The Concept and Practice of Wahare among Contemporary Muslims in Nigeria: Are there Correlations with Qur’ān 4:20?

Dr Khalid Ishola Bello Dr Khalid Ishola Bello

doi:10.32350/jitc.102.04

Abstract

Islam allows restricted polygyny with four wives simultaneously hitherto the common unrestricted practices among the Arabs before the appointment of the Messenger of Allah in their midst. Having an unlimited number of wives was not peculiar to the Arab culture alone, many nations in Africa are known to uphold the same practice. However, on the contact with Islam, every Muslim is required not to have more than four wives, simultaneously. The non-Muslim husband of more than four wives would be legally required to reduce the number of his wives to four upon his conversion to Islam. However, in Africa and in Nigeria in particular, some Muslims exceed the stipulated number and seek justification from the verse 20th of Suratu’n- Nisā and tag the practice as wahare and ‘Istibdāl. Other advocates of the practice twist the interpretation of the particular verse (Q4:3) regarding the permissibility of polygyny in support of the said practice. In view of this background, this paper aims to find out if there are correlations between the practice of wahare and ‘Istibdāl and the verse in question. Interviews, observations and review of literature were implored in this study. It was identified that the two different approaches to the practice of wahare /’Istibdāl are not supported by the verse 20th of Suratu’n- Nisā.

Highlights

Marriage is the only institution through which the Muslims are legally allowed to satisfy their sexual desires
Local Islamic authorities in Nigeria have been in conflict with him over the legal status of his plethora of marriages, who describe his atypical household as cultlike and out of step with Islamic law
Trust is one of pillars in human relation according to Krot and Lewicka that: Trust is willingness to increase the resources invested in another party, based on positive expectations resulting from past positive mutual interactions

Summary

Introduction

Marriage is the only institution through which the Muslims are legally allowed to satisfy their sexual desires. Concept and Practice of Wahare among Contemporary Muslims (SAW), during the Jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic societies) ages, there was no limit to the number of wives a man could marry at a time. A man could marry up to nine or twenty-four wives.17 Another argument relies on An-Nisā 4:128 and the case of Sawda bint Zamcah, the wife of the Prophet (SAW), who fortified her night for Aishah in fear of being divorced by the Prophet (SAW). Local Islamic authorities in Nigeria have been in conflict with him over the legal status of his plethora of marriages, who describe his atypical household as cultlike and out of step with Islamic law According to his interpretation, the Qur’ān does not place a limit on number of wives a Muslim can marry simultaneously; rather, it is up to what his ability allows.. Going with the above exegetical submission on the verse, one may argue that divorce is a process for replacing a wife with another

Critiques on Wahare and ‘Istibdāl

Socio-psychological Effects of Wahare

Conclusion