Search the Community

It is generally believed that Western society is monogamous. It is true that monogamy has been enforced by an act of Parliament but it needs to be seen to what extent it is being observed. There is, in fact, nothing like the practice of true monogamy in the West when we consider the miserable plight of the numerous mistresses who are deprived of womanhood and respect. One Orientalist has stated that irresponsible polygamy is practiced in the West which Islam does not permit. A close look at Western society shows that its moral and spiritual condition is comparable to that of Arabian society at the time of the advent of the Holy Prophet of Islam. In fact this state of moral degeneracy has spread almost to the four corners of the world. The root cause is the imbalance between the two sexes caused by a depletion of males during the two world wars. This view is supported by statistics published in the Western press. Some persons have expressed their view that polygamy is the only solution for the increased problem of prostitution. Dr. Le Bon, a French sexologist, has written: “A return to polygamy, the natural relationship between the sexes, would remedy many evils: prostitution, venereal diseases, abortion, the misery of illegitimate children, the misfortune of millions of unwanted women, resulting from the disproportion between the sexes, adultery and even jealousy.” As a matter of fact the West has nothing to lose by adopting the Islamic concept of limited polygamy as it has already done in the case of divorce. The West has advanced in the direction towards its own emancipation by granting divorce. At the same time it has not fully realized and appreciated the Islamic teachings on divorce which has in a nutshell been beautifully described by the Prophet of Islam: “Of all lawful things, the most hateful in the sight of Allah is divorce.” While divorce is allowed it is not encouraged unless circumstances fully warrant it. By discarding old dogmatic beliefs Western minds are, on the basis of rational thinking, moving gradually towards the principles of Islam. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. The western law does not recognize a second wife as a legal wife where as Islam does. If the western law can accommodate common law arrangements between long term partners and same sex marriages then why can it not also accommodate a second wife of a Muslim male as his legal wife? How does making this provision for Muslims affect disbelievers in any way?