BOOK REVIEW Polygamy: A Remedy Or A Right? *

By Karima Omar Kamouneh

Polygamy: for centuries, it’s been the Achilles heel of Islam, and Muslims as well. Oh, come on - we’ve all heard cracks and comments from non-Muslims, ranging from a sharp elbow in the ribs and a sly “So, you’re a Muslim, eh’? How’s your harem, buddy’?” to the classic, “And how many wives does your husband have’?”

Unfortunately, the NATIONAL ENQUIRER mentality of popular misconceptions has for so long linked this practice with Islam that even Muslims have begun to believe some of the myths. We’ve come to see it as - yes, a right, a license to licentiousness - rather than simply a divinely prescribed remedy for specific social ills.

Enter

(New Mind Productions) by Dr. Alauddin Shabazz. Enter the lively, witty, yet deadly serious style of this popular MUSLIM JOURNAL columnist, Imam, and scholar whose unflinching devotion to the truth has occasionally ruffled a feather or two.
And, true to form, Imam Shabazz doesn’t pull any punches, doesn’t mince any words. Although this topic has been addressed by other authors, few, if any, have done so in this manner. The book is simultaneously insightful, incisive, scholarly, wry and downright fun. Perhaps this is born of the quiet confidence which can only come from one whose exhaustive research from accepted, traditional sources, bears witness to the truth of his statements. These sources - Qur’an, authentic Prophetic traditions and the writings of a wealth of reputable scholars - form such a solid foundation that the author is free to construct a glorious skyscraper embellished with his own imagination, creativity, and inimitable wit.

In short, this work contains something for everyone. It’s eminently readable, approachable and yet every inch erudite. Not only does he share information and lace profundity with humor, but he lets the reader into his world. He isn’t stingy; doesn’t want to keep his sources, his intellectual friends and mentors, to himself. Not only does he give full credit to authors quoted, and state his gratitude to the scholars who have helped him along his spiritual and intellectual journey (particularly Imam W.D. Muhammad). 

Imam Shabazz deals with sticky issues in polygamy/polygyny, such as the apparent paradox between ayat 4:3 and 4: 129. While the former verse permits a maximum of four wives with the provision that all must be justly treated, the latter reminds us, “You shall never be able to do justice among women, no matter how much you desire to do so.” The only context in which polygamy is permitted, according to the Qur’an is with orphans. Check it out! (page 9) He goes on to define the Qur’anic concept of orphans which does not simply refer to those who have lost their parents.

It is precisely this delicate blend of the scholarly and populist that makes Shabazz’s work such an absolute pleasure to read. He doesn’t sugarcoat his words; rather, he adds dashes of spice here and there, making this business of cerebral aerobics - fun! Just as one’s brow begins to furrow beneath the weight of the profound, a smile will erupt from one of the author’s tongue-in-cheek comments (such as his remark concerning the “moral constipation” of those who give hadith precedence over Qur’an). Balance seems to be at the heart of this work.

While the author reiterates that polygamy is not a right but a responsibility, he places it on the shoulders of both sexes, rather than portraying it as a unilateral decision to be made on a husband’s whip. On page 15, he points to the responsibility of secure married Muslim women to provide, through polygamy, shelter and security to “one of her unfortunate sisters who has been driven to such a pitiable condition through no fault of her own.”

This is a fast paced book; by page 16, we’ve covered polygamy in Christianity, Judaism, pre-Islamic Arabia and Islam and met up with Prophet Muhammad’s family. The comprehensive description of the background of each of his wives which follows will serve as a useful reference guide for information on the Mothers of the Believers. By page 20, we’ve resolved the controversy surrounding Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Hazrat Mariam. Footnote fetishists (such as myself) will delight in his ample substantiation of his assertion that the Coptic woman was indeed a full-fledged wife.

The following chapter is a must for discussions with non-Muslims. Muhammad the libertine, as fashioned by Orientalists and opportunistic Muslims, is once and for all laid to rest and replaced with a Prophet who was monogamous by nature (as evidenced by his marriage to Khadijah) and polygamous by conscience.

So succinctly does Imam Shabazz deal with the issue of polygamy that he is able to proceed to other issues pertaining to marriage and women (including Mut’ah, and Islamic dress). While at first glance these may appear to digress from the theme, they tie in quite neatly. For, as Imam Shabazz states, oppression lurks behind countless facades and faces whether multiple marriages, abandonment, dress or rape.

Dr. Shabazz is not the sort of knee-jerk “feminist” who alienates the sons of Adam for the sake of his daughters. His writing is imbued with an overall sense of fair play. For instance, just as he states quite pointedly that “Some plural marriages remind one of a pimp and his stable of vamps” he continues in the following paragraph:
“When a woman realizes that a certain man is already married, and his wife and children are dependent on welfare, and she still enters into a plural marriage with such a man, she is in need of psychiatric treatment. No man without durable subsistence should ever consider a monogamous marriage, let alone a polygamous one.” Well, yeah, now that you mention it, Imam Shabazz.

This spirit of equality again surfaces in the final chapter in which he acknowledges that domestic violence is not the one sided issue many of us would like to have it.  All readers will find a friend - an objective, candid ally - in this book. Muslims will gain a clearer understanding of their faith, while non-Muslims will see that Islam indeed means “submission to Allah” not “submissiveness to husbands”. Or wives, for that matter.

Sure, great, but who has time to read?  Indeed, between our chaotic schedules and attention spans that have been whittled away by the semi-eternal flame of TV, many of us have trouble reading the ingredients on a bag of potato chips, much less non-fiction books of controversial subject matter.

This book has been made quite painless indeed. It is a collection of previously published articles, therefore each chapter stands as an independent work. One can put it down and pick it up without losing the train of thought or having to sift through previously read paragraphs to pick up the thread. The large print and generous spacing makes it “cooling to the eyes”. So, the next time you get an elbow in the ribs and a crack about polygamy, give ‘em one back - a copy of POLGAMY.• A REMEDY OR A RIGHT? (Published by New Mind Productions, PO Box 5185, Jersey City, NJ 07305. $5 plus $1 shipping and handling)

Originally published in the April-June Spring edition of

, 1992.