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1207	As I gone through questions I came out with several doubts. 1. If a man can marry with more than one wife and less than 5 without any permission with his previous wife then can a woman do so also? If not then why? isn't Islam treating man and woman unequally? 2. Who creates homosexual people? Almighty Allah (S.W.T) or the man itself? if Allah then who is responsible for the sin he does?

	Both questions you have asked have been full explained on the website. Below are the answers to your question, taken from Ramadan Topics 2008. 1. If a man can marry with more than one wife and less than 5 without any permission with his previous wife then can a woman do so also? If not then why? isn't Islam treating man and woman unequally? What is Polygamy? Polygamy means a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two types. One is polygyny where a man marries more than one woman, and the other is polyandry, where a woman marries more than one man. In Islam, limited polygyny is permitted; whereas polyandry is completely prohibited. Polygyny in Islam and other Religions? The Qur’an is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase “marry only one”. There is no other religious book that instructs men to have only one wife. In none of the other religious scriptures, whether it be the Vedas, the Ramayan, the Mahabharat, the Geeta, the Talmud or the Bible does one find a restriction on the number of wives. According to these scriptures one can marry as many times as he wishes. It was only later, that the Hindu priests and the Christian Church restricted the number of wives to one. Why does Islam allow limited Polygyny? “Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one.” (Surah Nisa 4:3) Before the Qur’an was revealed, there was no limit for polygyny and many men had lots of wives, some even had hundreds. Islam put a limit of four wives. Islam gives a man permission to marry two, three or four women, only on the condition that he deals justly with them otherwise only one. Notice from the above verse fairness is a condition to be met before marrying more than one woman. In the same chapter Allah (S.W.T) says “Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women....” (Surah Nisa 4:129). Therefore polygyny is not a rule but an exception. Many people are under the misconception that it is compulsory for a Muslim man to have more than one wife. The Facts By nature males and females are born in approximately the same ratio. A female child has more immunity than a male child. A female child can fight the germs and diseases better than the male child. For this reason, during the paediatric age itself there are more deaths among males as compared to the females. During wars, there are more men killed as compared to women. More men die due to accidents and diseases than women. The average life span of females is more than that of males, and at any given time one finds more widows in the world than widowers. The problem is further compounded because not every man and woman is heterosexual, the rapid increase of homosexuality in the world means even fewer chances for a woman to find a husband. Un-Islamic Relationships These simple facts show women out number men. Even if every male on earth married one woman, there still would be millions of females without husbands. What will happen to them? Suppose your sister happens to be one of the unmarried women. The only two options remaining for her would be that she either marries a man who already has a wife or resorts to unlawful relationships (such as boyfriend/ girlfriend relationship, mistresses, prostitution etc) in order to fulfil her sexual desires. There is no other option. All those who are modest will go for the first option. Most women would not like to share their husband with other women. But in Islam if the situation becomes necessary, Muslim women due to faith would bear a small personal loss to prevent a greater loss of becoming a sinner and having a bad name in society. (Taken from Ramadan 2008 Topics) (Answered by: Hafiz Mohammed Akhtar) 2. Who creates homosexual people? Almighty Allah (S.W.T) or the man itself? if Allah then who is responsible for the sin he does? Homosexuality and Islam Homosexuality is completely forbidden (Haram) in Islam and is a major sin. Although homosexuality is a major sin, but denying that it’s not Haram is going against the Qur’an and would take you out of the fold of Islam, as would denying any other verse of the glorious Qur’an. And sent Lut, when he said to his people, do you commit that indecency which was ' not committed by any one in, the world before you? You rather approach men lustily instead of women on the contrary you people have crossed the limit. (Surah Al-Araf 7:80-81) Do you commit unnatural offence with males from among the creatures. And leave your wives whom your Lord has created for you? Nay, but you are a people exceeding the limit. (Surah Al-Shuara 26:165-166) Is homosexuality genetic? Many argue that being homosexual is not a choice but rather a case of genetics which can’t be changed, there is no solid proof to this claim. Studies have shown that it has absolutely nothing to do with genetics, rather it’s to do with the upbringing of the child, this is what a survey by Kitzuger and Wilkinson had to say, there are so many different psychological paths exclusive to same sex attraction that it is impossible they were controlled genetically. We know that this life is a test. Everyone of us has his/her own test. For example someone may be born blind, but that person is expected to live his/her life according to Allah (S.W.T) law. For arguments sake lets say one is born gay, homosexual etc, but all of us are expected to follow Allah (S.W.T) law. Some men or women may never marry in their life, or spend part of their life without a spouse. They still have to live a chaste life and avoid any sexual contacts outside of marriage. They have to suppress their sexual feelings to follow Allah (S.W.T) law. It is a major test and not an easy one for many. Only those who submit to Allah (S.W.T) will do everything they can to follow His law. They know that their salvation and eternal happiness rests submitting you will to Allah (S.W.T). So why does one turn to homosexuality? Homosexuality in most cases is related to the breakdown of Father to Son relationship. Many cases show homosexuality is a search of male affection and connection that was possibly damaged or lost during childhood, many homosexuals had little or no connection or affection with their Fathers. What is one to do? Since Allah (S.W.T) condemns homosexuality, then we have to believe that a man or a woman with homosexual feelings is expected to behave like any other human being and follows Allah (S.W.T) laws if he/she truly believes in them. He/she shall resist his/her feelings, maintains abstinence, use all available resources of help including medical, social and behavioural therapies to overcome their behaviour and feelings. They should pray to Allah (S.W.T) to guide them on to the right path and submit to Allah (S.W.T) law that sees homosexuality as a gross sin. Allah places not burden on any soul but to the extent of his strength whatever good it earned is useful for it and whatever bad it earned is a loss for it. (Surah Al-Baqra 2:286) (Taken from Ramadan 2008 Topics) (Answered by: Hafiz Mohammed Akhtar)
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