This article contrasts the Christian view with the Islamic view on polygamy. The Christian view is based on Genesis 4:24 , reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 19:5-6 , “a man will cling to his wife, and the two will become one person.” Jesus further explains that polygamy was sometimes tolerated in the past because of the “hardness of human hearts” ( 19:5-6 ). The Islamic view is based on Quran 4:3 . The article discusses other aspects of Islam that objectify women, and concludes by noting that Islamic rules on immorality result in a higher population growth rate in Europe than in any other group.
What does the Bible say?
There is an effort today to justify the recent innovations of polyamory and same-sex marriage by trying to use the Bible, saying that it never condemns polygamy. But this is not true.
The Bible mentions polygamous relationships (polygyny, a man married to more than one woman) a few times. But in these cases, the Bible is describing, not prescribing, such behaviors, and it never endorses them. And each time, the consequences were disastrous.
The Bible is filled with honest portrayals of ancient practices and sinful behaviors, such as slavery, concubinage, warfare, human sacrifice, incest, prostitution, and, yes, polygamy, although its authors often describe these practices as part of the narrative without comment.
Among the most important, the first case to be mentioned is that of Lamech. According to Genesis 4 , he took a second wife. He is described as a descendant of the murderer Cain, and was himself a proud murderer. His polygamy is another example of his wickedness.
Another famous example is Jacob, who took two wives and two concubines ( Genesis 29 and 30 ). Because of the clear favoritism Jacob shows to his second wife, Rachel, deep animosity develops between her children and those of his first wife, Leah. This results in Leah's children selling one of Rachel's sons into slavery and lying about it to contain the consequences of polygamy.
Moses later forbade this type of favoritism. In Deuteronomy 21 , he forbade men to be biased in distributing inheritances while still acknowledging the existence of polygamy among the Hebrews. This and other laws protected women and children from being taken advantage of by fickle men. Moses also issued a strong warning against polygamy to future kings of Israel in Deuteronomy 17:17 : “ Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, lest his heart turn away. ”
Another example in the Old Testament concerns a king who ignored this commandment, and his polygamy would destroy Israel. According to First Kings, chapter 11 , King Solomon had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. Solomon’s polygamy began a pattern of evil that God punished by dividing the kingdom and eventually sending the people into exile.
Furthermore, God is very clear in defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman. At the origin of marriage, as described in Genesis 2 , God said, “ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh .”
God is referring to a man who will cleave to his wife, not to his wives. And the two, not the three, the two will be one flesh.
And in the New Testament, God repeats the same definition. In Matthew 19 , the Pharisees ask Jesus, “ Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason? ” Jesus answers, referring to Genesis 2, and asks, “Have you not read, ‘ For this reason it is written, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate .” The Pharisees persisted, asking, “ Why then did Moses command that a woman be written with a certificate of divorce so that she could be separated from her? ” Jesus’ answer puts the Old Testament descriptions into perspective: “ Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery .”
Jesus, using his divine authority, makes it clear that marriage is between a man and a woman, not between a man and several women. And Jesus goes further. He says that if a man is married and marries another woman, he commits adultery. Jesus defines polygamy as adultery.
So Jesus reiterates God’s ideal standard, the standard that God wanted from the beginning, but that God, in His love and patience, compromised because of the level of His people. Why then go to the Old Testament, assuming that the stories described in the Old Testament are the standard, when the standard is Jesus Christ?
Now let us see what Saint Paul says in the first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 7 : “ Concerning the things you wrote to me, it is good for a man not to marry. But in view of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. A man should fulfill his duty as a husband to his wife, just as a woman should fulfill her duty as a wife to her husband .”
We need to break this down. St. Paul says, “ each man should have his own wife ,” in the singular! And, “ each woman her own husband ,” in the singular. St. Paul does not say that a man can have his own wives, in the plural. A man should have his own wife, and each wife can have her own husband. It’s a woman to a man, a husband to a woman. It’s reciprocal. And that’s why he says that a man is obligated to satisfy the sexual needs of his wife, just as she is obligated to satisfy his sexual needs.
St. Paul continues: “ The wife does not have authority over her own body, but yields it to the husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but yields it to the wife.
Why doesn't he say wives, in the plural? Because it's one wife. The text is clear: one wife, one husband.
And look at how the Bible honors women, unlike the garbage called the Quran and other religions and cultures. Notice that it says that a man’s body belongs to his wife. She has rights over his body, just as her body belongs to her husband. It’s equal. She owns her body. He owns her body. Just as she can’t deny him sexual pleasure, he can’t deny her because she owns his body just as much as he owns hers. Talk about beautiful, fair instructions that honor women, dignify women, and don’t subjugate them to be walked over by a man like a rug.
The Bible's clearest passages on marriage leave no room for polygamy or any other deviation from God's design. Instead, a monogamous union is God's picture of his own love. The Old Testament is subject to the New Testament, and in the light of Jesus' own words.
What does the Quran say?
Now, let us look at what Islam prescribes, and we do not need to spend much time on this, as the Quran is clear in its promotion of polygamy. I will transcribe the entire verse as it is dense and dark for women:
If you fear not to act justly towards orphans, marry such women as seem good to you, two, three, four ; but if you fear not to be equitable, then marry only one, or those whom your right hand possesses ; in this way you are more likely not to be partial.
Quran 4:3
This verse makes clear that Muslim men are permitted to marry up to four women simultaneously.
The above verse also allows Muslim men to have sex with women that their right hands possess , i.e. slaves . This verse has been the justification used by Muslims to rape women, both adolescents and adults, in Europe. The fact that sex with slaves is permitted in the same verse that deals with polygamy is very important, as it indicates that Muslim men can have extra-marital sex.
To further extend the sexual permissiveness that Muslim men have, Quran 2:229-230 allows a Muslim man to divorce one of his wives by simply saying “I divorce” three times, something known as triple talaq (the wife does not have the same right). He can then marry a new wife. So, technically, a Muslim man can have many more than four wives in his lifetime!
A side note to show how vile Islam is. If they want to reconcile after triple talaq has been cast, the ex-wife needs to marry another man, cohabit with him, and be divorced by him, in order to have the right to return to her former husband. This is called Nikāh Halala .
What's more, men have the right to enter into temporary marriages , also called marriages for sexual pleasure. This contract, made through an Islamic cleric, can be of any duration, from a few hours to a few days. Although it is an eminently Shiite practice, many Sunnis also practice it.
In other words, a man can have as many wives as he wants. As for women, they must be modest and obedient: “ The virtuous women are devotedly obedient, guarding in [their husband’s] absence what Allah wills them to guard ” ( Quran 4:34 )
Unlike Christianity, Islam denigrates women, turning them into objects that can be discarded at any time. And it’s not just polygamy. The objectification of women begins with polygamy, and goes far beyond it.
Family law in Islam includes (not all discussed in this article):
- polygamy ( Quran 4:3 ) – but only for men ( openly defended in Brazil );
- husband has the right to educate his wife by beating her ( Quran 4:34 );
- triple talaq (the ' Islamic instant divorce ' that only men are entitled to);
- Nikāh Halala ( a Muslim woman can only get back together with her husband after divorce if she cohabits with another man );
- Mutah ( temporary marriage or marriage for sexual pleasure – religiously sanctioned prostitution);
- incest ( as practiced by Muhammad );
- pedophilia ( as practiced by Muhammad );
- endogamy (inbreeding) – something that has become epidemic in Britain brought with immigration, particularly from Pakistan (cf. “ Muslim endogamy is dragging Britain back to the 19th century ”).
The family arrangement proposed by Islam is a weapon of territorial conquest through demographics (demographic jihad)
In practical terms, the polygamous arrangement and inherent lack of sexual morality in Islam results in a higher birth rate than Christianity or any other group. This has been visibly advantageous in Western Europe, where Muslims marry one woman under European law but have several other wives, usually supported by the country's social services, receiving free housing and financial support. In other words, the European taxpayer is paying for his own destruction.
Interestingly, this “demographic jihad” is happening in non-Muslim countries (Western Europe, Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand) that are territories to be conquered by Islam. In the Islamic world, the birth rate is similar to the birth rate in non-Muslim countries. Of course, Muslim countries have already been conquered by Islam.
