadijah (who died when she was sixty-five and he fifty) there was never a breath of scandal; this at a time when his life was under microscopic scrutiny. How then could a person of such integrity and pure moral character suddenly become one given to sensual pleasure, especially at a time when physical strength and desire had begun to wane.
The historian Dr. Stanley Lane- Poole discusses this subject with great honesty and states; ?��Ǩ?�To say that Muhammad was a voluptuary is false. The simple austerity of his daily life to the very last, his hard mat for sleeping on, his plain food, his self-imposed menial work, point him out as an ascetic rather than a voluptuary?��Ǩ�� (The Prophet and Islam, pg 24). The renowned scholar of history, Thomas Carlyle, says in this regard; ?��Ǩ?�Muhammad himself, after all that can be said about him, was not a sensual man. We shall err widely if we consider this man as a common voluptuary, intent mainly on base enjoyments, -nay, on enjoyments of any kind. His household was of the frugalest; his common diet barley bread and water; sometimes for months there was not a fire once lighted on his hearth. They record with just pride that he would mend his own shoes, patch his own cloak. A poor hard-toiling, ill-provided man; careless of what vulgar men toil for. I find something of a veritable hero necessary for that, of itself?��Ǩ��. (On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History, pg. 305)
The Prophets?��Ǩ�Ѣ Marriage to ?��Ǩ��Aishah Islam does not endorse child marriages and the Holy Qur?��Ǩ�Ѣan (4:5-6) demands meticulous proof of intellectual and physical maturity before entrusting property or the responsibility of marital relationships to young ones. This being the case, the question is asked; how then did the Prophet Muhammad cohabit with the nine-year old ?��Ǩ��Aishah? Eminent Muslim scholars such as Tabari and Ibn Hajar too report that the Prophet took ?��Ǩ��Aishah for his wife at that young age. With regard to ?��Ǩ��Aishah?��Ǩ�Ѣs age at that time of her marriage to the Prophet, the narratives reporting this even are highly contradictory and therefore unreliable. According to Tabari, who reported that ?��Ǩ��Aishah lived with the Prophet from age of nine, states in his book (Taikhul- Umam Wal-Mamluk); ?��Ǩ?�All four of Abu Bakr?��Ǩ�Ѣs children were born of his two wives during the pre-Islamic period?��Ǩ��. If that is the case then ?��Ǩ��Aishah was at least fourteen years old when she lived with the Prophet which is agreed to have occurred the second year of Hijrah. So Tabari contradicts himself. According to Ibn Hajr, Fatimah was born at the time that the Ka?��Ǩ�Ѣbah was rebuilt when the Prophet was thirty-five years old. She was five years older than ?��Ǩ��Aishah (Al-Isabah fi Tamyizil-Sahabah). If the Prophet married her when he was fifty-two years of age (the second year of Hijrah) then ?��Ǩ��Aishah could not have been nine years old. Ibn Hajar further states in his book (Taqribul-Tehzib) that Asma lived a hundred years and died in 73 or 74 Al-Hijril Ibn Kathir states in his book (Al-Bidayah wal-Nihaya) that Asma was older that ?��Ǩ��Aishah by ten years. If Asma was a hundred years old in 73 Hijrah she would have been twenty eight years old at the time of the Hijrah and if she was ten years older than ?��Ǩ��Aishah at the time of the Hijrah, ?��Ǩ��Aishah would have been at least eighteen years old. In Bukhari, ?��Ǩ��Aishah is reported to have said; ?��Ǩ?�I was a young girl (jariyah) when Surah al-Qamar was revealed?��Ǩ�� (Sahih Bukhari, Kitabul-Tafsir). Two things are significant in this narrative documented in Bukhari. One is the reference by ?��Ǩ��Aishah to herself as a (jariyah) and the revelation of Surah al-Qamar. It is an accepted historical fact that Surah al-Qamar was revealed eight years before the Hijrah. If ?��Ǩ��Aishah was a (jariyah) which actually means a young girl between the age of six and thirteen (Lane?��Ǩ�Ѣs Arabic English Lexicon) then she could not have been nine years old nine years after the revelation of Surah al-Qamar when she was supposed to.
The Prophet?��Ǩ�Ѣs Marriage to Zainab It is alleged that the Prophet saw Zainab by chance through a half open door, was fascinated by her beauty and that Zaid, having come to know of this, divorced her in order that the Prophet may marry her. This is highly preposterous and an insult to the integrity of the Prophet whilst at the same time belying the facts. Zaid was a slave who was bought by Khadijah?��Ǩ�Ѣs brother in the pre-Islamic period who gave him over to her and who in turn presented him to the Prophet. The Prophet liberated him and he was so attached to the Prophet that when his parents came to take him he preferred to remain with the Prophet and ended up as an ?��Ǩ?�adopted son?��Ǩ�� and among the first to embrace Islam. Zaid remained beloved to the Prophet and a most faithful disciple sealing his fidelity to Islam and the Prophet with his martyrdom on the battlefield of Muta. Zainab on the other hand was the daughter of the Prophet?��Ǩ�Ѣs aunt (Umaimah), a full-blooded Arab who was proud of her status and ancestry. Since the Prophet intended to give the world a civilization, tradition and a culture in which there were neither class divisions nor hereditary nobility and to manifest equality he played the role of matchmaker and took the proposal of marriage to his aunt Umaimah for the hand of Zainab in order to lever all distinctions of class and divisions. Zainab gave her assent under the impression that the Prophet proposed her for himself. Zainab was disappointed when she realized that the Prophet had proposed her on behalf of Zaid but in deference to his persistence Zainab agreed to marry Zaid. The marriage ended in divorce not due to the difference in social status between the spouses as much as to the incompatibility of their dispositions and temperaments. The Prophet tried his utmost to prevent the divorce but eventually had to concede. The Prophet then married the now divorced daughter of his aunt. To suggest that the Prophet saw her in her privacy and desired her is certainly fallacious and diabolical for he knew her since her childhood as a cousin and in fact took the proposal of Zaid for her when she in fact ardently desired to marry the Prophet in the first place. What prevented him from marrying her when she so desired whilst she was yet a virgin.

I conclude with the words of the honorable Reverend Bosworth Smith; ?��Ǩ?�It should be remembered however, that most of Muhammad?��Ǩ�Ѣs marriages may be explained at least, as much by his pity for the forlorn conditions of the persons concerned, as by other motives. They were almost all of them widows who were not remarkable either for their beauty or their wealth, but quite the reverse. May not this fact, and his undoubted faithfulness to Khadijah till her dying day, and till he himself was fifty years of age, give us additional ground to hope that calumny or misconception has been at work in the story Zainab?��Ǩ�� . (Muhammad and Muhammadanism)