Thanks to our moderator and a very good morning to our lecturer, Madam

Diwiyana and all my friends . Before I continue with my speech, I would like to speak
about the statistic of divorces cases nowadays. Muslim couples get divorced every
15 minutes in Malaysia, a startling number that has the government worried, the
Singapore Straits Times reported last year. The latest statistics from the Islamic
Development Department (Jakim) showed there were 27,116 divorces in 2009, up
from 17,749 in 2005.
Divorce cases among well-known Malays often make headlines. Last year,
popular actress Maya Karin announced she and her British husband Steven
Shorthose were divorcing after just two years. Another cases, Mahmud Abu Bekir
Taib, son of Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, divorced his wife of
19 years, Shahnaz Majid, due to irreconcilable differences. Shahnaz is seeking an
eye-popping RM400 million in the divorce.
One of the top factors for muslim divorces including irresponsible spouses,
health, sexual, social and financial problems, third-party interference, religious
background and cultural differences. It did not break out polygamy as a factor
Muslim men are allowed four wives said by Jakim. So, for those who think that
polygamy one of the main factor for failure mariage was not true at all because it can
be under third party interference or irresponsible spouses.
For this forum, I want to highlight why islam permits polygamy. Islam has
emphasized that taking advantage of the permission of polygamy is conditional on
the observance of several factors and circumstances. If the man lacks those material
and moral conditions, or he is not competent enough to satisfy all of them, then he
will not be eligible to take more than one wife.
And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such
women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not
do justice (between them), then (marry) only one or what your right hands possess;
this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course.
Qur'an 4:3

Does Islam encourage polygamy? The answer is no. Islam merely allows it,
but does not encourage it. In fact, Islam discourages from polygamy, because it
teaches that a man who is married to more than one woman must achieve a perfect
balance between his wives financially and in terms of his time. The Quran explicitly
instructs Muslim men that if they are afraid they will not be able to be just between
their wives, then they are to marry only one woman. This justice is only achieved if
the man is able to provide the same amount of time to each of his wives, and the
same material lifestyle. For example, they must live in similar accommodations, have
a similar amount of financial support, and the same level of material possessions.
Islam prohibits polygamy if a man is not able to achieve this, or if he even fears that
he will not be able to achieve this.

Islam allows polygamy on some condition and here are some of them:
a- The wife(s) has no objection about polygamy during or before the
marriage contract. And if the husband disregards that, the wife has the
right to raise that to the Islamic court.
b- Equitable treatment for all the wives
c- Number of wives not to exceed four.
Therefore, although it is a painful situation, the woman does have the choice
whether she is willing to accept this arrangement or not. It is similar to a man
divorcing his wife to marry another woman, it is still a very painful situation. However,
Islam allows the option of keeping the first marriage. This may be beneficial for both
the first wife and the husband. The first wife can maintain the marital relationship, and
will still have all the rights of a wife. The children, if there are any, can still continue to
have a family where both parents are present and are still in a loving relationship.
And the husband is able to marry the second woman, while not losing his family and
his first wife whom he may still love and respect.
In fact, when you consider the complexity of life and the relationships between
people, you will find that there are certain cases where polygamy is really the best
answer. Nothing in this world is ideal or perfect, and everything has advantages and
disadvantages. In some cases, polygamy may be the best answer for some people,
in some places and at some times. Since Islam is a religion meant for all people,
living in all places and at all times, it allowed polygamy in order to take those cases
into account where it is really the best solution.
In addition to that, a lot of people question is that fair If a man is allowed to
have more than one wife, then why does Islam prohibit a woman from having more
than one husband. From my point of view, including some Muslims, question the
logic of allowing Muslim men to have more than one spouse while denying the same
right to women. emphatically, that the foundation of an Islamic society is justice and
equity. Allah has created men and women as equal, but with different capabilities and
different responsibilities. Men and women are different, physiologically and
psychologically. Their roles and responsibilities are different. Men and women are
equal in Islam, but not identical. SurahNisa Chapter 4 verses 22 to 24 gives the list
of women with whom Muslim men can not marry. It is further mentioned in Surah
Nisa Chapter 4 verse 24 Also (prohibited are) women already married

Islam considers the husband as the main supervisor in the family though the
wife has it important supervisory role:
Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one
more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means.
Quran 4. 34
It is the husbands responsibility to find a job, work hard, make money, make the life
of his wife and family comfortable and if the wife is working, the money that she
makes will be her exclusively and has the full right not to spend it on the husband.
Also, while men emotionally -and even physiologically- more rigid and they are more
prepared for hard circumstances and environment women usually are more
emotional, and sensitive. Such factors, in addition to some others, make the husband
more reliable to be in the charge of supervisory
Second, the wife is more toward one-to-one exclusive loving relation. Her
complex emotions make her more comfortable in being dedicated to one person i.e.
one husband; especially if she feels that her husband is the person that can offer her
protection, love, honesty, and tranquility. And that might be the explanation why
usually women are more jealous than men. They, generally speaking, go crazy if they
feel or even see the husband looking or talking kindly to another woman.
Let see from the science perspective, If a man has more than one wife, the
parents of the children born of such marriages can easily be identified. The father as
well as the mother can easily be identified. In case of a woman marrying more than
one husband, only the mother of the children born of such marriages will be identified
and not the father. Islam gives tremendous importance to the identification of both
parents, mother and father. Psychologists tell us that children who do not know their
parents, especially their father undergo severe mental trauma and disturbances.
Often they have an unhappy childhood. It is for this reason that the children of
prostitutes do not have a healthy childhood. If a child born of such wedlock is
admitted in school, and when the mother is asked the name of the father, she would
have to give two or more names.
As a conclusion polygamy protects the rights of women by giving them the full
rights of a wife. Instead of being a secret "mistress" involved in an affair with a man,
where the woman whom has no rights, and is in fact kept a "dirty secret" that no one
is allowed to find out about, she becomes an honoured wife with all the rights and
privileges that come with being a wife. Instead of any children being "illegitimate" and
having to possibly resort to the court system to prove who their father is and to get
alimony or child support, these rights are protected by the institution of marriage. For
these reasons, Islam regards polygamy as being preferable to adultery. So even if
polygamy has many disadvantages, it is still a better option than having adultery
become common in the society. This is why Islam allows polygamy.