A Critical Examination of Ruling of Polygamy

Imamiyah jurists do not agree on one theory for the ruling of marrying multiple wives, or in other words, polygamy, and have different views. Some have believed in polygamy as a recommended action and some have believed in its absolute permissibility, while others have restricted the ruling of permissibility from the subject matter, or made it conditional. At the same time, some have insisted on considering polygamy as Makruh and some have concluded and considered it Haram by referring to religious texts. Surprisingly, this situation has not caused researchers and thinkers in the field of jurisprudence and law to study the above issue in a comprehensive and independent manner, but the research literature on this issue mainly deals with issues other than its Shari'a ruling. However, the dramatic differences in the area of the ruling, on the one hand, and the important scientific and social implications that arise on the other, necessitate a careful examination of the ruling. Therefore, this paper, while taking advantage of the efforts of the past using library resources and with a descriptive-analytical approach, tries to fill this fundamental gap, which results in proving the absolute permissibility of polygamy. However, the authors believe that the principle of monogamy can be considered as a basic principle in the Islamic jurisprudential system.