Egypt’s Grand Imam of Azhar: One wife enough, polygamy conditional right

CAIRO- 27 May 2022: In Islam, “having one wife is enough. Muslim is not free to marry a second wife […] polygamy is a right for the husband, but it is a ‘restricted right.” Said Egyptian Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb in an article at Voice of Al Azhar magazine on Wednesday.

El Tayeb’s comments were stated after a controversy caused by sheikh professor of Islamic law and comparative jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University Ahmed Karima over polygamy as he stated that a Muslim husband has the right to polygamy without notifying his first wife about his second marriage.

“Those who say that the origin in Islam is polygamy are mistaken, and the issue has seen injustice to women and children in many cases,” said Ahmed El Tayeb added that polygamy is conditional on justice, and if justice is not existing, polygamy is prohibited.

“I am not calling for legislation that abolishes a legitimate right, but I reject the abuse of the legitimate right and its deviation from its purposes,” El Tayeb added, saying that he is not also calling for prohibition of polygamy.

According to an Islamic Fatwa (Islamic decision) by the Egyptian Dar Al-Iftaa, “Islam did not invent polygamy but rather put limits on this custom that long predated the Message of the Prophet. Polygamy was common in the ancient world, but was mostly practiced without guidelines or limitations. The Sharī‘ah circumscribed and legitimized this practice.”

Pre-Islamic era, the polygamy was common and some men married to more than 10 wives each. However, Islam has limited the number to four wives on condition of practicing justice among the wives even when it comes to giving them smiles.