Al-Azhar sheikh labels polygamy as unjust, stirs controversy
Egypt’s grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, provoked controversy in Egypt by saying that polygamy can do “injustice to women and children.”
CAIRO — Egypt’s grand imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, has been under fire recently over his comments on polygamy.
“In 90% of cases — and I am not exaggerating — polygamy involves injustice toward the wife, her family and her children,” Tayeb said March 1 during his weekly televised interview broadcast on Channel 1 TV. Al-Azhar’s Twitter account also posted Tayeb’s statements from the interview.
He said, “Polygamy is an example of a distorted understanding of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet.”
Tayeb also said that “polygamy is a right that is restricted by conditions, such as the condition of fairness. If there is no fairness, polygamy becomes haram [Arabic for prohibited]. This issue is not open for experiments.”
