Mary women in Islam have had equal rights for over 1400 years.
Allah says in the Qur'an:
And their Lord hath accepted of them, and answered them: "Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be you male or female: you are equal to one another: Those who have left their homes, or been driven out therefrom, or suffered harm in My Cause, or fought or been slain,- verily, I will blot out from them their iniquities, and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath;- A reward from the presence of God, and from His presence is the best of rewards.
Quran 3:195
Polygamy has nothing to do with sexual equality. It is not practical for a woman to have four husbands and give each of them his rights as a husband but a man can be a husband to four women and give each of them their rights (only a few men are able to do this that is why the quran advices that they should marry only one).
What about when a woman gets pregnant? She wont know who the father is until the baby is born. This means all of her husbands must assume the child is theirs. And even if she knew whos child it was. Why should the three other men have to put up with everything that comes with pregnancy? How is a pregnant woman expected to have sexual relations with four men?
Furthermore, does each one of her husbands also have the right to take three more wives?
In many parts of the world women out number men greatly and there are more women on this planet than men. The laws of polygamy in islam are practical. It give people a choice. No woman can or should be forced into a polygamous marriage.
I will give you an example. We used to have a lady who taught us the Quran when we were young, she and her husbannd were maried a long time, like 20 years. They loved each other dearly but had no children. The tried IVF etc and was told the problem was with the lady, that she was unable to have children. She suggested to her husband that he should take a second wife, she even looked for a wife for him! LOL.
Anyway, he married again and the other lady got pregnant, but guess what, my teacher also got pregnant! She was really happy and kept telling us that Allah was rewarding her for her selflesss act.
There are many situations where polygamy is practical. Its would not be for me, my husband would never dream of it (or so he tells me lol).
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"But as for me (I believe) that He is Allah, my Lord, and I shall associate none as partner with my Lord." Surah Al-Kahf verse 38. Holy Quran |