Firstly I would like to inform you that Islam is not the only religion which permits more than one marriage. Even in Hinduism marrying more than one is allowed. Rams father had 3 wives, Krishna had16108 wives and Radha was not his wife, Ganpati had 2 wives,Riddhi n Siddhi, Shivaji had 8 wives…
Its Indian govt came up with Hindu marriage act in 1956, which prohibits marrying more than one. So, if a Hindu goes to KSA, UAE, USA or Canada or UK can marry more than one as he is not bound to follow Indian constitutional law..
Coming back to the question, Why Islam allows marrying four…
In Islam, man is allowed to marry up to 4 and its not compulsory to marry 4.
“And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice].”
(Quran 4:2)
A man is allowed to marry up to four women for many reasons,
1) Marrying Prostitutes: In Islam, prostitution is not allowed. There are around 42 million registered prostitutes in the world n many millions un registered as per the report from Fondation Scelles (via Le Figaro).
If we ban prostitution as per Islamic law, then what will happen to those prostitutes?
In Islam all human beings have human rights, and prostitutes are human being too n they too have right to live. So who will marry those millions of prostitutes? If a man is unmarried he will look for a girl who is unmarried n from good
family, none will marry a prostitute , unless he falls in love…
Islam allows marrying prostitutes, if she gives up sinful life and wants to live a respectable life like any other women n embraces Tauheed.
2) Marrying rape victim: In our present society a porn star is respected and called a star but a rape victim is not welcomed..
The person affected by sexual violence is the victim/survivor, but the effects of sexual violence also go far beyond individual survivors, impacting their closest relationships as well as impacting communities and our society at large.
The Psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim that includes disruptions to normal physical, emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal behavior.
In Islam marrying a rape victim and giving her all rights is allowed and welcomed..
3) Marrying acid victim: In India there are many such incidents were acid thrown on a girl and her life is made miserable; In Islam marrying such victims is allowed
4) Marrying Widow: In olden days widows were seen as a curse and were forced to become a Sati, and in some cases widows was forced into prostitution to take care of herself and her children.
In present modern age womens are educated and can do jobs but this was not the case in olden days..
Islam bans Sati system and Prostitution and encourages widow to re marry..
Also, During wars, there are more men killed as compared to women. More men die due to accidents and diseases than women. The average life span of females is more than that of males, and at any given time one finds more widows in the world than widowers. (http://www.irf.net/faq/faq1_01.html)
5) Average life span of females is more than that of males (http://www.irf.net/faq/faq1_01.html)
By nature males and females are born in approximately the same ratio. A female child has more immunity than a male child. A female child can fight the germs and diseases better than the male child. For this reason, during the pediatric age itself there are more deaths among males as compared to the females.
6) India has more male population than female due to female foeticide and infanticide (http://www.irf.net/faq/faq1_01.html)
India is one of the few countries, along with the other neighbouring countries, in which the female population is less than the male population. The reason lies in the high rate of female infanticide in India, and the fact that more than one million female foetuses are aborted every year in this country, after they are identified as females. If this evil practice is stopped, then India too will have more females as compared to males.
7) World female population is more than male population (http://www.irf.net/faq/faq1_01.html)
In the USA, women outnumber men by 7.8 million. New York alone has one million more females as compared to the number of males, and of the male population of New York one-third are gays i.e sodomites. The U.S.A as a whole has more than twenty-five million gays. This means that these people do not wish to marry women. Great Britain has four million more females as compared to males. Germany has five million more females as compared to males. Russia has nine million more females than males. God alone knows how many million more females there are in the whole world as compared to males.
8) Homosexuality and Restricting each and every man to have only one wife is not practical
Even if every man got married to one woman, there would still be more than thirty million females in U.S.A who would not be able to get husbands (considering that America has twenty five million gays). There would be more than four million females in Great Britain, 5 million females in Germany and nine million females in Russia alone who would not be able to find a husband.
Suppose my sister happens to be one of the unmarried women living in USA, or suppose your sister happens to be one of the unmarried women in USA. The only two options remaining for her are that she either marries a man who already has a wife or becomes public property. There is no other option. All those who are modest will opt for the first.
In Western society, it is common for a man to have mistresses and/or multiple extra-marital affairs, in which case, the woman leads a disgraceful, unprotected life. The same society, however, cannot accept a man having more than one wife, in which women retain their honourable, dignified position in society and lead a protected life.
Thus the only two options before a woman who cannot find a husband is to marry a married man or to become public property. Islam prefers giving women the honourable position by permitting the first option and disallowing the second.
There are several other reasons, why Islam has permitted limited polygyny, but it is mainly to protect the modesty of women.
9) Women is unable to bear child as per medical reports:
Instead of abandoning a women for her inability to conceive, he marries another and and treats them both with justice..
#Why can’t women have more than 1 husband…
There are many reasons and social issue that need to be taken into consideration.
a) Inheritance and Who is the father of the child : if there are many fathers and only one mother, who’s child belongs to which father? and which child will inherit whose property?
b) Growth Stunts – Women are only capable of birthing one healthy child per nine month period. So having 4 men tied to one woman means only one child in nine months. Whereas 4 women tied to one man means (at maximum) 4 children in nine months. This may sound like a weak argument today, but considering the lack of medicine and the chance of child mortality then, it was important to have many many children so at least one would survive.
c) Economics – In Islam it is a man’s duty to support his entire family (whether 1 wife and 1 child, or 3 wives and 8 children). By tying 3 men to 1 woman, that means all three men are only responsible for that one woman and her children. Whereas if one man is tied to 3 women he has to support all 3 and their children. This is a much better situation because it means more women and children are being taken care of…
d) Below is the Excerpts from http://www.irf.net/faq/faq1_02.html
“A lot of people, including some Muslims, question the logic of allowing Muslim men to have more than one spouse while denying the same ‘right’ to women.
Let me first state emphatically, that the foundation of an Islamic society is justice and equity. Allah has created men and women as equal, but with different capabilities and different responsibilities. Men and women are different, physiologically and sychologically. Their roles and responsibilities are different. Men and women are equal in Islam, but not identical.
Surah Nisa’ Chapter 4 verses 22 to 24 gives the list of women with who you can not marry and it is further mentions in Surah Nisa’ Chapter 4 verse 24 “Also (prohibited are) women already married”
The following points enumerate the reasons why polyandry is prohibited in Islam:
1. If a man has more than one wife, the parents of the children born of such marriages can easily be identified. The father as well as the mother can easily be identified. In case of a woman marrying more than one husband, only the mother of the children born of such marriages will be identified and not the father. Islam gives tremendous importance to the identification of both parents, mother and father. Psychologists tell us that children who do not know their parents, especially their father undergo severe mental trauma and disturbances. Often they have an unhappy childhood. It is for this reason that the children of prostitutes do not have a healthy childhood. If a child born of such wedlock is admitted in school, and when the mother is asked the name of the father, she would have to give two or more names! I am aware that recent advances in science have made it possible for both the mother and father to be identified with the help of genetic testing. Thus this point which was applicable for the past may not be applicable for the present.
2. Man is more polygamous by nature as compared to a woman.
3. Biologically, it is easier for a man to perform his duties as a husband despite having several wives. A woman, in a similar position, having several husbands, will not find it possible to perform her duties as a wife. A woman undergoes several psychological and behavioral changes due to different phases of the menstrual cycle.
4. A woman who has more than one husband will have several sexual partners at the same time and has a high chance of acquiring venereal or sexually transmitted diseases which can also be transmitted back to her husband even if all of them have no extra-marital sex. This is not the case in a man having more than one wife, and none of them having extra-marital sex.
The above reasons are those that one can easily identify. There are probably many more reasons why Allah, in His Infinite Wisdom, has prohibited polyandry.”..