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POLYGAMY AND ISLAM

AND
. of the Holy PropLet
The wives

by
Hzt. Syed Shah Qutbuddin Hussaini

Published by
The All India Mashaiq Association.
DARGA HAZRATH SHAH KHAMOOSH.
Hyderabad. India.
"IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, MOST
GRACIOUS AND MOS r MERCIFUL."

Polygamy:
Islam bas given legal sancticn to Polygamy under cer-
tain conditions, and with some restrictions. This bas
aroused criticism from different quarters of its different
aspects. We bave therefore tried in the article to throw
light on this Problem and provide our readers with correct
knowledge thereof, so that tbe various objections and
mis-representations made in this connection may fully be
considered and Muslims may be spared the misgivings tbat
might be aroused under tbe adverse propaganda of the
detractors of Islam, who, let us hope, if God willing, will
also be able to see the truth if they look at it with an
unbiased mind.

(1) Some critics level their objection against Polygamy


on the ground that according to the physiological functions
of man and woman, one man connot provide sexual satis-
faction to more than one woman, whereas. one woman can
do so for many men; and so, polygamy is not a natural
condition of sex relation-ship.

(2) Again, it is said that the Prophet finding the Arabs


extremely sensual and passionate gave legal and moral
sanction to polygamy to attract them towards his teach-
ings.
2
(3) Not only this did he do, but he further exempted
himself from this law by going beyond the sanctioned limit
and marrying more than ten wives. thereby, saying, indi-
rectly that he was himself a sexually passionate man.

Let us examine these objection seriatim:


(1) 'I here is no denying that there is a difference in
the physiological functions of the two sexes, but there is
no question here of one man satisfying the sexual cravings
of many women simultaneously, nor one woman doing the
same of many men. The whole argument is based on wrong
premises, 1 be promptings and fulfilment of sexual emo-
tions depend upon physical powers, and from this point of
view man is many times stronger than woman, and there-
fore polygamy is not an unnatural thing but quite in accord-
ance witb nal ure. Islam does not permit illegal and im-
moral connections between the sexes; for, tbat would bring
serious and degrading results to society It wants all sexual
needs, and as a matter of fact, all the social needs, to
be within the limits of Jaw, If this is kept in view, as also
the natural limitations of the female sex, her suspense for
nearly a third of every month due to menstruation and
other feminire diseases and weakness, her suspense for more
than a year due to pregnancy, and in case of sterility, the
need and desire for continuation of progeny. if all these things
are taken inte conside'ation, the needfor a second wife can
be easiJ y unoerstood, and then polygamy will be the only
natural solution for him, Otherwise, he would be forced
to seeki ng illegal means of satisfaction and creating thereby
deplorable conditions in society. That is exactly why we
see around us social degradation and degeneration fOf,not
3
reeognising the basic principles of sex relationship. Islam
does not countenance such a situation.

(1) So, it is clear that as polygamy is not an unnatu-


ral institution, the second objection, which is based on a
wrong assumption, that the Prophet allowed it to attract the
licentious Arabs towards his teachings, liquidates itself of its
own accord. To call the Arabs licentious and to state that
they therefore needed many wives is a confession in an un-
dertone that this allowance was justified, and also to accept
that other nations are weaker in their sexual appetites and
their women are therefore polyandrous, The unreasonable-
ness of this sort of objection can be easily seen and the cri-
tic's attitude can be easily gauged.

This attitude makes us hope that polygamy, being only


a natural human instinct based on the needs of human so-
ciety, will become an unavoidable principle to follow for the
coming generations, under certain compulsive physiological
,and social conditions The Prophet understood this fact of
liFe fourteen hundred years ago, for, he is reported to have
said, "Marry such women as might produce many children,
for I wish to see my followers in great numbers." He seems
to have seen with his prophetic insight fourteen hundred
years in advance that a time would come when governments
will be set up on the principles of majorities and minori-
ties. Further, he is stated to have said that a time would
come when one man would be the prop of many women.
To day we find in every family the number of girls pre-
ponderating over the number of boys and if a world war
breaks out (which is being only delayed) millions of men
will perish leaving the Dumber of women manyfold. So was
4
the case after the last world war when it was reported that in
England alone the ratio of women to men was 12 to 1. In
these advanced times, the question of providing livelihood
to women may not worry the state, as they are making them-
selves capable of supporting themselves. Still, the greater
question of satisfying their natural cravings remains unans-
wered. It is here then tbit the Muslim Jaw of pC'lygamy
asserts its superiority over the law of monogamy and will
keep society within reascnable bounds of morality and
preserve the position of women from deterioration.

To provide legal remedies under such circumstances and


preserve society from moral degeneration fourteen hundred
years ago, could only be due to the foresight of a prophetic
genius and this credit goes only to the founder of Islam.
Polygamy as permitted by Islam has its own legal restric-
tions. One man hils been allowed to marry according to
his personal requirements one, two. three or fOllr women; but
at the same time he is enj ined to maintain justice in his
dealings with them not only in his sexual affairs but also in
his social, matrimonial, and affectionate treatment of them,
and if he is not capable to maintain justice between his wives
in all these respects, he is not permitted to keep more than
onc. From this it will be seen that doing justice to the wo-
man-folk is given top co .. sideration even to the extent of
. suppressing the sexual requirements of man.

Briefly stated, tbe principle of polygamy is based upon


a consideration of man's demands, woman's natural handi-
caps, national exigencies, and a desire for increase in Muslim
population. It is neither un-natural nor a policy for attrac-
aag men towards- the Islamic teachings.
(a) Now the third assertion that the Prophet was sen-
sual and lust-ridden because he married many wives has to
be considered.

At the outset we wish to draw the attention of our


readers towards one psycholcgical truth that before any de-
finite opinion of any person could be formed, his character,
his habits, his conduct with others, and the effect of his
environment over him, is generally taken into considera-
tion in our every day life to arrive at a correct estimation.
Every man who enters a house without permission is not
charged for theft or murder or kidnapping. On the other
hand, all the circumstances under which the act was com-
mitted, such as his character, his age, his motive, and his
mental condition are scrutinized. Similarly before we
charge the Prophet with licentiousness it is but just that
we should examine the conditions and the events of his life.
For this purpose let us first examine the life of Mohammed
as an individual.

Mohammed was born in 570 A.C. as a posthumous son


and after a short while his mother also died leaving him
alone at the mercy of his relatives. He was brought up in
a society noted throughout history as barbaric, uncultured,
and un-civilized and he grew up as one of them un-lettered
and un-cultured Ordinarily one should expect in his get-
up the evil influences of his social environment. But look
at him. A member of such a barbaric. un-lettered, un-cul-
tured and un-civilized nation rises from among them as a
world teacher, a great moralist, an educltionist, and a torch-
bearer of culture and civilization and the world has been
forced to accord him a place intbe galaxy of the few great-
6

est men of the world. The modern so-called civilized world


may feel bashful to openly acknowledge that the teachings
of this unlettered and illiterate member of a barbaric nation
are beirg followed by themselves, sometimes in the sbape
of Divorce Bills, Civil marriage Acts. Dower Laws. Dowry
Limitations Acts, Temperence Laws. laws controlling
weights and measures, indeed in all sorts of their social re-
forms. The rapid pace at which the modern so-called man
of culture is lcwering himself in the scale of moral stand-
ards, one is forced to believe, would make it incumbent in
the near future upon tbe world to introduce those penal pro-
visions in law for which Islam is being criticised so often,
to save humanity from utter disintegration. In the face
of these glarLg truths, if the critic still considers the Pro-
phet "All ins'gnificant cipher in an unimportant world",·
he is only contradicting his own statement.

Mohammed was brought up in the midst of the most


evil and corrupt social atmosphere of his time, but none
dared to point out any flaw in his character. On the other
hand he was sl yled. even by his bitterest enemies as trust-
worthy "Al-Amin" a term which signified trustworthiness
in evelY sphere of huma:) relationships. He lived wilh them
a bachelor's life in the prime of his youth until he was
twenty five years of age and no one could say a word against
his chastity. 'Then he condescended to marry a widow fif-
teen years his senior, and wbo had already suffered widow-
hood twice. Can any stretch of imagination call such a
man licentious?

# Living Biographies of Religious Leaders Page 88·


History records that before the declaration of his pro-
phetic mission, the fifteen years of his conjugal life with
Hazrath Khadeeja were spent in the search for truth, in pray
ers and meditation, and in retirements into the hills until
he reached his fort;eth year. And after the declaration of
his Prophethood almost all his time was taken up by the
demands of his Mission. His countrymen who erstwhile
called him "the Trustworthy" and respected and honoured
him for his sterling qualities, became his enemies and put
him into unbearable hardships; and when their persecu-
tions failed to deter him from his chosen path they took
recourse to offer him temptations. They promised him
wealth, beauty, power or anything he would wish for him-
self if only he would give up his Mission and desist from
his preachings. But he preferred to preach rather than
accept such wordly blessings and continued to carryon his
work amongst them under severe persecutions until he
reached his fifty third year when he was forced to flee from
his nati ve city for his very life.

The Prophet's opponants had offered him all the things


of pleasure if only he would stop from his preachings. With
one wish of his he could have become the happiest and
the luckiest man of his times. What did he do? He volun-
tarily subjected the best years of his life to severe persecu-
tions, deprivations, social ostracisms and even banishment
from his beloved city but he never for one moment pause to
refrain from his preachings. They forced him and his kith
and kin to take refuge in the mountain pass of "sho'ab-i-,Abu
Talib" and so.ially boycotted him and his family and nearly
made them starve to death; they stoned him, spread thorns
in his passage and heaped upon him all sorts of ignomi-
8
nics; but nothing could flinch him from his purpose. In
this way, he spent thirteen years of his vi.gorous life under
most telling privations, but never for one moment forsook
his Mission and hope to convert his people to a godly life.
Who can say but the most biased that such a man could
ever be sensual and lust-ridden.

Hazrath Khadeeja died three years before the Hijra (the


flight to Medina from Mecca) and left him the father of
a family of four daughters He was in need of an elderly
woman who would look after the family while he was busy
with his mission. He tberefore married another widow of
fifty years, Hazrath Sawda, to keep bis house.

It was about this tim~ only that he accepted in marri-


age Hazrath Ayesha, second daughter of his most beloved
and staunch desciple HaZiath Abu Bakar by way of recog-
nising his loyalty as was the old custom among the Arabs.

To refer to her as a "concubine" of the Prophet, as


his critics do, shows only how far religious bias can twist
simple facts of hi!.tory. The Pn phet in all his preachlngs
never encouraged allY olher sex relationship except the legal
marriage, and to rcot out adultry and all other sex enormi-
ties he introduced severe penalties for sex offences and en-
forced laws to control them through Divorce and Polygamy,
By calling the legal wife of such a reformer a concubine
and wiUfully distorting the fact of history. the critic has
only reduced all his writings to the status of fairy tales and
forfieted his claim to varacity in all his statements.

So, when the Prophet left Mecca at the age of fifty


three, he had only one wife, his first being Hazrath Khadeeja
9
-an elderly woman fifteen years his senior, and after her
death, another elderly woman Hazrath Sawda of about his
OWn age. It was during his stay in Medina in the last ten
years of his life that he married other women with a pur-
pose other than marital pleasures. A person who could
sacrifice the most enjoyable period of his life for an ideal,
undergo severest persecutions, and spurn wordJy riches,
beauty, and power, at a time when he could have enjoyed
them most, in preference to his freedom to preach that ideal,
and who could content bimself during tbe greater portion
of his life to remain as tbe ideal busband ofa single woman
vastly elder to himself, who could willingly undergo all
the hardships and the sufferings of a persecuted life until
. an ad vanced age in pursuance of a policy of reform and
moral uplift ofh;5 countrymen, cannot be imagined to stoop
to sex enormities in the closing days of his life. To an ordi-
nary perception, it therefore becomes glaringly obvious that
the purpose and the object of his later marriages must be
something other than sex indulgence,

If his object had been sensuality, he could have easily


gathered around him the choicest flowers of Arab beauty
and lived like an oriental potentate in all indolence and
luxury, for, there was none to forbid him from this course.
But the women he married were all aged persons mostly
widows of his devoted followers who had sacrificed their
lives in his cause.

Just as he prized the work of his mission above every


consideration of life and sacrificed his all to achieve success
in it, his marriages were contracted also under the same
to
impulse and (or the furtlierence of the same caUse.

Womenfv)k are generally very staunch followers of


popular customs and superstitions. The structure! of the Arab
society of his days was based on clans and tribes and each
tribe had its own superstitions customs and beliefs, the era-
dication of which was an e~sential purpose of his mission.
He married in different tribes in order to come close to
them and be intimately aware of the surrounding evils of
that tribe, and devised ways and means to root them out.

"Equality in all respects" is the key-note of all Islamic


teachings Islam aims at the establishment of equality fra-
ter .ity, and social justice in every sphere of life. Today
man at the present standard of learning and culture and
progress is still un-willing to accord equality to all. If there
is equality on the table, it is lacking in the prayer-hall, and
if equality of worship is reluctantly countenanced in some
quarters, the same is denied in matrimonial alliances; and
even to this day there is no society where every human
being is considered equal to every other human being, no
matter what his colour, race, creed or culture happens to be.
Now look at the Prophet from this angle and you will find
that though he belonged to the most noble clan of the Hashi-
mites, he set a practical example of equality in marriage ties
by marrying women of inferior ranks and grades, among
whom were widows. divorcees, slaves, rich, poor, fair,
bl ack, in fact all types of women, so that his example may
serve as a guide to the coming generations of his followers
that all human beings were born equal to one another and
11
the conception of high and low should depend only on
one's righteousness and virtue.

Under Islamic teachings all kinds of inclinaticns lead-


ing to narrow sectarianisms, communal disruptions, tribal
discriminations, and similar social evils have been vehe-
mently prohibited and every effort has been made to eradi-
cate these evils which were at their height during the Pro-
phet's times If lasting peace were to be established upon this
Earth, man should break all the fetlers imposed upon him
by different sects, tribes, castes and creeds, colours and
races, countries and political and geugraphical units, and in
its place, enfetter himself in the love of one God, the God
of the whole Universe and consider all human beings as
equal members of tile family of God 'Ayal-Allah'. Even
belief in the duali ty of Godhead will make ma n an easy
victim of differences. Only belief in one God alone can
gather the whole human race upon a single platform.

So, the Prophet, by precept and example tried to wipe


out all man-made differences and made himself the binding
link between all ranks of human society and ere Ited har-
mony and love between them in place of hatred and dis-
cord.

The Arab society was based on tribales ties. Marriage


relationship went a long way in cementing friendships and
attachments among the tribes. Here was another motive
for his taking wives from diffuent tnbes and clans, so that
they may come into intimate c.;ntact with him, and testify
12

to their own people that even in the most private moments


of his life, his preachings were strictly in concord with his
practices. His upright manners, his straight dealings, his
purity of character, his honesty of purpose, infact every liu Ie
bit of activity within the private precincts of his household
were put to the most crucial test and were not found want-
ing He was the embodiment of all that he preached with
the result tbat groups after groups of his countrymen flocked
to Medina to be influenced by his magnetic personality-

"Ye have indeed in the Apostle of God a beautiful pat-


tern of conduct" (Chapter 33 verse 21 ), and "Thou stand-
est on an exalted standard of character (CH: 68 V. 4) is the
open testimony of the Quran and the Prophet used to enjoin
upon his audiences that it was their duty to teach to those
who were absent what they had learnt from him. In this
way, his followers were not only his students but also were
teachers to those who were not fortunate enough to come
into direct contact with him. With this object in view the
Prophet organised and trained a party of hiS companions
who could heIp him in the propagation of his teachings and
these were called "Ashabus-Suffa" the companions of the
platform *. He used to Sf nd them out to various parts of
Arabia to thos('> who wished for a teacher to go to their
tribe and teach the new converts the ways of Islam. In this
way he founded a normal school of training teachers to

... A large platform outside the mosque of the Prophet was erec-
ted for the 'accomodation of these companions who lived there
for all the 24 hours of the day and whose only work was to
acquire knowledge fro_n the Prophet.
preach the new faith and its practices to the Arab world.

Now this work was not confined to men only but women
were also required to undergo this training, so that they
being the mothers of the coming generations might serve as
the best and the proper medium to educate and train· the
nation. For this purpose women teachers were necessary.
Where was he to get them except from his own household?
This was another important phase of his marriages with the
elderly women of different tribes. His wives served him as
the feminine counterpart of his companions of
the platform. The intricacies of the problems of women
could best be solved through his own wives who could ap-
proach him freely without exposing themselves to any in-
decencies, in all querries of the feminin~ world. These ladies
were deemed as the moth~rs of the faithful 'Umma-hathul-
momineen' and could therefore appear before the Muslims
as their own children and preach before them, The Quran
speaks of them in the following words, "Andlreci te what is
rehearsed to you in your homes of the signs of God and
His wisdom" (eh: 33 V, 34), It is obvious that this
teaching work could not have been accomplished on a vast
scale if the Prophet had contented with one wife only at
this stage. Moreover teachings dealing with domestic
life would have become unreliable if according to the cri-
terion of the authentic traditions of the Prophet they had
been reported by one person only aad not corroborated
by others,

Further. Islam strictly forbids mixed gatherings of the


sexes and lays down rules and regulations for the conduct
f4
of each sex in society, Modern world is reapibg already the
fruits of sex leniencies and unrestricted mixed gatherings.
The Prophet ebvisaged this and did not give the slightest
chance for the creation of such a siate of society among his
followers He did not allow women to gather around him
even for the purposes of the propogation of his teachings
which he valued above every 01 her thing from the begin-
ning of his Mission and for whose sake he had sacrificed
his all, The only way open to him to bring about trans-
formation of society was through the women of his own
household and hence the contingency for his several
marriages .

.the Incident of Death:


Some critics are so much obssessed with religious bigo-
try that even tbe incident of the Prophet's death is painted
in the following words .• He died in the arms of his youngest
and most beautiful concubine. fully expecting to awaken in
the arms of one even more beautiful. And his wild and
earnest followers continued their search for beauty with the
point of sword."*l Words too eloquent to deserve any
comments on the bigotted attitude of the writer! To call
a lawfully wedded wife as "concubine" is a clear indication
of willful and malicious mis-represen tation, specially when
he himself avows a little earlier that "He spent his days in
the mosque aLd slept alternately in the huts of his wives.
He milked his camel, swept his floor, subsisted on dates and
boney, allowed himself only the bodily indulgence of per-
fume."*ll Mohammed is not a myth but a figure of history

* I Vide Living Biographies of Religious Leaden Page 101.


• 2.. .. 100·
IS
and his biographers whether favourabl~ or unfavourable,
including the writer under reference, could not record about
him in tbe days of b is vigorous life or during tbe days of
his bacbelorsbip that be bad any leanings for illegal relation-
ships. On the other band, he used to preach to his follo~
wers not only to abstain from such actions but give no
chance to even a doubt of tbis kind.

After all, wbere is the objection for the husband keeping


his head in the lap of his wife at the time of dying. On
the other hand it is an example worth emulation. Every man
and wife should love one another unto death and the Pro-
pbet's last gesture was another lesson of love to his fol-
lowers. It was only a chance that his death occurred in
the house of Hazratb Ayesha But if death had claimed
him in any other consort's house, he would b:lVe done the
same tbing. His treatment of bis wives was just and equi-
table and history bears testimony to it. Moreover, keeping
the dying person's bead, band or foot in any posture dep-
ends upon tbe ttnderness Of those who attend on the
patient and not on tbe choice of the dying man

Further, to say that the followers of the Prophet went


in search of beautiful women at the points of their swords.
though absurdly irrelevent in this context, was perhaps
meant tu hint upon the slave~ of war This requires the nefd
of another essay and we propose to deal witb it later on
under tbe heading' Islam and slavery" Tberefcre we
refrain from dealing here with this question.
The First Revelation:
The incident of the first revelation is also described by
the same author in the following words: "She invited
Mohammed to sit upon her lap. And when he had sat
down,she asked, "Do you still behold the vision?" and
when he replied that he did, she began seductively to dis-
robe herself. And then she asked him once more, "Do you
still see the vision?" "I can no longer see it. The vision
has fled in bashfulness at our intimacy." "Then rejoice,"
cried Khadija, "For, by the Lord; it was an angel and no
devil that you have beheld. "*

Here again the report is grossly in-accurate. When


the angel appeared to the Prophet for the first time, he had
no previous experience of him. The angel pressed him to
his bosom which troubled him much. He was then alGne in
the hills occupied in his usual meditations. This incident
worried him very much and he returned home in agony and
reported it to his wife. She consoled him saying that God
would not harm a person like him whoheJped the poor, as-
sisted the needy, and benefacted his kith and kin. Then
she took him to her kinsman Waraqa bin Nowfil who was a
learned authority of his time in the scriptures of the Jews
and the Christians, and related to him the incident of the
apparition for further satisfacti0n. Waraqa told her that
the Spirit, must be the same who had been appearing to
the prophets of old and that Mohammed must be the same
prophet mentioned in the prophecies of the Torah and

* Vine Living Biographies ot Religious Ref~rmeri Page 89.


17

the Bible. He gave her the assurance that if be lived to his


day he would become one of his supporters. This is the cor-
rect version of the first appearance of the angel as reported
by all his biographers. This has been purposely Comitted in
order to suppress the fact that Waraqa an authority on the
scriptures testified to his Prophethood and that the advent
of the Prophet had been foretold in the Scriptures. In its
place the story of the second appearance of the angel when
tbe Prophet was in his own house is reported with inter-
polations imputatively with emphasis upon the disrobing of
Hazrath Khadeeja. In the first place the incident of removing
the outer garment (and not disrobing as alleged by the critic)
was intended to test the spirit which retired as soon as it
was done. In the second place, this was an occurance in
the private moments of a husband and wife in no way
objectionable by all the standards of decency. Thirdly, this
idea of testing an evil or a good spirit was of Hazrath
Khadeeja under the natural anxiety for the safety of her
husband. Fourthly, the Prophet was yet not charged with
his mi!'sion of reformation and the rules of Arab society
of the time of Jgnorance were only in vogue. To pick out
this little incident which is only a natural outcome of the
instinct of anxiety of a loving wif.: for the shfety of her
husband, and to present it to the world as proof of the
Prophet's sensuality is not even becoming of a scandle-
monger, leave apart a historian, and only shows how much
low could spite and malice allow a person to stoop.

In conclusion, let me tell my readers, Muslims and noo-


Muslims alike, that Mohammed (May the blessings of God
1descend upon his soul) is a figure ofhistory and every little
detail of what he said, what he did, and what he achieved,
is preserved to this day in the reports of those who inti-
mately Jived and worked with him. These reports are called
"The Traditions of the Prophet" and the whole edifice of
Islam is built on their foundation. All fabrications outside
these Traditions are sure to fail in blaspheming this outstan-
ding figure of history, the only religious leader of men in
the annals of mankind who invites scrutiny in the private-
most recesses of his life without fear of exposure or
scandal.

••••

Printed .1 Intckhab Pres., J,N. Road, Hyderabad.

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