From WikiIslam

Zakir Naik has a FAQ section on his website where he answers 'commonly asked questions' on Islam. He uses flawed logic and false facts which we seek to expose in this series.

We deal with Zakir Naik's Question # 2 here.

Zakir Naik's Question:

If a man is allowed to have more than one wife, then why does Islam prohibit a woman from having more than one husband?

[edit] Refutation

Firstly, we believe that both polygamy (one man having more than one wife) and polyandry (one woman having more than one husband) are undesirable. A man and a woman should have equal rights and as a couple be able to cherish each other's love and attention.

We are not defending polyandry here. Rather we are attacking the false reasoning used by Dr. Zakir Naik in trying to justify that polygamy is okay but polyandry is bad.

1. a. Zakir Naik says that in polyandry, it will be difficult to identify both parents.

First, if only one man and one woman can marry, identification is easiest. In this case, when a father introduces his child, there will be no confusion about the identity of the mother as is an identification problem in polygamy.

b. He also states that psychologists say that children who do not know their parents are mentally disturbed.

Before we delve further, we would like to remind Dr. Zakir Naik that the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) fits this category. He is therefore, by Naik's own admission, likely to have been psychologically disturbed.

In this argument, Zakir Naik is confusing identifying one's parents with having someone as parents. To a child, it is most important to have a mother as well as a father. This is why even if a child is adopted (does not know identity of real parents), with love from the foster parents, the child can lead a fruitful life.

Psychologists also say that it is very unhealthy for children to grow up in polygamous families. This also leads to disunity in the family as there is rivalry between different wives and their children and all children may not be treated fairly by the husband or the wives.

A family of one husband and 3 wives is like that of 1 wife and 3 husbands. Neither is generally ideal. Children of prostitutes suffer a host of issues and problems. Prostitution is not polyandry because a prostitute has NO husband, not more than one husband. Equating polyandry with prostitution is fallacious.

Further, a woman can know the identity of the father if she tries. For example, if a woman has 2 husbands, she can be sexually active with them in ways that will tell her based on the calendar of the pregnancy, who the father is. Besides, a child usually shows features of both parents. Both these factors in conjuction would allow identification. Again, we do not support polyandry, but we feel that Zakir Naik's arguments are invalid because there are ways to make it work if equality between men and women is truly desired, especially in countries like Saudi Arabia that allow polygamy, but in whose populations men outnumber women by millions.

Obviously, today we also have techniques such as DNA testing (paternity testing). Therefore the real Almighty cannot be the source of this belief as He is all knowing about the past, present and future. Thus, at the least, it is clear that the holy Quran is not valid for all times to come.

2. Zakir Naik claims men are more polygamous than women

This claim is incorrect. Some men are more polygamous than their wives and some women are more polyandrous than their husbands. If the holy Quran said the opposite, Zakir Naik would be justifying how women are more lustful and need more than one male partner. Either ways, it is not moral for either a man or a woman to be lustful and be allowed multiple wives or husbands.

3. Zakir Naik claims that biologically polygamy is easier than polyandry.

This statement is also false.

a. Many women believe it is easier for them to have multiple male partners than vice versa. In many animal patterns also, a female mates with multiple males.

b. It can also be argued that women are naturally more polyandrous. Women have more complex emotional and sexual needs than men. Women often find one type of man attractive for marriage (parenting) and another type of man attractive for procreation. Polyandry will allow women to balance their often contradictory needs. The children will be rewarded by increased male attention from the co-fathers. One father may be work and income focused, another can spend more fatherly time with the children, take them outdoors, etc.

c. Finally, although we have proven that polygamy is not easier for men relative to women, divine law is not based on what is easier. This is equivalent to saying that because it is easier for a husband to severely beat or even kill his wife, that it should be tolerated but not vice versa.

4. Zakir Naik claims that "a woman who has more than one husband will have several sexual partners at the same time and has a high chance of acquiring venereal or sexually transmitted diseases which can also be transmitted back to her husband even if all of them have no extra-marital sex. This is not the case in a man having more than one wife, and none of them having extra-marital sex."

Please give this statement a thought, as its flaws will be self-evident.

a. First, it is easy to see that a man with many wives will have many sexual partners, just like a woman with many husbands. There is no difference.

b. Dr. Naik is implying that if a woman marries multiple men she will automatically contract STDs from them and pass them around (and back to the first husband), purely for the fact that she's having sex with more than one man. He clarifies that this is what he means because he says 'even if none of them have extra marital sex'. This is completely untrue. Not only can an STD not appear by itself in polyandry, but there is nothing different in the case of polygamy either. In order for someone to contract an STD in this type of scenario, they MUST have sexual contact with someone who already has the STD. It does not magically appear.

c. Also, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) can be contacted from a man to a woman and vice versa. If this were not true, only men or only women would have STDs. It is obvious that if a man marries four wives and one of them has AIDS, he will eventually contact it from her and pass it on to the other three wives to result in all five of them suffering from AIDS. The case of a woman with multiple husbands is the same.

In conclusion it is clear that Zakir Naik is using false reasoning and incorrect facts to mislead people. We have already refuted his arguments on Polygamy (see article on Wikiislam). We think God does have infinite wisdom. We therefore cannot disgrace the Almighty with Zakir Naik's fallacious reasoning and misleading explanations.

If you would like to provide us with information or feedback, please post on the FFI forum.

---

For your reference, here is Zakir Naik's original explanation (As of June 15, 2007)

Answer:

A lot of people, including some Muslims, question the logic of allowing Muslim men to have more than one spouse while denying the same ‘right’ to women.

Let me first state 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.

Surah Nisa’ Chapter 4 verses 22 to 24 gives the list of women with who you can not marry and it is further mentions in Surah Nisa’ Chapter 4 verse 24 "Also (prohibited are) women already married"

The following points enumerate the reasons why polyandry is prohibited in Islam:

1. 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! I am aware that recent advances in science have made it possible for both the mother and father to be identified with the help of genetic testing. Thus this point which was applicable for the past may not be applicable for the present.

2. Man is more polygamous by nature as compared to a woman.

3. Biologically, it is easier for a man to perform his duties as a husband despite having several wives. A woman, in a similar position, having several husbands, will not find it possible to perform her duties as a wife. A woman undergoes several psychological and behavioral changes due to different phases of the menstrual cycle.

4. A woman who has more than one husband will have several sexual partners at the same time and has a high chance of acquiring venereal or sexually transmitted diseases which can also be transmitted back to her husband even if all of them have no extra-marital sex. This is not the case in a man having more than one wife, and none of them having extra-marital sex.

The above reasons are those that one can easily identify. There are probably many more reasons why Allah, in His Infinite Wisdom, has prohibited polyandry.