Polygamy erases infidelity Don't be deluded!

By Rev Bevis Byfield

TO BELIEVE that polygamy is the solution to the infidelity problem of which some men are guilty is to be deluded, for the following reasons:

In the first instance there is a misunderstanding concerning what is polygamy. According to the dictionary polygamy is a form of marriage that permits a person to have more than one husband or one wife at a time. Further, there are two types of polygamy. For one thing there is what is called polyandry: i.e. the sharing of a single wife by two or more husbands at the same time. If by choice the husbands are brothers then this for polygamy is called adelphic or fraternal polyandry.

Then there is polygamy where a man has two or more wives at the same time. If, in this case, the wives are by preference sisters then the marriage is called sororal polygamy. Because polygnyous relationships were called polygamy in some Islamic societies, polygamy has often then been confused with polygyny in the West especially in the U.S.A.

Any debate relating to the subject at hand demands a serious and objective study of all forms of polygamy and will reveal that this kind of marriage is of greater benefit to women rather than men. Why is that so? All polygamous marriages involving more than one wife (polygny) provide the co-wives the opportunity to share companionship and labour. Hence, loneliness is overcome for such women. Further, the system benefited the wealthy for it provided them with a luxury that the less affluent male could not afford. To have many wives the man had to demonstrate the ability to care for them economically. Hence, moral recklessness and ineptitude were forbidden. Further, the senior wife had to give permission for the more recent marital entrants to become part of the household.

The principal social function of polygamy was to increase the wealth of the family and therefore its social importance. A good example of this form of marriage can be seen in the life of Solomon who married many women in order to extend the political and economic dominance of his kingdom.

A historical study of polygamy reveals that where labour was scarce co-wives may increase the wealth of the family. For example, the Blackfood Indians main industry was the tanning of the buffalo skin. This was the women's responsibility.

Again history reminds us that where there have been decimated male populations especially in war times, and where there is an excess of marriageable women, men were allowed to marry more than one wife. And where this was practised older men were therefore allowed to marry youthful and attractive young women. This reminds us again that this practice of marriage was of greater benefit to the woman than the man. The practice of polygyny though still prevalent in some Muslim countries but under the influence of the West plural marriages have become a sign of social, cultural and economic backwardness, and thus is now being discouraged in many Muslim countries.

Any point from which the subject is debated, from any reading of history, the women benefits from the practice of polygny to a greater degree than the men.

Rev. Bevis Byfield is a Minister of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and a Lecturer at the United Theological College of the West Indies.

Let's avoid chaos!

By Shaykh Sadique Muncey

MARRIAGE HAS been ordained by Allah as the correct and legal way to produce children. The family thus is considered as the basic unit of a nation. Apart from this it is also the legal means by which man can legally satisfy his natural desires thus preserving chastity.

Strictly speaking polygamy means the plurality of mates. More specifically if a man has more than one wife at the same time this is defined as polygyny. In this presentation, however, the terms polygyny and polygamy, will be used interchangeably.

In the light of all illegal sexual conduct that is eminent in our society, polygamy has to be examined as a solution to this dilemma. Biblical verses have proven that various Prophets of God Almighty were polygamous, some had seven hundred wives as in the case of King Solomon, his son had 18. It should also be noted that there are no Scriptural accounts prohibiting polygyny. If this was something evil for society definitely there would not have been silence on this issue.

To argue that such a practice was based on a cultural practice holds true except that when God's revelation accepts such a habit it has to be healthy and consequently permissible. It is therefore incorrect to assume that Judaism and Christianity have always been monogamous or categorically opposed to polygamy (polygyny). In fact St. Augustine declared openly that he did not condemn it. In 1531 the Anabaptists openly preached that a true Christian must have several wives and in 1650, some Christians leaders resolved that every man should be allowed to marry two women.

It was only after Christianity was revised according to Pauline doctrines that concepts of monogamy were introduced into Christian philosophy in order for it to confirm into Greco- Roman culture. Today it is revealing to examine the high co-relation between strict formal monogamy and the formal prostitution, homosexuality, illegitimacy, infidelity, and general sexual laxity.

The historical record of the Greek -Roman and the Jewish - Christian civilisation is even more revealing in this respect as any standard sociological history of the family will show. This is evident in our society today in which men are married to one woman while at the same time have numerous playmates and mistresses without responsibilities. The reality is that monogamy protects the male rights to play around without any responsibility since the incident of infidelity is higher among them than females. They in general continue to be protected by monogamy, while prostitutes, call girls, secretaries and girl friends remain their play ground. Polygamy would in these cases force them to fidelity and oblige them to take socio- economic responsibility by providing protection for women and children from mental and physical abuse.

Although the ratio of man to woman may vary from country to country the results are still the same, women outnumber men. This apparent imbalance is further aggravated by the alarming increase in homosexuality. Hence there are more females competing for a diminishing number of males. Polygamy therefore, must be viewed as a conditional permission and a decent solution because hypocrisy in human relations can never be tolerated. It also serves to assist in eradicating illegal sexual conduct such as adultery, fornication and wife swapping, legitimise children and relationships as well as provide an alternative for religious groups who are opposed to divorce. Whether the question is considered from a moral humanitarian or spiritual it would be realised that it is far better for the society to permit its individuals to associate in a legal basis with the protection of the law and under the supervision of the authorities involved.

Sh. Sadique Muncey- Teacher of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies E-Mail : munsad@hotmail.com

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