Does Saudi Arabia allow polygamy?

Polygamy is legal in Saudi Arabia, whereby a man may have up to four wives. However, a man is only allowed to take multiple wives if he can meet certain conditions under shari’a law. For example, he must have the financial capacity to afford another marriage and provide for another wife and her family.

Are Arabs polygamist?

Polygamy is most widely practiced by Muslims in West Africa (where it is also widely practiced by non-Muslims), as well as in certain traditionalist Arabian states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Do Arabs have 4 wives?

Most marriages are monogamous. Not every Arab man can afford to have several wives. Islam allows them to have up to 4 wives, but each of them should be provided with a house and be given equal amounts of gifts, attention, jewelry, and so on. Having several wives is a privilege of sheiks and very wealthy people.

Which country allows polygamy?

In which country polygamy is legal? Well, in countries like India, Singapore, Malaysia, polygamy is valid and is legal only for Muslims. While in countries like Algeria, Egypt, Cameroon, polygamy still has recognition and is in practice. These are the few places where polygamy is legal even today.

Is polygamy common in Saudi Arabia?

Polygamy is not as common in Saudi Arabia as the western media makes it look like. In fact, most Saudi young women prefer young men that are single and are not willing to get into a polygamous relationship in future. In fact, according to Islam, the first wife can leave if she doesn’t feel that polygamy is for her.

Why do men in Saudi Arabia have more than one wife?

Many men take this as an opportunity to keep more than one wife just because they want to and often little they do to be fair and give all their wives equivalent importance. The concept of polygamy is quite common in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and men do not feel reluctant about having more than one wife.

Does polygamy affect women and their children?

Apart from the financial cost, there is a price to pay for the distress that polygamy causes women and their children. There is no doubt that marrying another woman causes pain to the first wife. When a Muslim man takes a second wife, the first wife immediately feels rejected and unloved.

How many children do Saudi men have on average?

Most Saudi men I know are married to one wife only and on average are having only 2 to 3 children. Though they almost certainly desire second or third wives, I am not sure if today many of them feel willing to take the plunge into a polygamous marriage situation.