Q23
Polygyny
The question, at its strongest
"A man may marry up to four wives; a woman may have only one husband. The Quran makes it conditional on justice and then says men 'will never be able to be equal' between wives (4:129) — yet the law kept it. The Prophet himself had more than four. Studies find more depression and anxiety among co-wives. And in practice, a second wife is often taken in secret, through an unregistered religious ceremony, leaving her and her children without legal rights."
Why people ask it
Women fear it, and some live with it. In several countries, including Türkiye, religious-only marriages leave women without legal protection. Men ask whether it is a right or a burden.
Short answer
The Quran permits a man up to four wives, on a strict condition — "if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one" (4:3) — and then says full equality between wives is impossible (4:129). Many read 4:129 as being about love, which a man cannot control, and 4:3 as being about fair treatment, which he can, and so kept polygyny as a conditional permission (Saheeh's bracket "[in feeling]" reflects this reading; a named classical source for it has not yet been consulted here). Modern reformers such as Muhammad ʿAbduh read the two verses together as a strong restriction that the state may enforce; Tunisia banned polygyny in 1956 on that basis. In the Hanbali school, a wife may make monogamy a binding condition of her marriage contract. Polygyny is rare: about 2% of the world's population lives in polygamous households, and fewer than 1% of Muslim men in countries like Pakistan and Egypt. Research links it to worse mental health for women. Religious-only marriages that bypass the civil law put women at serious risk.
The full answer
9min read
For the heart and mind
If you are a wife whose husband has taken, or wants to take, another wife, your feelings are not a lack of faith. The Quran itself admits that full equality between wives is beyond men (4:129), and the Prophet (pbuh) warned that a man who leans toward one wife will come on the Day of Resurrection "with a side hanging down" (Abu Dawud 2133). You have rights to fair treatment and maintenance, and many legal systems give a wife a way to seek divorce for harm through a court; ask a family lawyer what applies to you. If you are in a religious-only marriage, find out now what your legal position is (see below). A family lawyer, a women's rights organisation or the helplines on the page "Does Islam treat women unequally?" can help.
What the Quran says
4:3 and its occasion. "And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice]" (4:3), Medinan. ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr asked Aisha (ra) about the verse; she explained: "An Orphan girl used to be under the care of a guardian with whom she shared property. Her guardian, being attracted by her wealth and beauty, would intend to marry her without giving her a just Mahr", and "such guardians were forbidden to do that unless they did justice to their female wards" (Bukhārī 4574 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound)). So the verse begins as a protection for orphan girls against exploitative guardians.
"Or those your right hand possesses." The verse also permits, as an alternative to a second wife, relations with a slave woman. That part of the verse belongs to the system discussed on the page "Slavery", and has no application now that slavery is prohibited.
4:129. "And you will never be able to be equal [in feeling] between wives, even if you should strive [to do so]. So do not incline completely [toward one] and leave another hanging" (4:129), Medinan. The words "[in feeling]" are the translator's interpretation, reflecting the classical reading.
The Prophet's (pbuh) marriages. The Quran permitted him marriages "only for you excluding the [other] believers" (33:50), and later forbade him any further marriages: "Not lawful to you, [O Muhammad], are [any additional] women after [this], nor [is it] for you to exchange them for [other] wives, even if their beauty were to please you" (33:52). So his marriages above four were a special permission, and the Quran itself then closed it. The circumstances of his marriages have not yet been checked.
What the Prophet (pbuh) taught
Unfairness between wives. Abu Hurayra (ra) reports that the Prophet (pbuh) said: "When a man has two wives and he is inclined to one of them", he "will come on the Day of resurrection with a side hanging down" (Abū Dāwūd 2133 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound) — al-Albānī; Ḍaʿīf (weak) — Zubair ʿAlī Zaʾī; al-Albani: ṣaḥīḥ).
ʿAli and a second wife. Al-Miswar ibn Makhrama (ra) reports that the Prophet (pbuh) said from the pulpit that Banu Hisham ibn al-Mughira had asked him to let them marry their daughter to ʿAli: "I don't give permission, and will not give permission… unless Ali bin Abi Talib divorces my daughter", for "Fatima is a part of my body" (Bukhārī 5230 Ṣaḥīḥ (sound)). How classical commentators explained this has not yet been consulted. A modern reading takes it to show that a second marriage was not treated as a husband's unconditional right when it would harm the first wife; if the ruling was specific to this case, that general rule does not follow.
How scholars have understood it
The common reading. On a widely held reading, the justice required in 4:3 is justice in what a man can control — maintenance, housing, time — and 4:129 is about feelings, which he cannot fully control; then the two verses do not cancel each other. Saheeh's bracket "[in feeling]" reflects this reading. Ibn Kathir and al-Tabari on 4:129 have not yet been consulted, so no classical holder is named.
ʿAbduh and Riḍā. Muhammad ʿAbduh (d. 1905) and Rashid Riḍa (d. 1935), in Tafsir al-Manar, concluded that polygyny was "an injustice to both women and children" and "should only be allowed in cases of necessity" (as reported by Rasha Dewedar for Musawah, cited in Wikipedia; the work is not named there). Their reading takes 4:3 and 4:129 together as showing that the condition is rarely met. Tafsir al-Manar itself has not yet been consulted.
Why men and not women? The classical answer is lineage: a Hanafi teacher writes that "one of the most primary and central aims (maqāṣid) of the Shariʿah is preservation of lineage and the family (nasab)" and that "polyandry negates this completely" (Azam). Before modern genetics, a child's father could only be known if a woman had one husband. The same answer adds: "For most people in our times, it may well be impermissible and sinful."
The critique of the asymmetry. Critics answer that lineage explains why a woman cannot have two husbands, but not why a man may have four wives; that the classical framework assumes women's dependence on men; and that the stated protections (for widows and orphans) can be met in other ways today. Limit: the lineage argument is a reason for the rule as it stands, not an argument that polygyny is good; mainstream scholars do not claim it is an ideal.
The law: what the four schools hold
Permission with conditions. The four schools' detailed rules on polygyny (equal treatment in maintenance, housing and time; whether the first wife's consent is required) have not yet been consulted in named works.
The monogamy clause. The schools differ on whether a wife can stipulate in her marriage contract that her husband will not marry another. Abu Hanifa and al-Shafiʿi held the marriage valid but the condition void. The Hanbali jurists, following ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab and Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas, held the condition binding: if he marries again, the first wife may choose divorce or remain. Ibn Qudama (d. 1223) says of this view: "This was the opinion of the Companions, and we do not know any one who disagreed… who disagreed with them in their lifetime" (IslamOnline). The Maliki position was not covered in the source read. This is one of the most practical tools a woman has where the law allows it.
Divorce for harm. The schools' rules on a wife ending a marriage through a judge for harm have not yet been consulted.
History
How common is it? Established (.) "Only about 2% of the global population lives in polygamous households", and in most countries under 0.5% (Pew, 2020). In sub-Saharan Africa the figure is 11%, highest in Burkina Faso (36%), Mali (34%) and Nigeria (28%); 25% of Muslims in Africa live in such households. "Fewer than 1% of Muslim men live with more than one spouse in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Egypt."
Legal bans and restrictions. Türkiye banned polygyny in 1926 on secular grounds (Wikipedia). Tunisia's 1956 Code of Personal Status made a second marriage punishable by "a year's imprisonment and… a fine"; President Bourguiba argued that equal treatment could not be assured, and the Tunisian scholar Muhammad al-Fadil ibn ʿAshur later supported the Code as a possible interpretation of Islam (Wikipedia, citing Perkins). Morocco restricted it in 1958; Iran and Pakistan require the first wife's permission shown to a court (Wikipedia).
What ijtihād means here. Ijtihād is a qualified scholar's independent reasoning from the sources where no text decides the case. The Tunisian argument was an ijtihād: since 4:3 forbids a second wife to a man who fears injustice, and 4:129 says full justice is impossible, the state may conclude that the condition is not met and close the door. The majority of classical scholars did not reach that conclusion; it is a modern legal reading.
Religious-only marriage (imam nikahı) in Türkiye. Turkish law "exclusively recognises civil marriages", and polygamy is a crime under Penal Code article 230 (Musawah, 2019). Women in religious-only marriages lack marital rights, "(such as alimony, participation of acquired property, inheritance in the event of husband's death etc.)"; if a couple is not legally married, "they cannot be legal inheritors" (Musawah). In 2015 the Constitutional Court struck down the penalty for a religious ceremony without civil marriage; the Federation of Turkish Women's Associations warned of "men marrying multiple women, underage marriages" (Al Jazeera). In a 2014 survey of Turkish women who married below 18, 77% had religious ceremonies by an imam (Musawah). Practical advice: a woman offered a religious-only marriage should know that, in Türkiye and many other countries, it gives her no legal protection; insisting on civil registration is her strongest safeguard.
What science says
Mental health. [Moderate.] A systematic review of 22 studies found "a more significant prevalence of mental-health issues in polygynous women" than in monogamous women, including higher rates of "somatization, depression, anxiety, hostility, psychoticism and psychiatric disorder", and lower life and marital satisfaction; the author rates this "with moderate confidence", noting the studies' "mixed methodological quality" (Shepard, 2013).
The strongest objection, and the reply
"If 4:129 says justice is impossible, polygyny is effectively forbidden." Reply: on the common reading, 4:129 is about feelings, not conduct, so the condition of 4:3 can be met. Limit: ʿAbduh, Riḍā and the Tunisian legislators read the verses together and concluded otherwise; both are serious readings, and the common one is not the only Islamic one.
"It protects widows and orphans." Reply: that was the setting of 4:3 (Bukhari 4574). Limit: most polygynous marriages today are not about widows or orphans, and the research suggests real harm to women.
"The Prophet had more than four." Reply: the Quran calls his marriages "only for you" (33:50), and then forbade him further marriages (33:52). Limit: critics are not persuaded by an exception granted to the person proclaiming the law; Muslims understand it as part of his particular role.
The range of views
- The common reading — permitted with justice in conduct; 4:129 about feelings (classical holders not checked here).
- Hanbali — a monogamy clause in the contract is binding (Ibn Qudama).
- ʿAbduh and Riḍā — only in necessity; the state may restrict.
- Tunisia (1956) — banned; Türkiye (1926) — banned on secular grounds.
- Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, Morocco — allowed with court control or the first wife's permission.
Questions readers ask next
Why may men have four wives but women only one husband?
The classical answer is lineage (nasab). Critics say this explains only half the rule.
If full justice is impossible, why was it not banned?
Because on the common reading 4:129 is about love and 4:3 about conduct.
Why did the Prophet (pbuh) have more than four wives?
A special permission (33:50), later closed (33:52).
How common is polygyny?
About 2% of people worldwide; under 1% of Muslim men in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Egypt (Pew, 2020).
What is imam nikahı?
A religious-only marriage without civil registration. In Türkiye it gives a wife no legal rights to maintenance, property or inheritance.
Can I put a monogamy clause in my marriage contract?
In the Hanbali school, yes, and it is binding; many modern family laws also allow it.
Key verses
وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا۟ فِى ٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ فَٱنكِحُوا۟ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَٰثَ وَرُبَٰعَ ۖ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا۟ فَوَٰحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعُولُوا۟٣
Transliteration: wa-in khif'tum allā tuq'siṭū fī l-yatāmā fa-inkiḥū mā ṭāba lakum mina l-nisāi mathnā wathulātha warubāʿa fa-in khif'tum allā taʿdilū fawāḥidatan aw mā malakat aymānukum dhālika adnā allā taʿūlū
And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice].
Translation: Saheeh International
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And you will never be able to be equal [in feeling] between wives, even if you should strive [to do so]. So do not incline completely [toward one] and leave another hanging. And if you amend [your affairs] and fear Allah - then indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful. 4:129
Arabic text and transliteration
وَلَن تَسْتَطِيعُوٓا۟ أَن تَعْدِلُوا۟ بَيْنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ ۖ فَلَا تَمِيلُوا۟ كُلَّ ٱلْمَيْلِ فَتَذَرُوهَا كَٱلْمُعَلَّقَةِ ۚ وَإِن تُصْلِحُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
walan tastaṭīʿū an taʿdilū bayna l-nisāi walaw ḥaraṣtum falā tamīlū kulla l-mayli fatadharūhā kal-muʿalaqati wa-in tuṣ'liḥū watattaqū fa-inna l-laha kāna ghafūran raḥīman
Sources
- Saheeh International via the site's Tanzil data — 4:3, 4:129, 30:21.
- Saheeh International via legacy.quran.com — 33:50, 33:52.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4574 (via thehouseofislam.com) and 5230 (sunnah.com); Sunan Abi Dawud 2133 (alim.org, graded by al-Albani).
- Wikipedia, "Polygyny in Islam" and "Code of Personal Status in Tunisia" (citing Perkins, Historical Dictionary of Tunisia, 1997).
- IslamOnline fiqh team, "Can a wife stipulate that her husband must not marry a second wife?", https://fiqh.islamonline.net/en/can-a-wife-stipulate-that-her-husband-must-notmarry-a-second-wife/ — citing Ibn Qudama.
- Tabraze Azam, "Why Polyandry Is Not Permissible", SeekersGuidance (via islamqa.org).
- Stephanie Kramer, "Polygamy is rare around the world and mostly confined to a few regions", Pew Research Center (7 December 2020).
- L. D. Shepard, "The impact of polygamy on women's mental health: a systematic review", Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences 22:1 (2013), pp. 47–62 — abstract.
- Musawah, "Turkey Overview Table" (2019), https://www.musawah.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Turkey-Overview-Table.pdf.
- Al Jazeera, "Turkey court ruling on religious marriages spurs uproar" (30 May 2015).
- Abū Dāwūd 2133
- Tafsīr al-Manār (Ar.)
- Mawdūdī, "Masʾala-yi taʿaddud-i azwāj" (Urdu)
- Musawah brief
- Melia Rosa et al., Jurnal Konstitusi 21(4) (2024, Indon.)
- TDV, "Taaddüd-i Zevcât" (Tr.)