Polygamy is one of the main targets for criticism on the part of non-Muslims and even some who claim to be Muslims. However, polygamy is not something that appeared with the advent of Islam, rather it was present in human societies since the very beginning, and was practiced in many parts of the world.
Before the advent of Islam, polygamy had been practiced unlimitedly in many parts of the world. A man use to marry several women at one time. Even the Prophets (upon whom be peace) were not immune from it. Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) had two wives, Sayyiduna Ishaq and Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon them both) had many wives, Sayyiduna Sulayman (peace be upon him) had several wives whilst Sayyiduna Dawud (peace be upon him) had hundred wives. In fact, there are only two prophets who never married, one being Sayyiduna Isa and the other Sayyiduna Yahya (peace be upon them both). Historically, the Jews and Christians were polygamous. The ban on polygamy in Christianity is a man-made prohibition, not divine law. Polygamy was also practised among the Persians, Greeks, Arabs and Hindus. Unrestricted polygamy was permissible in all the religions before the advent of Islam. When the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) brought the message of Islam, polygamy was still a widespread and well-established custom. It was practiced without any restriction or limitation. Due to this, a man would marry many women, but failed to fulfil their rights, and the women who were in his marriage were oppressed and treated unjustly. Islam came and banned the ill-treatment of women. It limited unrestricted polygamy that was the custom of the times of ignorance. It also laid certain conditions in order to practice polygamy. The following verse of the Qur#8217;an was revealed: "If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two, three, or four, but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one#8230;(Surah al-Nisa, 3). The circumstances in which this verse was revealed illustrate the sincere teachings of Islam regarding polygamy. It was revealed after the battle of Uhud, in which a significant number of Muslim men were martyred and as a consequence, many women were widowed and their children orphaned. To safeguard the new Muslim community, this just and compassionate law was revealed, and it remains in effect until the end of time. Islam requires men to take full care of the orphan's interests and property, but if they felt that they could not do justice to them as custodians, then they were advised to marry other women, up to a maximum of four. Also, the Qur#8217;an conditioned the permissibility of marrying more than one wife with justice and fair treatment. It is a grave sin to treat the wives unequally. Any man who wishes to take a second wife also has to meet the important condition of fair treatment of all his wives. The verse quoted above includes the command to treat wives equally, and anyone who is unable to do so should marry only one wife. Equal treatment includes all social, economical and physical needs. It is very difficult for human beings to be completely fair, a fact which is recognised by the Qur#8217;an: "You are never able to be fair and just as between women, even if it is your ardent desire: but turn not away (from a woman) altogether, so as to leave her (as it were) hanging (in the air)... (Surah al-Nisa, 129). The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: "A man who marries more than one woman and then does not deal justly with them will be resurrected with half his faculties paralysed" (Sahih al-Bukhari). However, this refers to aspects that are within the capacity of a man such as equal treatment with regards to social, economical and physical needs. As far as the inclination of the heart is concerned, then that is beyond the capacity of a man. <http://www.sunnipath.com/> ursa_major <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: ----- Original Message ----- From: "kim3hook" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Kalau seseorang itu tidak setuju dengan falsafah poligami, bukan > berarti menyetujui selingkuh dan sejenisnya. Kebanyakan orang > tidak setuju sengan poligami ya karena poligami itu cara hidup yang > didalangi oleh dogma agama yang samasekali tidak menghargai > perempuan. > Jadi masalahnya agama, iya toh? Kalo poligami yang nggak pake atribut agama, ente setuju? Apa ada poligami yg nggak bawa2 atribut agama? Apa itu bukan perselingkuhan seks bablas namanya? Mana lebih baik poligami yg diikat aturan dengan poligami kayak binatang yg terjadi pada manusia? Poligami kayak binatang? Berpoligami nggak ada aturan yah apa bedanya dengan poligaminya binatang? Orang barat memang nggak berpoligami, tapi kehidupan seksnya - sebagian banyak - yah nggak jauh2 dari perilaku binatang. Kuncinya, asal pasangan nggak tahu! Ursa_Major *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.org *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------- Yahoo! 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