Article 10 of the Personal Status Law for the Unitarian Druze sect states: “Polygamy is prohibited. It is not permissible for a man to be married to two women, and if he does, his marriage to the second is void.”
Imam Al-Ghazali said in the book 'The Etiquette of Marriage' in 'The Revival of the Religious Sciences', in essence: That the righteous seek a righteous wife who assists in obedience (which the Messenger [PBUH] considered a virtue), but he says that this is achieved with one wife and does not call for two; rather, having multiple wives may disturb life and cause household matters to become chaotic.
The Fatimid Caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (P) called for being content with one wife, saying: “Stick to the one who is yours, and do not be greedy for more of them or desire them, for it will disturb your life, cause you harm, exhaust your bodies, and weaken your discernment; for one woman is sufficient for one man.”
The people of Monotheism (Tawhid) have acted upon this advice until it became a fixed legislation they adhere to in their doctrinal Islamic jurisprudence. They based this on the noble Quranic verse: “...marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one” [An-Nisa 3], and they paused at His saying: “And you will never be able to be equal [in feeling] between wives, even if you should strive [to do so]” [An-Nisa 129]. Some of them said that “Lan” (never) signifies negation with emphasis, which means the impossibility of justice with plural marriage.
But does this mean that the verse abrogates the verse of polygamy, and is it possible to connect the two verses: “If you fear you will not be just, then one,” and “You will never be able to be equal between wives even if you strive to do so”? Hadiths have been narrated from the Prophet (PBUH) interpreting the Quran through his Sunnah, suggesting that the inability mentioned relates to emotional inclination, and that the ability to be just regarding financial support is not impossible, which shows that it is possible to be just in that regard, and the verse of inability is not considered an abrogation of the verse permitting polygamy.
We say: The words of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (P) regarding relying on one wife go beyond the issue of poverty, wealth, and the possibility of fairness in financial support, to shed light on another matter related to the true happiness hoped to be achieved through marriage, and the psychological stability that is aspired to. Polygamy clashes with this by deviating from the principle of moderation and chastity within the lawful, which preserves the soundness of the soul and the health of the body, even if wealth and the ability to be fair in financial support exist.
The Unitarians derive the ruling of monogamy from the first verse, “If you fear that you will not be just,” without resorting to another verse that most Muslims do not consider as abrogating it, based on what has been narrated from the Messenger (PBUH).
