Polygamy as an institution has been discredited the
world over in our times. Unlike in the medieval times, the patriarchal practice
is now seen as an affront/insult to the dignity of women. In an age of
increasing consciousness about human dignity and the basic rights of women, polygamy
has gone against the grain of societal acceptance as an indulgence by men and worse.
Critics of Islam always frown upon Islam for the perceived/alleged
legitimacy it extends to men through the institution of polygamy. They argue
that it militates against the notions of equality and women’s rights.
The
Mujaddid of the Fourteenth Century, Hadhrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian engaged with the arguments of the critics
of Islam in several of his writings and even defended the practice from the
point of view of individual liberty and human rights. While Islam recognizes
the practice of polygamy and allows men to take more than one wife at a time, as
the Promised Massih (as) points out, Islam has not made it a compulsory
institution or an obligatory practice on the men.
Marriage
is a bilateral agreement/contract under the Law of Islam. Hence, the parties
are perfectly entitled to design the conditions of agreement/rules of
engagement as well. Muslim women can, if they so wish, certainly determine the
conditions of their marriage and not powerless, as is generally being thought
of. In the search within the Islamic tradition for the empowerment of Muslim
women against the abuse of religious doctrines by the men, the viewpoint of the
Promised Massih (as) has been found to be singularly useful. It is pertinent to
note that in the century that followed since these observations were made by
the Promised Massih (as), the family law reforms in most Islamic countries have
moved in this direction as well.
