An Azhar scholar has surprisingly said that polygamy contravenes the Shariah [Islamic Law], as it is only allowed for orphans, widows and divorced women. Dr. Ahmed Abdel Rehim el-Sayeh, professor of theology and philosophy at Al-Azhar University, told Al-Mary Al-Youm: “There is no such thing as polygamy in Islam. It was the condescending look to women that made Muslims attribute legends and customs to Islam. Since God is Just, He would have permitted polygamy for men and polyandry for women.” Sayeh said all the Quranic verses in this regard linked polygamy to orphans and divorced women. Reciting an-Nisa' verse 3: “And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four …”, Sayeh said the preposition ‘If' means God did not permit polygamy in its absolute form, especially when it comes to virgins. He also recited verse 127: “They consult thee concerning women. Say: Allah giveth you decree concerning them, and the Scripture which hath been recited unto you (giveth decree), concerning female orphans…” Islamic Research Academy Secretary-General Sheikh Ali Abdel Baqi commented on Sayeh's fatwa by saying: “All scholars agreed that polygamy is legitimate. Anyone confining it to orphans would be doing a mere linguistic interpretation of those verses. He said the prophet himself married virgins and orphans at the same time.” Strongly rejecting any laws that prohibit polygamy, Baqi said: “The too many family laws in Egypt have corrupted the families.”
