Islam protects, respects women

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 01/02/2007 2:24 PM  |  Opinion

Referring to the article by Malgalina Avianty and Cornelis De Wolf Polygamy: What women expect from marriage (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 18), I would like to share my views.

The best law is that which is the most comprehensive, no matter when it was derived. It should have all provisions for all situations.

As Islam claims to be the perfect code of life for all peoples, cultures and situations, it lays out principles which comprehend all possibilities. Keeping this in mind, it should be noted that polygamy is not an obligation for Muslim men. The proof is that a large majority of Muslim men in the world today have just one wife.

Polygamy is permitted for certain situations. If we look at the historical background of this permission, it is related to war. When the ratio of men to women is greatly unbalanced, to save the chastity of a society as a whole and the morals of the individuals, Muslim men may exercise this option.

Keeping women's dignity in view, Islam provides them with full rights to reject a man whom they do not like. This also gives a woman the right to a pre-marital contract with her future husband which bars him for having a second wife, if she so desires.

The respect Islam gives to women is not found in any other system. A woman is not just the darling of her husband while she is young, then left to spend her old age in a nursing home. The holy Prophet said ""The greatest obligation a man owes is to his mother"" and ""Heaven is under your mother's feet"". This gives a woman protection even in those days when her husband is too old to take good care of her.

Faithfulness, love and care are born out of responsibility. This is why a Muslim man is required to be fully responsible for all the necessities of his wife and children. If monogamy laws are a guarantee of faithfulness, as Malgalina and Cornelis argue, then there should be no cases like Monica Lewinsky, and no TV programs like Jerry Springer, in those countries where such laws are in place.

FATAL-E-MUJEEB
Jakarta

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