WPolygyny is the most common and accepted form of polygamy, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Most countries that permit polygyny today are Muslim-majority countries.
WAt-Taḥrīm is the 66th chapter (sura) of the Quran and contains 12 verses (ayah). This is a Surah which deals with questions regarding Muhammad's wives.
WConcubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want to or cannot enter into a full marriage. When there is an inability or social discouragement for the couple to marry, it may be due to multiple factors such as differences in social rank status, an existing marriage, religious or professional prohibitions, or a lack of recognition by appropriate authorities.
WIn China, successful men often had concubines until the practice was outlawed when the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949. The standard Chinese term translated as "concubine" was qiè 妾, a term that has been used since ancient times, which means "concubine; I, your servant ". Concubinage resembled marriage in that concubines were recognized sexual partners of a man and were expected to bear children for him. Unofficial concubines were of lower status, and their children were considered illegitimate. The English term concubine is also used for what the Chinese refer to as pínfēi, or "consorts of emperors", an official position often carrying a very high rank.
WA mistress is a woman who is in a relatively long-term sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a different woman.
WPolygamy was practiced by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of Latter-day Saint families. Today, various denominations of fundamentalist Mormonism continue to practice polygamy.
WMuhammad's wives, or the wives of Muhammad, were the women married to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslims often use the term "Mothers of the Believers" prominently before or after referring to them as a sign of respect, a term derived from the Quran.
WAn-Nisa' is the fourth chapter (sūrah) of the Quran, with 176 verses (āyāt). The title derives from the numerous references to women throughout the chapter, including verses 4:34 and 4:127-130.
WTraditional Sunni and Shia Islamic marital jurisprudence allows Muslim men to be married to multiple women — up to four at any point in time.
WThe polygyny threshold model is an explanation of polygyny, the mating of one male of a species with more than one female. The model shows how females may gain a higher level of biological fitness by mating with a male who already has a mate. The female makes this choice despite other surrounding males because the choice male's genetics, territory, food supply, or other important characteristics are better than those of his competitors, even with two females on the territory.