In a move that has raised eyebrows in some quarters, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been quoted as saying that he does not support polygamy.

The conservative Young Journalists Club (YJC), which is affiliated with the state-run television — whose director in turn is appointed by Khamenei — late on March 26 quoted the supreme leader as saying firmly that he is not in favor of having multiple wives. Based on Sharia, men are allowed to take more than one wife. However, many Shiite scholars in Iran do not speak in favor of this while abstaining from labeling it as forbidden.

YJC did not state the timing and date of Khamenei’s reported remark, but it wrote that his statement was "recent" and in reaction to a fatwa attributed to him that is circulating in cyberspace. The alleged fatwa quoted Khamenei as saying that he views polygamy as “mustahab” in the current situation of Iranian society. Mustahab is an Islamic term that means an action is not only “halal” (permissible) but also recommended, though by no means “wajib” (obligatory). 

YJC elaborated, “In a meeting with the presence of the leader, one of the attendees asked him about the authenticity of this fatwa. When Ayatollah Khamenei listened to this [question], he got angry and surprised, and said, ‘I haven’t issued such a fatwa and I don’t accept such thing. Who has said this?’”