Polygamy
“The Qur’anic institution of polygamy was a piece
of social legislation. It was designed not to gratify
the male sexual appetite, but to correct the
injustices done to widows, orphans, and other
female dependents, who were especially vulnerable.
All too often, unscrupulous people seized
everything and left the weaker members of the
family with nothing… Polygamy was designed to
ensure that unprotected women would be decently
married, and to abolish the old loose, irresponsible
liaisons; men could have only four wives and must
treat them equitably; it was an unjustifiably wicked
act to devour their property… The Qur’an was
attempting to give women a legal status that most
Western women would not enjoy until the
nineteenth century. The emancipation of women
was a project dear to the Prophet’s heart…”
by Karen Armstrong, the best-selling British writer and lecturer on religion, on the issue of Prophets marriages and polygamy in Islam:
Thank you for sharing sister.