POLYGAMY
Polygamy is allowed in Islam with the caution that if one can’t maintain justice, one should keep one wife only. See verse 4: 3. وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا فِي الْيَتَامَىٰ فَانكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ ۖ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا فَوَاحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَلَّا تَعُولُوا And if you fear that you would not be able to treat orphans with justice, you may marry the women with them who are appropriate for you: two, three, or four of them. Yet if you fear that you cannot maintain justice [between them], then [even in this situation], keep one wife only or any slave-girls you may own. This is nearer for you to avoid injustice. Ghamidi saheb writes on this verse: This verse was not primarily revealed to state any directive regarding polygamy. It was actually revealed to make use of the pre-existing practice of polygamy in Arabia for the welfare of the orphans. At other places, the Qur’ān has clearly alluded to the fact that as per the norms of human nature, the real benefits and advantages of the institution of family manifest themselves in a monogamous family. Consequently, it is stated in various verses that the father of mankind: Adam (sws) was blessed with one wife. It is basically social, psychological, political and cultural needs from which arose the need for polygamy. Such needs existed in various societies to different extents. To cater for these specific needs the Almighty never forbade this practice in the sharī‘ah He gave in various periods of time. Here, in this verse, Muslims are directed to make use of this practice to solve a similar issue. It is said that protecting the wealth of the orphans as well as their rights is a heavy responsibility, and if they feared that they would not be able to do justice to the onerous responsibility and by sharing this responsibility by including the orphan’s mother or sister they would create ease for themselves, then they should marry women who are suitable for them. However, it has been made conditional upon two things: First, even for as noble an objective as the welfare of orphans, a person cannot marry more than four wives. Second, if a person is not able to deal justly with all four wives, he should not marry more than one. Justice is a value that has to be maintained at all costs and cannot be sacrificed even for such a noble cause.