Polygamy in the Bible and in Islam

A cake fit for a Mutah marriage

I was once on an Islamic apologetics website and the Muslim who ran the website said that polygamy was allowed in the OT and Jesus never prohibited it in the NT.  I was tempted to leave it alone thinking that he would simply ignore the clear evidence that I presented but I stubbornly decided to present my case.  I went on to quote Matthew 19:5, where our Lord Jesus Christ quoted Genesis 2:24.  He says:

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh

Now, when we look at the original it’s a bit different.  Genesis 2:24 reads:

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Notice that this is different than what Jesus quoted.  Jesus modified the verse to say two while the original doesn’t have the word two.  By doing this He ended polygamy and for 2,000 years the only “Christians” who have engaged in it are fringe groups that have been condemned by the Church.  I explained all of this clearly to the Muslim apologist.

Polygamy was indeed permitted in the Old Testament.  However, when we look at polygamy, it’s permitted but somewhat begrudgingly.  When we look at polygamy in the Old Testament it is either presented in a neutral manner or in a negative manner.

The best example of the negative portrayal is with King Solomon.  In his case the hundreds of wives came with massive idolatry.  Those wives also had to compete for his attention with hundreds of concubines.  Sounds like a blessing doesn’t it?

With the modification of the Torah command in Genesis 2:24, Jesus slams the door on polygamy.  Although Jews don’t recognize Jesus as the messiah, they’ve taken a similar approach to polygamy.  It’s been sealed off by Rabbinic authority.  This would imply that they have the same view that I’ve presented.  Polygamy was a necessary evil that God permitted since it was prominent in the ancient near East.

Now, enter the Quran which comes 600 years after the time of the messiah.  What happens?  Does Muhammad affirm what Jesus Christ did and what the Christians had followed for hundreds of years?  Not in your life.  Pagan Arab culture at that time was big into polygamy so like Allah’s body parts, it was smuggled into the Abrahamic tradition via the Quran and the Hadith.  Now, the Abrahamic tradition is once again sullied with polygamy.

The only difference is that it’s no longer portrayed as a necessary evil.  In fact, it’s portrayed in quite a positive way.  In Surah 4:3 we read:

If you fear you cannot act fairly towards the orphans—then marry the women you like—two, or three, or four. But if you fear you will not be fair, then one, or what you already have. That makes it more likely that you avoid bias.

God has now permitted what the messiah prohibited.  Of course divorce is back with a vengeance as well.  Surah 65 gives all of the waiting periods.  Verse 1 of that Surah says:

O Prophet! If any of you divorce women, divorce them during their period of purity, and calculate their term. And be pious before God, your Lord. And do not evict them from their homes, nor shall they leave, unless they have committed a proven adultery. These are the limits of God—whoever oversteps God’s limits has wronged his own soul. You never know; God may afterwards bring about a new situation.

Contrast that with the teachings of Jesus Christ in Matthew 19.  In verse 7, He acknowledges the teaching of the Mosaic covenant then tightens up the remaining loose ends.  Enter the Quran to completely let the floodgates open on divorce.

I think if Muslims want to claim to follow Jesus Christ, they need to explain why they don’t follow His teaching on monogamy and divorce.  Also, if you’re interested in how that dialogue on the Muslim website ended, he simply said that I was wrong and provided no evidence to the contrary.  I wonder how he defends Mutah in light of the teachings of Jesus Christ.