Polygamy and Islam

Polygamy and Islam I n terms of the birth rate, men and women are almost equal in number. But subsequently, for a variety of reasons, the number of men in society decreases, leaving an excess of women. Now the question arises as to what should be the solution to this problem. In view of the inevitability of this imbalance, how is a healthy relationship between the sexes to be established? The choice for us, therefore, is not between monogamy and polygamy, but rather, between the lawful polygamy of Islam or the illicit polygamy of non-Islamic peoples. One of the commandments given in the Quran as a matter of social organization concerns polygamy, that is permission for a man to marry up to four women: If you fear that you cannot treat orphans with fairness, then you may marry such women (widowed) as seem good to you: two, three or four of them. But if you fear that you cannot do justice, marry one only.1 This verse was revealed after the Battle of Uhud (Shawwal 3 A.H.) in which seventy Muslims were