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  4. verse 4:3 and polygamy

verse 4:3 and polygamy

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Questions/Comments on the Quran
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    palestina
    wrote on last edited by
    #177

    Peace Ay

    Not that fast. I mean dont translate that fast. Single in the verse will create deficient logic as I explained above.

    ...Marry off singles among you and righteous slaves...

    It doesnt make sense. Single and slaves in the same verse in that sense.

    There is AND/WA in front of al saliheena

    peace warner - i agree - thats why i asked this in my post also
    "ie. marry off your single slaves? (but why is there an "and" between single and slaves?)"

    It does not make sense to me either!
    But i do not think polygany is prohibited - im just trying to figure out what the quran actually says about it all and it is very confusing!

    I tried to explain it like this before

    2432 is the same as 629 in terms of wording. So if 2432 were not a prohibition of polygyny, neither would 629 be a prohibition of idolworship

    Hasten to the remembrance of God (629)
    Marry off the single (2432)

    In 629 God addresses the mosque-goer.
    In 2432 He adreesses the registrar.

    In 629 the mosque-goer is ordered to remember God.
    2432 the registrar is ordered to marry off the single.

    God forbids the mosque-goer to remember false gods such as al-Lat
    because it is a wrong done to God. "God does not share His sovereignty." (1826).

    God forbids the registrar to marry off the married
    because it is a wrong done to women (423). "God does not do the least wrong unto humans but it is humans who wrong themselves." (1044)

    What is unacceptable in my explanation?

    Peace,
    Hasan Akcay

    peace bro hasan,
    i do not see your connection between 629 and 2432 at all.... it is not the same wording nor related in any way as far as i can tell...
    Hasten in the remembrance of God is not necessarily a prohibitition of idolworship.... there are verses which do explicitly that....

    things that are prohibited are stated more clearly to avoid ambiguity - eg. prohibition of idolworship
    986 Those who rejected from the people of the Scripture and those who set up partners are in the fires of Hell abiding therein, those are the worst of creation.
    448 God does not forgive that partners be set up with Him, and He forgives what is beside that for whom He wills. Whoever sets-up partners with God has indeed invented a great sin.

    ayaamaa...from alif (l) ya(y) ma(m)...

    Also, from lanes lexicon (I can't seem to copy and paste into here, is that forbidden? or how do you do it?)

    "ayamaanu" a man whose wife has died and "aymaa" a woman whose husband has died pl. "ayaamaa" or of both

    It should be clear from here, and makes much more since that Allah is telling us from this ayat to marry (off) the "widows, widowers" from among us (minkum). This is a special instruction to let us know the vunerable state, whether financially or emotinally or otherwise that these people may be in. It is perfectly in line with promoting the protection of those who are in need, and Allah knows best.

    peace and welcome to the forum imam,

    The meaning of the root AYM according to lanes is not only widowers - it can be said of a woman or man who has no husband or wife (virgin or not)
    (or same root gives the meaning of a free woman, or female relation, or a competant/wealthy woman with no husband)

    peace ay

    4-24 is not about prohibiting polyandy.

    Warner

    Have you come across any verse which prohibits polyandy?

    siki

    peace siki,

    how is 424 not forbidding polyandry when it states forbidden to you are women already married....
    so u cant marry an already married woman - but where does it say anything to women about marrying(or not) an already married man?

    and the prohibition of polyandry makes alot of sense to me.... and if i understand polygany in light of islam and its message of social justice then it makes sense to allow men to marry widows with children (if that is indeed what it is saying?!!?) taking into consideration the historical context of the verses also (lots of wars, many men dying, many orphan children etc)

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      ImamQuranonly
      wrote on last edited by
      #178

      peace and welcome to the forum imam,

      The meaning of the root AYM according to lanes is not only widowers - it can be said of a woman or man who has no husband or wife (virgin or not)
      (or same root gives the meaning of a free woman, or female relation, or a competant/wealthy woman with no husband)

      As Salaamu Alaikum ay,

      Thank you for the response and the welcoming, and I had read those definitions also. What I am pointing out is the "form" of the verb used, as well as all possible meanings from that "form" not just it's root.

      If you look at the form used, you will see that "ayaamaa" can only mean (a)the plural for a woman or man whose spouse has died, (b) "uy-yematun" being a man having no wife, whether he married before or not; or who has not married....the plural being "ayaamaa" as a later addition with the orginal plural having actually been "ayaa'imu" ...or (c) a free woman with "ayaamaa" being the plural form, with also meaning a female relative such as the sister and the daughter and the maternal aunt. to sum it up a bit.

      Now if "a" is accepted, the issue is closed and the ayat only refers to those that are widowed, which makes a lot of sense if you ask me, but I will leave it open for discussion in my own mind as well.

      If "b" is wanting of being accepted, then we should look at it as a latter addition since it is clearly stated there that it was not the original form of the plural for this catergory. So, there is no reason to assume that this is what is meant by Allah in the Quran, but that more than likely someone tried to force this meaning in during later times to suit their own desires.

      If "c" is accepted, then it is being used as a feminine form only and thus can not include males, which would thus not make polygyny banned, but would make polyandry banned.

      It would not be reasonable to say that all three meanings are included because they would contradict each other by their very nature, and the author of the verse, Allah would not cause us confusion.

      But my main point is that if you read the entire entry for this root of AYM, it is almost all about those who have been widowed. Since lane is not an original source, it would be only natural to contemplate on the origin of this word and see that it clearly is dealing with those that have been widowed, in my humble opinion.

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        warner
        wrote on last edited by
        #179

        Peace Ay

        Quote Ay peace warner - i agree - thats why i asked this in my post also
        "ie. marry off your single slaves? (but why is there an "and" between single and slaves?)"

        Sorry Ay, I misunderstood what you said. Actually here we are saying the same thing.
        Quraan does not have imbalanced sentences with a big hole as this one.

        My question to someone who says al ayaama means single is,

        ?Is it alright to marry off non single (married) slaves ???

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          warner
          wrote on last edited by
          #180

          Quote AY how is 424 not forbidding polyandry when it states forbidden to you are women already married....

          so u cant marry an already married woman - but where does it say anything to women about marrying(or not) an already married man?

          and the prohibition of polyandry makes alot of sense to me.... and if i understand polygany in light of islam and its message of social justice then it makes sense to allow men to marry widows with children (if that is indeed what it is saying?!!?) taking into consideration the historical context of the verses also (lots of wars, many men dying, many orphan children etc)

          Peace Siki and Ay

          I believe it is obvious in 424 Mohsanat al Nisa are married women among the believers and among the women from the people of the book. What can make all women protected/committed or immune in the broadest sense?

          Thus 424 automatically bans polyandry on the reverse application of that law.

          In 425 Mohsanat al Muminat should be believing women who are not Fatayat or Ma Malakat Ayman and have not been convicted of zina. Also if a woman is known to be unchaste she can not be Mohsanat.

          Mohsanati should be chaste women among the believers and among the women from the people of the book and (possibly married from Ma Malaktat Ayman)

          Kindly add your thoughts if I have missed anything

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            siki
            wrote on last edited by
            #181

            peace warner Ay

            I had asked earlier, what is the arbaic/quran uses for married women?

            Do we have any example from quran where "Mohsinnat" is used for married women?

            We have to have one consistent meaning for Mohsinnat, if God meant to ban married women , it should have been clearly indicated as , "and the already married Mohsinnats".

            siki

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              siki
              wrote on last edited by
              #182

              Dear warner Ay and Imam

              let me start be clearly stating , that 4-24 could be any thing but , "prohibiting another marriage of married women"(polyandry).

              But what is puzzling is there is been No verse clearly prohibiting polyandry", where as it is a fact , and makes perfect sense for polyandry to be prohibited/ banned.

              Brother imam's theory "C" for Ayyaama" , if correct could be the verse prohibiting polyandry.

              peace

              siki

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                unknownuser
                wrote on last edited by
                #183

                Peace all,

                "Mohsanat" means "protected" and specifically "self-protected" or "independent" because it is used in CONTRAST with "fatayat" in 425. "Fatayat" means "young females", and because we have to obtain permission from their parents/guardians, "fatayat" are "parent/guardian dependent" and thus "mohsanat" would be "self-protected/independent", considering that al-qur'aan is its own dictionary !

                "Mohsanat" or "self-protected/independent" include the following 3 types

                1. Self-protected single (includes never married, divorced, widowed)
                2. Self-protected married
                3. Self-protected engaged (ma malakat aymanukum as per 424)

                In 424, "ma malakat aymanukum" is a subset of "mohsanat" because of the word "illa"/except used after "mohsanat". Thus the "ma malakat aymanukum" mentioned in 424 are also "mohsanat", but those "mohsanat" that are engaged. The meaning of 424, therefore, is that we are forbidden to get romantically involved with "mohsanat" except after getting engaged to them, and thus the only way to get romantically involved with "mohsanat" is to get engaged with them, and then marry them.

                In 425, if we are unable to marry the self-protected/independent/"mohsanat" (after getting engaged to them per 424), then we are advised to marry the parent/guardian dependent young females/"fatayat" after getting engaged to them.

                "Mohsanat" CANNOT MEAN CHASTE per usage in al-qur'aan because then that definition would make "fatayat" UNCHASTE in 425, because "fatayat" is used in contrast with "mohsanat" in that verse. It can only mean "protected" and specifically "self-protected/independent" as explained above.

                As sister Samia has said, we cannot ignore the "wa" at the beginning of 424, which connects 424 with 423 and makes it a continuation of the forbidden categories. Thus "mohsanat" are forbidden except those with whom we have made an oath to get married.

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                  Samia
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #184

                  Salaam Tanweer

                  Do you mean that "fatayaat" are minors? If yes, Does quraan encourages the marriage with minos?

                  If no, i.e if they are adults, then they are self protected as per Islam.

                  I do not understand what is this "guardian". Why should girls have "guardians", but not boys? And what is the "guadian" supposed to do, or can do, to protect some adult, other than for financial matters? And even here, this kind of protection is not specific to "females", but to the needy, irrespective of their gender.

                  I hope you get rid of these understandings that reflect traditions and/or the so called islamic laws..

                  "Ask permission of their family" is not because they are not self protected, but because this knd of liaison (milkul yameen) between someone who can't/wont have sex (MMA) needs that the woman/man consult more than themselevs, and that their families are aware of their choice.

                  Also, "mu7san" is not self protected. It is the participle of the verb "a7sana", not "hassana" which means to protect.

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                    warner
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #185

                    Peace Siki

                    Do not concentrate only on the word MohSanat , please study the term and the context and various forms as well.

                    4 25

                    If any of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess and Allah hath full knowledge about your faith. Ye are one from another wed them with the leave of their people and give them their dowers according to what is reasonable they should be chaste not lustful nor taking secret lovers so if they married if they fall into shame their punishment is half that for mohsanat women. This (permission) is for those among you who fear sin; but it is better for you that ye practice self-restraint and Allah is Oft-forgiving Most Merciful.

                    Wa mal lam yastati' minkum taulan ay yankihal muhsana_til mu'mina_ti famimma_ malakat aima_nukum min fataya_tikumul mu'mina_t(i), walla_ a'lamu bi ima_nikum, ba'dukum mim ba'd(in), fankihu_hunna bi izni ahlihinna wa a_tu_hunna uju_rahunna bil ma'ru_fi muhsana_tin gaira musa_fiha_tiw wa la_ muttakhiza_ti akhda_n(in), fa iza_ uhsinna fa in ataina bi fa_hisyatin fa 'alaihinna nisfu ma_ 'alal muhsana_ti minal 'aza_b(i), za_lika liman khasyiyal'anata minkum, wa anbiru_ khairul lakum, walla_hu gafu_rur rahim(un).

                    The bold part ?fa iza_ uhsinna? means ?so if they married? or ?so when they married?. The word ?uhsinna? meaning ?marriage? here is from the root Ha-Sad-Nun same as Mohsanat . The rest of the verse clarifies this more clearly.

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                      Samia
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #186

                      Salaam warner

                      You say
                      so if they married if they fall into shame their punishment is half that for mohsanat women.
                      , and I rephrase "so if they are married.....their punishment is half that for married women"

                      Right?

                      If yes,

                      can you see any problem?

                      Also, would you please tell me what that punishment is?
                      And what would have been their punishment if they had not married?

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                        warner
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #187

                        Peace Samia

                        The punishment is 50 lashes, half of what is commanded in 242.

                        What do you think fa iza_ uhsinna in 425 means ?

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                          Samia
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #188

                          Peace Samia

                          The punishment is 50 lashes, half of what is commanded in 242.

                          Why? I mean why is this "sale" ?

                          My other question what would be the punishment if they were not married?

                          As for my understanding, it is in more than a thread (probably in this one, too), and you were part of the participants. Do you want me to undrstand that you were not reading other points of view?

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                            siki
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #189

                            Dear warner

                            I think we(you, me, and samia etc) are probably way ahead of the past translators on the subject, so i don't expect you to just blindly quote translation of somebody and then build your case upon, how do you think that Ahsinna means marriage?

                            i say it once again , that a Fatayat of believing MMA does not become a MOhsinna because she is married, but is a MOhsinna now because she is kinda semi upgraded, she was a MMA who could be , or was being used as a sex slave with no compensation(ujoors),and with no inheritance for children ,(if any) to a level where she enters into a better contract with security.

                            peace

                            siki

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                              warner
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #190

                              Peace Samia

                              Half because they were Ma Malakt Ayman.

                              If unmarried restraining in their houses.

                              What do you think ?fa iza_ uhsinna? in 425 means? I can't recall seeing your
                              explanation on this before.

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                                warner
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #191

                                Peace Siki

                                I was not quoting translators; if I quote, I post their name so I will not incur any copy right violations. It was my understanding. In this case many of the past translators were correct.

                                The first part of 425 explains the operation of marriage;marrying, paying dower correctly, in commitment, not being loose and not taking secret lovers.

                                Then the verse says ?fa iza_ uhsinna? . Now you tell me what it means.

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                                  siki
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #192

                                  Dear warner

                                  If we take 4-24,s mohsinnat as married women, then in all the other occurrences of Mohsinnats ; God is asking you to marry the married women , meaning , He is pressing for polyandry.

                                  The contradictions are absolutely drastic. Try and give a willing "try"to my theory, or may be try and improve upon it , i think, that would be "the path "which will leads us out of this riddle.

                                  siki

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                                    Samia
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #193

                                    Salaam warner

                                    What does the quraan mean when it says about Mariam that "she ahsanat farajaha"? Did she marry/marry off her ...?

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                                      Zehra
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #194

                                      Can I just say something? It doesnt really have to do with the quran, matters of translation etc. But it seems to me that polygamy (polyandry, call it what you will MUST be allowed in very LIMITED circumstances. This is because, as far as I know, at any given time, the ratio of men to women is more or less equal. Lets not forget that the quran provides a WORLD view. More male babies are born than female ones, but more male babies tend to die than female ones (males are physiologically weaker than females) so that at around 1-5 years of age, the ratio of males to females becomes more or less equal. In peacetime in any nation, the ratio of males to females is equal. During wartime, females may slightly outnumber men for obvious reasons but at no point does the female population become DOUBLE, let alone triple or quadruple, than that of men. If polygamy (or polyandry) were allowed in all circumstances (and assuming a man can marry upto 4 women) then the ratio of women to men should have been 41 !!! Otherwise, you are promoting the view that only a minority of men can marry (for they will be marrying the women that make up other men`s "share" so to speak, and the rest have to do without marriage.

                                      The fact is that the population of women only exceeds that of men by a slight degree in times of war etc. It doesn`t even become DOUBLE that of men, in which scenario men could marry up to TWO women and not more than that, let alone become triple or more!

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                                        warner
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #195

                                        Peace Samia

                                        Does the verse say ?she fa iza_ uhsinna??? It doesn?t.

                                        It is obvious from the other uses of HShN in the Quraan ?ahsanat farajaha? means protecting the private parts or being chaste. That doesn?t mean every derivative of HShN should mean protect in the same sense. Marriage is an English word with different connotations. But I like to remind marriage is a legal protection. Also it is a protection against sin and protection against shame. Will you be happy if I use wedlock instead. Locks protect.

                                        What do you think ?fa iza_ uhsinna? in 425 means? I can't recall seeing your explanation on this before.

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                                          Samia
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #196

                                          Salaam warner

                                          It is the same verb, not just the same root. uhsinna is the passive of ahsana. And the quraan uses "hafizuun furuujahum" for "protecting their private parts, not "muhsinuun furajahum".

                                          And if I may ask, what does marriage protect from? Sex outside marriage? No, it does not. Patience does, as per quraan. A brat is a brat and a righteous is a righteous, whether they get married or not. Otherwise some people wouldn't have invented open permission for polygamy and mut3a.

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