In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah and Peace be unto you. Men and women are not the same (equal). We are different in every aspect except that we are human beings. Therefore, we have different roles. Men cannot breastfeed or possess a womb that would carry a child to term. Women do not have the same physical and emotional capacity for warfare and battle that men have. Think of Muslim society as a house; families are the foundation of a Muslim society, women are the pillars of a Muslim society, and men are the roof which shelters and protects a Muslim society. Within this society, the ratio of Muslim women is greater to that of Muslim men. The same rings true amongst the non-Muslim population of the world. Were every single Muslim man to marry one Muslim woman, there would still be lonely single Muslim women who would have no husband and be tempted to have sex with another woman's husband outside the boundaries of marriage. Polyganous (not Polygamous) marriage is one of the best ways to Minimize adultery within a Muslim society. It is the lawful way for Muslim men and Muslim women to co-habit without having the stigma associated with committing fornication and adultery. {The Noble Qur'an [4:3] - If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry (other) women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.} Polygany has never been prohibited within any religious scripture. It is practiced and promoted within all of the Abrahamic textual sources. Lineage is very important within a Muslim society. Every Muslim child has to know exactly who their Muslim father is due to the legal matters of inheritance as prescribed within the Qur'an. Were one Muslim woman to have four different Muslim husbands, there would be confusion as to who exactly is the father of her children. Ever watch 'Maury Povich' or 'Jerry Springer'? This is the type of drama a Muslim society should opt to avoid. Were one Muslim man to have four Muslim wives, there would be no confusion as to who exactly is the mother of his children. There would be a clear understanding as to who the mothers are and who the father is. This is the reason why it is prohibited for Muslim women to have more than one Muslim husband. Please also keep in mind that even in pre-Islamic Arabia, there were more infant girls being born (and more infant girls surviving) than infant boys. It was a pre-Islamic Arab custom that infant girls were often killed by being buried in the desert alive. {The Noble Qur'an
[81:8-9]
- When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned -For what crime she was killed;} The result was a majority of older women who could not bear children and a decrease in the tribal population growth at that time. This is also why it made more sense to consummate marriage to a young girl upon the event of her first menses (i.e. Prophet Muhammad [sallAllahu alaihee wa sallam] consummating his marriage to A'isha [radiAllahu anha] when she was nine years-old). It meant that a young girl was of childbearing age and therefore (physically) a woman. Pre-Islamic Arab tribal society was dependent on the amount of young men that could be produced for the sake of warfare and commerce. The role of women in both pre-Islamic and post Islamic Arab society (typically) did not fit into either of those categories except when it came to birthing young males who would naturally take active roles in the physical and financial security of their tribes. It also made sense for Muslim men to marry older Muslim women who needed husbands to care for them physically and financially. This system of marriage is both merciful and just to women (young and old) within a Muslim society.