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Polygyny in Islam

تعدد الزوجات

Polygyny in the sharia is the permissibility of a man marrying more than one wife under conditions including justice between them; the Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia devotes sections to its rulings in the marriage chapters 1.

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Family, marriage and kinshipLaw and courts

Overview

Polygyny is the permissibility of one man being married to more than one wife, subject to conditions including justice between them; the Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia devotes sections to its rulings in the marriage chapters 1.

In the sources

The encyclopedia's section sets out the conditions of permissibility, the limit on number, and what concerns justice between co-wives 1.

Opinions on the question

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

Plurality is permitted, not commanded, and is taken only together with justice

Sha'rawi holds that God permitted plurality without making it obligatory, and whoever takes the permission must take justice with it {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p. 2001}{cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p. 2006}. He argues that plurality absorbs the surplus of women in society on condition of justice, a surplus that arises where women outnumber men {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p. 2006}{cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p. 2007}. This is his own reading.

Held by: Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi

More opinions (2)

Academic viewSecondary opinion

The social and demographic reading of plurality is still to be added

No academic reading is set out in this part of the book; a named source is needed (needs_source).

Other viewOther opinion

Some states' moves to permit plurality to address social problems, not on Islamic grounds

Sha'rawi says some states spoke of permitting plurality because of their social conditions, not because Islam prescribes it, and points to a commentary by Dr Muhammad Khafaja that lists their decisions. That work has not been read here, so the case of those states needs its own source (needs_source) {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p. 2006}.

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Has part
Justice among co-wives

People and things also explored

Justice among co-wives· Allusion to a proposal during the waiting period· Awl (proportional reduction of shares in inheritance)· Breastfeeding and weaning· Divorce before consummation· Hadiyya (gift)· Hiba (gift: its pillars, the parties, the thing given, possession, return and conditions)· Iddah (waiting period)

Sources

  1. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3)
  • Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Polygyny in Islam”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/taadud-al-zawajat/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Justice among co-wives

For al-Sha'rawi, the justice the law requires among co-wives is equal treatment in what lies within the husband's choice: housing, time, household goods and provision, not the inclination of the heart, which is not in his power.