What is Polygany? Some of you reading this may have never heard of the word polygany but are more familiar with polygamy. Polygamy as defined by Webster is the practice or condition of having more than one spouse; whereas polgany is having multiple wives. In modern times, people consider polygany to be amongst the Mormons and Muslims. However, this is not a new practice, but can be found in stories of the Bible, where some of the Prophets had multiple wives or concubines. I won't go into detail about that; rather stay on the topic at hand. In Islam it is permissable for men to have multiple wives; And Allah says:

If you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry whatever pleases you of other women: two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just (with them) then (marry) only one woman, or those that your right hands possess (of captives and slaves). That is better in preventing you from doing injustice. (An-Nisa 4:3)

In Islam a man must provide for his wives shelter, clothing and food. These are an obligation upon him and it is the right of the wife that she has these things. In order that a man get a second, third or fourth wife, he must be able to fulfill this right towards each one of them. The one thing a man does not have to give equally to his wives, because it is something he has no control over, is his love. He may love one more than another and this is something he can not control. Allah says,

And it will not be within your power to treat your wives with fairness (in affection), even if you should strive to do so. So do not incline completely (toward one) and leave another as if she is suspended (i.e., neither divorced nor attached). And if you amend your affairs and revere Allah, then indeed Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (An-Nisa 4:129)

Okay so from the above you can see that yes, it is permissable for Muslim men to have multiple wives and now you may think to yourselves, for what reason would a man want or need another wife. Well there are a few reasons:

1. Inability of one wife to have children.
2. In countries where women out number men (which is the case in most countries) there will be women left without husbands to provide for them and adultery and fornication will rise.
3. One wife may be lacking in an area where another may make up for where she is lacking.
4. A woman may be in need of a husband for support and affection but unable to find a husband suitable who is unmarried.

Some of the non-Muslims and Muslims reading this may be rolling their eyes right now or twisting their lips, but this is true indeed. Now with that said, I'll proceed to my story.

My husband and I went to Tobago for a week and everyday we would attend the local Mosque for lectures. After each lecture we would go on a trip of some sort which included jet skiing, snorkling, walking the beach, golf, etc. On this particular day, I spoke to a woman in the Mosque who was very beautiful in her physical features, extremely modest and she had a beautiful character. She explained to me the story of how her husband had left her and her one year old child behind. Although he did have partial custody of the child, she had no support for herself. She had no family and was living with different people in the community. I wanted to cry as she told me her story, but she had faith in Allah and knew that she and her son would be fine, inshallah (God willing). Because of her experience, she was fearful of being married again, however she knew that it is upon us as Muslims to marry and increase our progeny. We ended our conversation and we went out into the Atlantic Ocean on a glass bottom boat tour. The tour extended to Nyland Pool where myself, my husband and all of the other families including the sister I was talking too, stood in the shallow waters of the Nyland Pool; enjoying Allah's beautiful yet curious creation.

After leaving Nyland pool, we went to climb one of the waterfalls in Tobago, it was beautiful. As soon as I got my husband alone, I explained to him the sisters situation and asked if he could marry her before we left Tobago. I guess you can imagine what his reaction was lol. At first, his eyes popped out like that of a blow fish and then he said "are you serious". I said yes, this sister has nothing and no one. I felt obligated to seek help and provisions for the sister and what better person to go to than my husband. He is kind, generous and extremely compassionate. He fears his Lord and want that which is best for everyone, so why wouldn't I ask him first. Unfortunately at the time, he did not feel that he was able to provide for her and her son at the time. This answer was sufficient for me, in that I would never want for her to not have her right of provision.

I am not sure if the sisterr married since I left Tobago, but she is always on my mind, as well as the many other women out their who suffer from not having a husband because they can't have children, or because they have no REAL MAN to support them and love them. Islam is not a religion of selfishness and sometimes people are willing to share their money, their homes, their clothes, but never think for once about sharing their husband. This is a major act of kindness as well as a selfless act of faith. My sisters in Islam are you really ready to sacrifice some of what you have in order to provide for another?

With this blog, I would really like to hear comments from both the Muslim and non-Muslim community. I hope you enjoyed the story!!!