Views of contemporary scholars and religious bodies on polygyny

1How to read this page

Scholars' differences of opinion on polygyny revolve around four questions:

1. What is the basic ruling? The views are: recommended for those able, permissible, or permissible but one wife is better.
2. Does "justice" in 4:129 make polygyny almost impossible?
3. May the state regulate or restrict it through the courts or criminal law?
4. What are the existing wife's rights? The questions include whether she must be informed, whether her consent is needed, and whether she may set conditions.

All the views below agree that wronging wives and children is forbidden, and that the limit of four wives is final.

2The reformist current: Muhammad Abduh and after

• Muhammad Abduh (Mufti of Egypt, died 1905), in Tafsir al-Manar, compiled with Rashid Rida, read 4:3 together with 4:129. For him, the condition of justice is so heavy that polygyny is only appropriate in certain circumstances, for example when the wife cannot bear children. In ordinary circumstances it may be prohibited because of its harm to families in his time. His argument rests on maslahah (public interest) and the principle of preventing harm.
• Fazlur Rahman, in Major Themes of the Qur'an (1980), argues that the Qur'an's moral ideal is monogamy. In his view, the permission for polygyny was a transitional step in the context of orphans.
• It is this reformist view that became the intellectual basis for legal restrictions in several countries, and for the prohibition in Tunisia.

3Al-Azhar: Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyib (2019)

In early March 2019, the Sheikh of al-Azhar Ahmad al-Tayyib said on his television programme that polygyny "is often an injustice to women and children". He said the practice stems from a poor understanding of the Qur'an and Sunnah, and that anyone who claims marriage must be polygynous is wrong. In his view, the permission for polygyny is bound by the condition of justice, and without justice it is prohibited.

After the statement sparked debate, the al-Azhar Media Centre clarified that he was not calling for polygyny to be prohibited. He was only stressing its conditions and purposes.

4Scholars who defend full permissibility

5Malaysia: muftis, religious departments and courts

• Federal Territories Mufti's Office, Irsyad al-Fatwa Series 299 (23 March 2019): a woman may stipulate that her future husband shall not marry polygynously. The Mufti's Office chose the Hanbali view that such a condition is valid and binding, citing the hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari 2721 and Sahih Muslim, Kitab an-Nikah. If the condition is breached, the wife may apply for judicial dissolution (fasakh). However, that right lapses if she accepts it afterwards. The positions of the other schools are also set out: the Hanafi, Maliki and Shafi'i schools consider the condition not binding, but the contract remains valid.
• Dr. Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri (article #6248, 14 July 2024): from the standpoint of fiqh, the first wife's permission is not a condition of validity for polygyny. Even so, the wife's feelings cannot simply be set aside. Malaysian law, for its part, requires the court's written permission, and the court considers whether the wife's consent or views have been obtained (Act 303 s.23(1), (3)).
• JHEAINS (Negeri Sembilan), enforcement leaflet: sets out the ruling on polygyny in four situations: permissible, recommended, disliked (makruh) and forbidden. The leaflet quotes al-Khatib ash-Shirbini: "it is recommended not to take more than one wife without an evident need". It also rejects the "golden umbrella" claim as having no textual basis.
• The Department of Syariah Judiciary Malaysia (JKSM) stresses that the wife's consent is not a legal condition but is a "strong additional fact". The existing wife is still summoned to the hearing.
• National Fatwa Committee Muzakarah No. 71 (22–24 November 2005): when discussing a proposal for an optional taʿliq divorce for the wife if the husband takes another wife, the Muzakarah affirmed that polygyny is permissible in Islam, and decided that the proposal to add that taʿliq formula need not be implemented because the existing Islamic Family Law was considered complete. Regulation in Malaysia is through the state Islamic family enactments.

6A contemporary Malaysian writer: Hafiz Firdaus Abdullah

Besides muftis and official religious bodies, there are independent writers who discuss polygyny at length in Malay. Among the most prolific is Captain Hafiz Firdaus Abdullah, through his site hafizfirdaus.com (Religion and Life).

• Who he is. According to the biodata on his own site: born in Kuala Lumpur in 1971, schooled at St. John's Institution, joined Malaysia Airlines as a pilot in 1989, and began writing in 1999. He is not a mufti and holds no official religious post — his writing is independent writing, not fatwa.
• His approach he sums up himself as "not who said it, but what was said": judging a view by its evidence, not by the name of its author. His method is to refer to the scholarly heritage of the earlier ulama and present it again for contemporary questions.
• His work on polygyny. He wrote a dedicated book, 202 Pelajaran Berkenaan Poligami, which also appeared in English as 202 Lessons On Polygamy In Islam — among the longest Malay-language treatments of this topic. There are also shorter pieces on his site, including the Hikmah Poligami series and his replies to other writers who reject polygyny without cause.

We link to his site and do not copy its content. His site carries a copyright notice and states no permission for republication, so readers are encouraged to read it directly at the original source.

7Indonesia: the Constitutional Court and MUI

• Constitutional Court Decision No. 12/PUU-V/2007 (3 October 2007): an applicant challenged the polygyny conditions in UU 1/1974 (Indonesia's Marriage Law) as contrary to freedom of religion. The Court rejected the application unanimously. According to the Court, the state not only has the power but is obliged to regulate polygyny for the sake of justice to wives and children, and those conditions are not contrary to the teachings of Islam.
• Majelis Ulama Indonesia (January 2026): MUI's Chair for Fatwa, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, criticised applying Article 402 of the new KUHP (Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana, Indonesia's Criminal Code) to nikah siri and polygyny. His argument is that, under Islamic law, an existing wife is not a lawful impediment to a man marrying again, unlike a woman who is still married. A nikah siri that fulfils the pillars, meanwhile, often happens because of documentary obstacles. MUI holds that this problem should be dealt with in the civil courts, not by criminal penalties.

8Criticism by Muslim women's organisations: SIS and Musawah

• Sisters in Islam (SIS), in its leaflet Islam and Polygamy, argues that the Qur'anic verses on polygyny are restrictive. According to SIS, the Qur'an limits the number to four, requires justice, and states that perfect justice cannot be achieved (4:129). SIS cites Muhammad Abduh, Sayyid Ahmad Khan and Abdullah Yusuf Ali. SIS also cites the episode in which the Prophet ﷺ objected to Ali r.a. taking another wife while married to Fatimah r.a. (Sahih al-Bukhari 5230).
• Memorandum of SIS and the Persatuan Peguam-Peguam Wanita to the Prime Minister (11 December 1996) proposed several reforms:
  • A minimum fine for polygyny without permission.
  • Restore the condition that polygyny must not lower the standard of living of the existing family (s.23(4)(e), which was removed).
  • Give the court power to order maintenance and jointly acquired property when granting permission.
  • An optional taʿliq allowing the wife to divorce if the husband marries another.
  • A uniform polygyny law across all states.
• Musawah, in its table of Malaysian family law (2022), stresses that the burden of proving "just or necessary" is still light. Musawah also records reports of fraud such as forging the wife's signature and syndicate marriages in Thailand.

9A brief comparison

Sources & references