المحراب

المحراب — Page 155

society where even three to four year old girls are not safe, how can grown up girls go about unprotected۔Another accusation of the West on Islam is 'POLYGAMY'۔They think this to be sheer cruelty when a man is allowed to have more than one wife at a time; secondly why man only is given this per- mission and woman is not allowed to have more than one husband۔If we read the verse: ما طاب لَكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ مَثْنَى وَتُلْكَ وَ رُبع فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِ لُوَافَوَاحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ ايمانكم ذلِكَ أَدْنَى أَلا تَعُودُوا هُ وَأَتُوا النِّسَاءِ مِّنْهُ نَفْسًا فَهُوَهُ هَنيئًا مَّرِياً۔Sura Al Nisa Verse 4 & 5 We understand why this permission was granted, on what conditions was it given and how far is it right or wrong۔First of all it is conditional: man is allowed to remarry only under certain circumstances and that too, if he finds himself strong enough to maintain jus- tice between his wives۔He is reminded again that in case he feels that he cannot do so then he should not attempt it at all۔If one tries to maintain the high standard set by the Holy Prophet then he would be a very bold man who would go for a second marriage۔Secondly one is allowed a second wife only under certain circumstances e۔g۔at the time of war, when most of the men die and women۔are left alone, unprotected۔It becomes a social duty to give such women pro- tection and the only proper way of doing so is to marry them, otherwise it will give rise to widespread sin, which is so apparent Another objection which is often raised is why women are not allowed to have more than one husband at a time۔Just think of it! what would be the situation if it was done۔There is already a shortage of men, if a woman wants more than one husband, what about the others? Many would be left without even one husband۔To whom would the children belong? Who would be responsible in the case of a di- vorce? If every man married more than one wife and every woman married more than one husband, then there would be no single family and there would be total chaos all around۔There is no running away from the teachings of Islam which are based on human nature, on the needs of human beings and not on emotions alone۔It is for the days of peace and of war, it is for all times and all places۔Those who object to the permission granted by Islam to man to marry four wives at a time must be told, "O Phy- sician! heal thyself"۔Their attention must be drawn to their own religions, where we find just the opposite situation۔Torah and Bible give total freedom to marry without any restrictions, without any conditions to maintain justice which are explained in detail in the Holy Quran۔The Prophet whom they themselves give so much respect, with whom Prophethood started, continued and ultimately, ac- cording to them, the Saviour was born: Hazrat Yaqub had more than one wife۔Hazrat Dawood was supposed to have 99 wives and the desire for one more was still there۔Then those who follow the Bible and have reverence for it, have no right to object۔In Hinduism Hazrat Krishna is stated to have many wives۔Islam allows it only under certain conditions and orders men to maintain justice and treat each wife equally, if they don't, they are warned of being punished in life after death۔Islam is the only religion in which woman was given the right to choose her