By Idris Muhammed Abdullahi
I appreciate Justina A. Adebamiwa’s thoughtful response to earlier written article. Her effort to ground the Christian ethic of marriage in Scripture, rather than culture, is commendable. However, in our attempt to define religious standards, we must not lose sight of a foundational truth that applies to every faith: the scripture is the sole authority on what constitutes that religion. Without its sacred texts, no religion can stand , Christianity is based on the Bible, Islam on the Qur’an, and so forth.
When we discuss whether a practice like polygamy is religiously valid or not, the decisive factor must always be: Can it be clearly found in the religion’s authoritative text? Not through implication, cultural evolution, or assumed models, but explicitly through the scripture itself. Religion must be accepted not as we wish it to be, but as it is revealed and preserved in its sacred text.
In Christianity, if polygamy were truly sinful, it would be plainly condemned in the Bible, just as adultery, theft, and murder are. That it is not forbidden , despite the lives of polygamous figures like Abraham, Jacob, and David being detailed without direct rebuke for their marital choices , should give Christians pause. Yes, the Bible describes the chaos in some of their households, but it does not attribute that chaos to the mere existence of multiple wives. Scripture must not be retrofitted to suit modern moral discomforts.
Similarly, for Muslims, the Qur’an’s allowance of polygamy (under clear conditions in Surah An-Nisa 4:3) is a matter of divine legislation, not culture. One cannot claim adherence to a religion while discarding what its scripture plainly permits or prescribes.
Religious standards should not be shaped by what we feel is ideal, civil, or western, or even what seems to model harmony best but by what is written in the book that defines the faith. Scripture is not a suggestion; it is a foundation. Anything that cannot be supported directly by it, no matter how widely accepted or rejected, cannot rightfully claim the authority of that religion.
Therefore, the question is not what the church prefers, or what a community finds acceptable, but what the Bible actually says. Anything outside of that , no matter how well-intentioned is opinion, not doctrine.
Religion is not to be molded to suit personal conviction or modern sensibilities. It is to be accepted as it was revealed. Scripture is the compass , deviation from it leads not to truth, but to confusion.
Idris Muhammed Abdullahi is a public intellectual, anti-corruption specialist, and commentator on moral and cultural issues in Africa.
