With Many Women Now Financially Independent, Should the Rulings on Polygyny Be Reconsidered?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
With many women now financially independent, should the rulings on polygyny be reconsidered? Additionally, is a man permitted to marry again without his first wife’s consent, and how does Aisha’s marriage (Allah be pleased with her) relate to child marriage in Islam?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
Although financial considerations are from the wisdoms of polygyny being socially beneficial, it is not restricted to that reason such that reform would be warranted due to changing times.
Other wisdoms of polygyny include the following:
1. Protection
In addition to financial security, physical security is also something that not everyone in the world has. Even in western societies, a woman is more likely to be accosted when alone than when with a male present.
2. Fulfillment of Natural Desire
Some men have an increased sex drive that is beyond the ability of one spouse to fulfill. This should not be looked down upon as these desires are natural, and as long as they are fulfilled in a permissible manner, they are not blameworthy.
3. To Facilitate More Children
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) encouraged the Muslims to have more children, thus increasing the followers of true faith in the world. This is one of the noble intentions of getting married.
Traditionally, people would seek to have many children, however, some women cannot physically bear that many pregnancies. So, having the ability to marry more than one spouse allows for more children without overly burdening any one spouse.
4. The Decrease in the Disparity of Males and Females
There are statistically more women in the world than there are men. From this, we see, that if all the men were to marry one spouse, there would remain many women without a permissible means to fulfill their natural desires, to have a family, to have security, and in the case where there is less independence, to have financial stability.
Please see this link for a reader on Polygyny in Islam
The Age of Aisha
Please see this link for a reader on this topic
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.
He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.
In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
