Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics

(Jacob Rumans) #1

equality among them, marry one only or any slavegirls you
may own.’’


Muslim monogamy advocates link this warning with
the Koranic assertion that ‘‘try as you may, you cannot treat
all your wives impartially’’ (Sura 4:129) to argue that since
no man could treat his wives impartially, he should only
marry one woman. Certainly in contemporary Islamic
society there are many monogamous unions, but according
to the word of the Koran (and how it is understood in most
Muslim countries), a man always has the option to take
several wives.


From a Catholic perspective, polygamy is antithetical to
the essential nature of marriage: a lifetime covenant between
a man and woman, a total selfgiving rooted in and reflecting
Jesus’ covenant with His Church. In Christian marriage, the
two spouses become one flesh, thereby entering into a life
of sacrificial love. This type of covenant is by its very nature
exclusive; it cannot admit others into its intimacy. A man
cannot truly become ‘‘one flesh’’ with more than one living
woman.



  1. How many wives did Muhammad have?


Until he was forty years old, Muhammad had only one
wife. This was Khadija, a businesswoman who was said to
be fifteen years older than Muhammad and even to have
been his employer before they married. As we have seen,
when he first began to receive revelations of the Koran,
Muhammad found comfort and reassurance from Khadija.
But she died not long after he began to receive these

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