Polygamy, the marriage of a man with more than one woman at the same time is a known and practiced institution in human history. Islamic law has accepted the institution of polygamy if it fulfills certain conditions and reasons as a substitute provision and limited the number to four. Thus, relevant verses in the Qur’an (al-Nisa, 4/3, 129) and the Prophet’s own practice (al-Ahzab, 33/50, 51, 59, al-Tahrim, 66 / 3-5) shows that it is legitimate for a man to marry more than one woman (up to four) at the same time in Islamic law.
Although polygamy is legally legitimate (mubah) in Islamic law it is not an absolute right that every man can arbitrarily use. Thus in Islamic law, the legitimacy of polygamy has been attributed to the presence of two basic conditions: the observance of justice and sustenance.
On the other hand, there may be some exceptional special circumstances permitting polygamy in Islamic law. For example, in the society, when the female population is too much, or because the woman is not always able to fulfill her family duties due to her cureless illness, polygamy is permitted in Islamic law.
As it can be understood from the explanations above, polygamy in Islamic law is not a mandatory provision that should be applied by every man with the capacity to marry. On the contrary, it is an exceptional provision that is justified if there are ertain conditions and justifications.
According to this; in Islamic law, polygamy is a moral and legal institution that is made up of mutual consent based on individual and social conditions and needs. Therefore, men do not have to marry a second woman on their current wives, women also have the right to say no to marry a married man as a second wife.
When the conditions and rationales in the relevant verses and doctrine are evaluated together, it can be said that in order to be able to legitimize the polygamy in Islamic law, there must be three basic conditions:
1. Compliance with justice among spouses,
2. To have sufficient financial power to provide the support of spouses,
3. Individual or social need or necessity.
Therefore, in order to prevent the exploitation of polygamy, which is justified under certain conditions and justifications in Islamic law, the above-mentioned conditions must be fulfilled. Otherwise, it is possible that polygamy, which is legitimized by Islam for certain conditions and justifications, can cause some problems, unrest and injustice for the individual, family and society. Therefore, in the framework of certain conditions and justifications, polygamy accepted by Islamic law is a moral and legal institution aimed at the elimination of individual and social arbitration.
After these explanations, it is possible to say about the legitimacy of polygamy in Islamic law;
1. Polygamy is an exceptional provision that is justified if there are certain conditions and reasons.
2. Polygamy is an application depending on the existence of individual or social arbitration.
3. Polygamy depends on the existence of the requirement of justice among spouses.
4. Polygamy depends on the condition of providing sustenance of spouses.
5. Polygamy has been justified in order to get rid of bigger damages and evils.
6. Polygamy is not legitimate in the case of damages and injustices for spouses.
On the other hand, Islamic jurists say that the marriage agreement with a second woman on the current spouse, regardless of the conditions of justice and alimony, is valid. In other words, although the provision of justice and the provision of alimony for the legitimacy of polygamy is stipulated, these two conditions are not the conditions of validity of the marriage contract. Therefore, the second marriage made without fulfilling these two conditions is valid. But the husband is a sinner because he does not provide justice among his wives. He will render an account of this injustice to God.
Although the legitimacy of polygamy in Islamic law depends on the existence of certain conditions and special circumstances, it is a known fact that it is not observed in practice. Hence, in practice, the right to polygamy is a subject of abuse. Therefore, in the historical process, the limitation of polygamy by the public authority has come to the fore. Today, among the Islamic jurists, the case that the public authority control and limitation of polygamy is continued to be discussed.
In summary, the verses on the subject show that polygamy is legitimate (mubah) as a license provision in Islamic law. However, the exercise of this right depends on the existence of conditions such as taking care of the justice of spouses and ensuring the support of spouses. In addition, monogamy is essential in Islamic family law. In case individual or social specific circumstances (conditions) are fulfilled, polygamy is allowed. On the other hand, in Islamic law, it is also possible to limit the polygamy by public authority.
In this article, the legitimacy of polygamy and some special situations that allow the polygamy in Islamic family law will be focused on.
Çok eşlilik (poligami/teaddüd-i zevcât), yani erkeğin aynı anda birden fazla kadınla evlenmesi insanlık tarihinde bilinen ve uygulanan bir kurumdur. İslâm hukuku da belirli şartların ve gerekçelerin bulunması halinde çok eşlilik kurumunu bir ruhsat hükmü olarak kabul etmiş ve bunun sayısını dört ile sınırlandırmıştır. İslâm hukukunda çok eşlilik, mubah kılınmış olmakla birlikte her erkeğin keyfine göre kullanabileceği mutlak bir hak da değildir. Nitekim ilgili naslar incelendiğinde İslâm hukukunda çok eşliliğin mubah/meşru olabilmesinin; “eşler arasında adaleti gözetmek” ve “eşlerin nafakasını temin etmeye güç yetirebilmek” olmak üzere iki temel şarta bağlandığı görülmektedir. Diğer taraftan İslâm hukukunda çok eşliliğe ruhsat veren bireysel veya toplumsal bazı özel durumlar (şartlar/sebepler) üzerinde de durulmuştur.
İslam hukukunda çok eşlilik hakkının kullanılabilmesi ile ilgili doktrinde yer alan şartlar ve gerekçeler birlikte değerlendirildiğinde bu hakkın kullanılmasının şu üç temel şartın bulunmasına bağlandığını söylemek mümkündür; (1) Eşler arasında adalete riayet etmek, (2) Eşlerin nafakasını temin edebilecek yeterli mali güce/imkâna sahip olmak, (3) Ferdi veya toplumsal ihtiyaç veya zaruretin bulunması. Buna göre; İslâm hukukunda çok eşlilik, bireysel ve toplumsal bazı ihtiyaç ve zaruretler çerçevesinde karşılıklı rızaya dayalı olarak mubah kılınmış ahlakî ve hukukî bir kurum olmaktadır. Dolayısıyla erkekler, mevcut eşlerinin üzerine ikinci bir kadın ile evlenmek zorunda olmadıkları gibi, kadınların da ikinci bir eş olarak evli bir erkek ile evlenmeye hayır deme hakları vardır. Bu makalede, İslâm aile hukukunda çok eşliliğin meşruiyeti ve doktrinde çok eşlilik hakkını kullanmayı sınırlayan veya bu hakkı kullanmaya ruhsat veren bazı özel durumlar üzerinde durulacaktır.
Birincil Dil | Türkçe |
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Bölüm | Makaleler |
Yazarlar | |
Yayımlanma Tarihi | 30 Nisan 2019 |
Gönderilme Tarihi | 16 Ocak 2019 |
Kabul Tarihi | 18 Nisan 2019 |
Yayımlandığı Sayı | Yıl 2019 Cilt: 2019 Sayı: 37 |