✦ Permission of Four Marriages and the Fallacy of Gender Equality ✦
In Islam, a man is permitted to marry up to four women at the same time, but this permission is conditional upon absolute justice among them. If he fears that he will not be able to do justice, then he is instructed to suffice with just one wife:
"فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا فَوَاحِدَةً…"
Then if you fear that you will not be just, then (marry) only one…
(Surah An-Nisa: 3)
In the modern era, women outnumber men by approximately 60 million globally, and this imbalance has historically remained consistent. Contributing factors include men dying in wars and other social causes.
☑ If every man marries only one woman, millions of women will remain unmarried.
☑ Is this not a form of gender discrimination itself?
☑ If something is done to address the surplus number of women, would it not raise questions about medical science and legal systems?
Followers of feminism often object that allowing four marriages for men is gender inequality. However, when they reject Islamic principles, what foolish man would limit himself to just one wife?
➤ When a man deviates from Islamic teachings, he adopts the Western lifestyle, where extramarital relationships have become the norm.
➤ In these relationships, women’s honor is not safeguarded, nor is there any financial responsibility taken for children.
In the West, the state bears the responsibility for children's upbringing, while in Eastern societies, this duty is on the father.
☑ If laws become so strict that a father ends up imprisoned for merely advising or reprimanding his children, then why would a man be motivated to marry?
Feminists argue that if a man has the right to have relations with fifty women, then a woman should have the right to have relations with fifty men. However, they ignore the following realities:
① The burden of childbirth falls on the woman.
② Pregnancy, delivery, and upbringing—these are endured by women.
③ While the state may support child upbringing to some extent in the West, this support is absent in the East.
④ Consequently, the woman bears all the responsibility in such a system, with no share in the pleasure.
Western women have increasingly refrained from having children, resulting in a population structure where the elderly outnumber the youth.
✔ To sustain their economies, these societies are now importing young labor from the East, as seen when Germany welcomed Syrian refugees.
Whenever Islam is mentioned, there is an outcry over gender discrimination. However, no one answers the question:
Who imposed the burden of childbearing upon women?
☑ If true justice is to be served in the name of women’s rights, then either:
→ Men should also bear children, or
→ Women should be completely relieved from this responsibility.
Under the names of feminism and liberalism, efforts are being made to provide women with an equality that is naturally unachievable.
➤ These worldly laws are man-made, yet they have failed to eliminate issues of gender discrimination.
❖ Qur’anic Guidance: Permission for Four Marriages Conditional on Justice
In Islam, a man is permitted to marry up to four women at the same time, but this permission is conditional upon absolute justice among them. If he fears that he will not be able to do justice, then he is instructed to suffice with just one wife:
"فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا فَوَاحِدَةً…"
Then if you fear that you will not be just, then (marry) only one…
(Surah An-Nisa: 3)
❖ The Reality of Women Outnumbering Men
In the modern era, women outnumber men by approximately 60 million globally, and this imbalance has historically remained consistent. Contributing factors include men dying in wars and other social causes.
☑ If every man marries only one woman, millions of women will remain unmarried.
☑ Is this not a form of gender discrimination itself?
☑ If something is done to address the surplus number of women, would it not raise questions about medical science and legal systems?
❖ Turning Away from Islam Toward Western Ideologies
Followers of feminism often object that allowing four marriages for men is gender inequality. However, when they reject Islamic principles, what foolish man would limit himself to just one wife?
➤ When a man deviates from Islamic teachings, he adopts the Western lifestyle, where extramarital relationships have become the norm.
➤ In these relationships, women’s honor is not safeguarded, nor is there any financial responsibility taken for children.
❖ The Father’s Role and Western Laws
In the West, the state bears the responsibility for children's upbringing, while in Eastern societies, this duty is on the father.
☑ If laws become so strict that a father ends up imprisoned for merely advising or reprimanding his children, then why would a man be motivated to marry?
❖ Reality of Feminism and Women’s Responsibility
Feminists argue that if a man has the right to have relations with fifty women, then a woman should have the right to have relations with fifty men. However, they ignore the following realities:
① The burden of childbirth falls on the woman.
② Pregnancy, delivery, and upbringing—these are endured by women.
③ While the state may support child upbringing to some extent in the West, this support is absent in the East.
④ Consequently, the woman bears all the responsibility in such a system, with no share in the pleasure.
❖ Population Crisis in the West
Western women have increasingly refrained from having children, resulting in a population structure where the elderly outnumber the youth.
✔ To sustain their economies, these societies are now importing young labor from the East, as seen when Germany welcomed Syrian refugees.
❖ The Real Question of Gender Discrimination
Whenever Islam is mentioned, there is an outcry over gender discrimination. However, no one answers the question:
Who imposed the burden of childbearing upon women?
☑ If true justice is to be served in the name of women’s rights, then either:
→ Men should also bear children, or
→ Women should be completely relieved from this responsibility.
❖ Conclusion: Natural System vs. Human Laws
Under the names of feminism and liberalism, efforts are being made to provide women with an equality that is naturally unachievable.
➤ These worldly laws are man-made, yet they have failed to eliminate issues of gender discrimination.
