Islam prohibited polygamy

Teejay

Gone Fishin'
Instead of allowing polygamy the Quran forbids a man taking more than one wife at a time.

This could have happened with the New Testament limiting Church elders to just one wife and the Jewish Essene's were not fans of polygamy. Also monogamy would be a important differentiation between Muslims and Jews (who at the time allowed polygamy).

Effects on Islamic history anybody?
 

PhilippeO

Banned
Without polygamy, it might weaken tribal ties. Since many lines would regularly fail to produce sons and number of cousins would be limited, tracking descent in tribal society would be weakened, and alternative institution (warrior society, blood brotherhood, vassalage oath) might arise. It would, in long run benefit Muslim societies, destabilization by tribal revolt would be greatly weakened and more diffuse society with nuclear family would be more stable.

Increase of supply of women to poor men would also prevent creation of Ayyar and Futuwwa. further stabilizing society from radical young man.
 
Without polygamy, it might weaken tribal ties. Since many lines would regularly fail to produce sons and number of cousins would be limited, tracking descent in tribal society would be weakened, and alternative institution (warrior society, blood brotherhood, vassalage oath) might arise. It would, in long run benefit Muslim societies, destabilization by tribal revolt would be greatly weakened and more diffuse society with nuclear family would be more stable.

Increase of supply of women to poor men would also prevent creation of Ayyar and Futuwwa. further stabilizing society from radical young man.

Good post, I can see some of this occurring.
 
No one's gonna wanna join. The men who already have multiple wives aren't going to give them up and aren't going to promote it. Mohammed is going to be one unpopular dude in his crowd. He'll be lucky if they don't stone him for heresy in the village square.
 

PhilippeO

Banned
No one's gonna wanna join. The men who already have multiple wives aren't going to give them up and aren't going to promote it. Mohammed is going to be one unpopular dude in his crowd. He'll be lucky if they don't stone him for heresy in the village square.

??? Christianity managed to ban polygamy and become world religion. and Arabia had large minority of monogamous Christian and Jews. even modern Islamic society, majority of marriage is monogamous.
 
??? Christianity managed to ban polygamy and become world religion. and Arabia had large minority of monogamous Christian and Jews. even modern Islamic society, majority of marriage is monogamous.
The Romans banned polygamy - the Roman Christian church followed.

It is debatable if the canon Christian scriptures actually state that polygamy is wrong.
 
. . . This could have happened with the New Testament limiting Church elders to just one wife . . .
I think you're right. This would be a hypothetical change, for I don't think anywhere in the New Testament does it say that polygamy is wrong.

As I recall, Islam limited polygamy to 4 wives, which was an improvement at the time.

I think we can find many examples of a religious teaching, or a new teaching in philosophy, or a social reform, or a new and improved economic system, which is a bona fide improvement for the time but not so for later times.
 
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No one's gonna wanna join. The men who already have multiple wives aren't going to give them up and aren't going to promote it. Mohammed is going to be one unpopular dude in his crowd. He'll be lucky if they don't stone him for heresy in the village square.

The young men who have to struggle to find wives might latch on harder than before.
 
I think you're right. This would be a hypothetical change, for I don't think anywhere in the New Testament does it say that polygamy is wrong.

As I recall, Islam limited polygamy to 4 wives, which was an improvement at the time.

I think we can find many examples of a religious teaching, or a new teaching in philosophy, or a social reform, or a new and improved economic system, which is a bona fide improvement for the time but not so for later times.
The New Testament refers to marriage as being between a man and a woman (singular in both cases) and that priests/pastors should be married to only one wife. I suppose the situatoin of marriage in the times of the New Testament had a lot of things assumed and they didn't go deep into it. Still, there was a lot of talk of relationships between husbands and wives, which involved love, respect, and lifelong commitment.

Anyways, for Islam I think that when it came to things like alcohol their were slow transitions, so things didn't suddenly come to a screeching halt. For polgamy to end... well, I am wondering if this came before the laws Muhammad set forth that to divorce a wife (not sure if wives could try it themselves) they had to say 'I divorce you' three times. Though you had to wait several months between each time, while family tried to help both spouses mend things. It is important that this rule be set in such a manner, or you get situations like in contemporary India, where some guy divorced his wife by text message and kept her form her children due to the somewhat heretical version of sharia law used in India. I am bringing these things up partially because there is the issue of the extra wives that people in Arabia had back then. It would be repulsive for them to be thrown out. I say they grandfather in wives before a certain date.

The Romans banned polygamy - the Roman Christian church followed.

It is debatable if the canon Christian scriptures actually state that polygamy is wrong.
There were other churches than the Roman one. And best to keep in mind that they didn't follow the norms of the Romans anyways. And I am actually thinking over and I don't think I can think of a single situation in the Old or New Testament were polygamy was shown as being in any way good.
 
The New Testament refers to marriage as being between a man and a woman (singular in both cases) and that priests/pastors should be married to only one wife. I suppose the situatoin of marriage in the times of the New Testament had a lot of things assumed and they didn't go deep into it. Still, there was a lot of talk of relationships between husbands and wives, which involved love, respect, and lifelong commitment.

There were other churches than the Roman one. And best to keep in mind that they didn't follow the norms of the Romans anyways. And I am actually thinking over and I don't think I can think of a single situation in the Old or New Testament were polygamy was shown as being in any way good.

Firstly they did follow the norms of Greco-Roman society - they didn't follow the norms of Judaism for example.

Not being good is not the same as being prohibited - especially since the Old Testament specifically allows for polygamy with similar constraints to Islam (treat wives equally etc)
 
The New Testament refers to marriage as being between a man and a woman (singular in both cases) and that priests/pastors should be married to only one wife. . .
I think in one of the letters of Saint Paul, he said it's better not to be married at all.

I think your main point is well taken, that a couple of passages are talking about a husband singular and a wife singular. And since we now know that a same-sex marriage can have just as much love and respect as any other marriage, I for one would feel comfortable extending this to two spouses.

On all of this, that not being married is better and maybe the beginning of this for Catholic priests, on the gloriously high standard for marriages rather than maybe a more realistic standard,

some Christians will try to excel at the standard, maybe too much so, and others will be more more relaxed about it.
 
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