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polygamy issues affecting Islam in the modern world
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Polygamy
Polygamy is defined as the condition or practice of having more than one spouse at a time. Though it has existed in many cultures throughout the world, polygamy is still very prevalent in most Islamic societies today. There are however several guidelines laid out in Islamic law governing the practice. Here we will examine the practice of polygamy in Islam and those laws which govern its legality.
Muhammad did not introduce this practice, as has so often been wrongly alleged. The Scriptures and the other sacred books bear abundant proof of the fact that is was recognized as lawful and, indeed, widely practised by patriarchal prophets, Zoroastrians, Hindus and Jews. In Arabia and all the surrounding countries a system of temporary marriages, marriages of convenience, and unrestricted concubinage was also prevalent: this, together with polygamy, had most disastrous effects on the entire moral and social structure, which Muhammad remedied.
Muhammad married Khadija at the age of 25, and he took no other wife during the twenty-six years of their married life. He married Aisha . . . at the age of 54, three years after the death of Khadija. After this marriage, he took other wives, about whom non-Muslim writers have directed much unjust criticism against him. The facts are all these ladies were old maids or widows left destitute and without protection during the repeated wars of persecution, and as head of the State at Medina the only proper way, according to the Arab code, in which Muhammad could extend both protection and maintenance to them was by marriage. The only young person was Maria the Copt, who was presented to him as a captive of war, and whom he immediately liberated, but she refused to leave his kind protection and he therefore married her.
Islamic law allows a man to marry as many as four wives, with a mild restriction. The text of the Qu’ran (which is the governing text of Islam) indicates that a man who has several wives should treat them equally and avoid injustice. If he feels incapable of treating several wives equally, he is advised to remain monogamous. The verse appears in the Qur’an as: “Marry other women who seem good to you: two, three, or four of them. But if you fear that you cannot maintain equality among them, marry one only….” No further explanation exists in any of...
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Polygamy in Islam serves a strictly religious purpose. Polygamy was a way of life until the Quran was revealed 1400 years ago. When the earth was young and under-populated, polygamy was one way of populating it and bringing in the human beings needed to carry out God's plan. By the time the Quran was revealed, the world had been sufficiently populated, and the Quran put down the first limitations against polygamy. Polygamy has become an established part of traditional Islamic law and practice; Muslims are accustomed to accepting that a man's right to more than one wife is firmly established in the Qur'an and the Hadith. Polygamy (specifically polygyny, the marriage of one man to many women) is thus considered unquestionably moral, even though it is obviously unfair; only men are allowed the privilege of it. However, a close study of the Qur'an can enable one to see that the Islamic ideal of marriage is monogamous, with only husband-wife pairs. In fact, the Qur'anic stance on polygamy is the same as its stance on slavery; both are objectionable on ethical grounds, but tolerated due to the particular circumstances of Muhammad's community.
A sensitive subject, in the Islamic religion, is the status that a women holds - specifically with respect to the theme of how women are treated within polygamous relationships. Smith’s main thesis is that the Islamic religion has been accused of degrading women and he plans to share information to prove that this is a very valid fact. A polygamous relationship is a relationship or marriage with many partners. The Islam’s believe in polygamous relationships and the rules are specifically stated within the Koran. The Koran allows for a man to have up to four wives/partners, although, if he cannot equally share his love with all of his wives/partners, then he must only marry one . Smith has a very valid point, although there are many sources that support and refute his opinion. Mohammad Ali Syed discovered that the Islamic law allows for polygamy under certain circumstances, such as the treatment towards orphans. ...
Beall, L. (2005). The Impact of Modern-Day Polygamy on Women and Children. Journal of International Cultic Studies, 2 (1), 2-8.
In the Quran is states that “You cannot be equitable in a polygamous relationship, no matter how hard you try .” It does set out rules and regulations for those that may decide to enter a polygamous union in order to protect those involved. Similarily, increasing programs for those already involved in polygamous relationships in Canada, whether willingly, forced, or unknowingly, and for those immigrating to Canada, would be a recommended step for the Canadian government to help protect women and children and also men that may become victims of unwanted polygamous unions. This does not mean Canada needs to de-criminalize polygamy, but that because it is already recognized that polygamy takes place, there should be more done to protect those that may be made vulnerable by
The article that I chose from Wikipedia is Polygamy in North America. There are several reasons for choosing this article that will be mentioned later on. The main reason for picking this article is that this article does not seem to go into the specifics of the main issue regarding polygamy in North America of Mormon religion. Particularly, two communities are significant to North American contemporary legal issue regarding polygamy. One of them is the Bountiful community in British Columbia and the other community is in Utah, U.S.A. Both of these communities practice polygamy as it is part of their religious beliefs. Polygamy is not legalized in North America, but a British Columbia’s community, Bountiful, has raised several concerns that have legal scholars divided on this issue of polygamy.
In view of these facts, it is clear that divorce and polygamy both belong to the category of situations that deviate from the ideal marriage. With that in mind, Christians should not be quick to judge polygamy, especially while ignoring divorce. Evidently, it takes more courage, consumes more energy, and involves more responsibility to be in a polygamous relationship than to divorce and remarry.
Polygamy is not something many Americans are accustomed to. Western culture teaches that monogamy, as opposed to polygamy, is the proper, accepted form of marriage. Western culture places that morality into it's people, often from youth.
Polyamory, like polygamy, refers to the state of conducting multiple romantic relationships at once; however, there are many distinctions between the terms. The most blatant difference is that polygamy specifies the participants are all married to each other, whereas polyamory encompasses a spectrum of relationships ranging from casual to committed. Furthermore, polygamy has its roots in religious and highly patriarchal systems, such as the Abrahamic faiths or the notorious Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Quite distinctly, the lifestyle we now know as polyamory grew out of the hippies’ free love movement in the 1960s, with considerably different values. In its modern form, it is a secular alternative lifestyle that is gradually gaining in popularity. It is estimated that there are over half a million openly polyamorous families in the United States alone.
Throughout history, there has been controversy as to how many partners one person should be able to have. According to Dictionary.com, the definition of monogamy is, “marriage with only one person at a time.” Meaning you don't have any affairs, or any type of relations to anyone else except for your partner. Being monogamous is a good lifestyle because it promotes peace, you don't have to talk to many people, and it will improve the economy.
Polygamy is defined as “a marriage that includes more than two partners.” There are different types of polygamy, these include: polygyny, where a man has multiple wives, polyandry, in which a woman has multiple husbands, and group marriage, where a family consists of multiple husbands and wives. Of these different types of polygamy, polygyny is definitely the most popular of the three. In America, the practice of any form of polygamy is illegal and due to this law, many adherents of the lifestyle stay hidden ("What is Polygamy?"). Polygamy became an issue in the United States in the year 1852 when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the LDS Church, made it so that plural marriage became a part of its religious doctrine. However, due to the storm of controversy that followed this movement, in 1890 the Mormon Church officially abandoned the practice. The Mormon’s who disagreed with the movement broke away from the Mormon Church and became known as Fundamentalist Mormons. Although the practice was almost unheard of in regions such as the Midwest, Northeast and South, in the Western portion of the United States, polygyny marriage is still prevalent. Those who are found to be practicing the belief are fined and sometimes are forced to split up with the rest of their families. For this reason many remain in the dark about their lifestyle, considering the severity of the consequences ("History of Fundamentalist Mormons"). However, recently many families have come out of hiding and proclaimed to the world that they are a practicing polygamist family, raising the question: is it right for the government to tell people who they can and cannot marry?
Polygamy is considered illegal in the United States, which would make it a deviant practice. That fact is on the bottom burner for me when considering this situation. Forcing someone to theoretically spend the rest of their life with someone not of their choosing is definitely out of the norm in my opinion. On to...
“Polygamy is defined as a marriage in which a spouse of either gender has more than one mate at the same time. Polygamy is considered a valid form of marriage in many countries and communities around the globe” (Al-Krenawi). However, polygamy is illegal in the United States. Those who practice polygamy in America can only be “legally” married to one spouse; therefore, the subsequent spouses in a polygamist relationship hold a “singl...
In this religion, there are many phenomenon practices that need to be discussed. The first practice is polygamy. This involves a man having multiple wives. This practice was widely accepted in the religion because of the leader was a male, and males dominated the religion. Most will question, how was polygamy permissible and divorces were not permitted? This practice was looked upon by India governor, and became banned in the later years. From a logical perspective, when hearing the debarring of polygamy in the Hindi society, all questions and marvel were
In today’s society the assumption asserts that there must be only two adults integrated in a relationship, however in polygamous environments, having more than one spouse is traditional. Some may argue that Polygamy is simply just an alternate lifestyle. This, however, ceases to be true. Young girls are being forced to marry older men and sometimes relatives. Little boys are often abandoned because it appears to be competition for older men. Children are victims of sexual and physical abuse. Whereas, for women, they generally become stripped of their money and experience competition against the multiple wives a husband. Although Polygamy is viewed as immoral by society, the main focus point should be saving young children and women because
This hadith by prophet Mohammad shows how the institution of marriage receives great importance in the Islamic religion.
Polygamy can be subdivided into two categories: polygyny and polyandry. Polygyny is when a man has two or more wives at the same time or in another perspective when a man is married to a single woman however supports one or more mistresses. This subsection of polygamy is the more common of the two when it comes to the Islamic religion.