This is an article by Dr. Khaula Rehman published in spring 2010 volume of Muslim Sunrise.
King Henry the VIII and his six wives
A picture is worth a thousand words, let me introduce King Henry the VIII to soften the righteous indignation of those who have only been told about the permission of polygamy in Islam and kept in ignorance of what went on in the Roman Empire and Europe of the past and today. Islam set the limit at four wives but the Founder of the Church of England chose six, you do the math, but, seems like 50% inflation to me!
Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII.
Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry’s struggles with Rome led to the separation of the Church of England from papal authority, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and establishing himself as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. He changed religious ceremonies and rituals and suppressed the monasteries, while remaining a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, even after his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church.
Now I go onto presenting the article by Dr. Khaula Rehman:
Islam is a universal religion for all times to come and has a universal approach applicable to all times and circumstances. The Holy Qur’an tackled certain social issues or vices that were of paramount concern in an emphatic manner; other issues dealt with in a gradual and incremental manner; yet others it left to the wisdom of the societies and individuals. When Islam was revealed 14 centuries ago there were no well-defined rules about marriage, not only in Arab society, but Christian society, too. For the full article go to:
Thomas Carlyle (1795 – 1881) was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian, teacher, and was given in 1865, the rectorship of Edinburgh University. His writings were highly influential during the Victorian era. At his demise according to Encyclopedia Britannica, ‘Westminster Abbey was offered for his burial,’ which is a symbol of great honor and influence. Defending the character of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, he writes in On Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History:
“How he was placed with Kadijah, a rich Widow, as her Steward, and travelled in her business, again to the Fairs of Syria; how he managed all, as one can well understand, with fidelity, adroitness; how her gratitude, her regard for him grew: the story of their marriage is altogether a graceful intelligible one, as told us by the Arab authors. He was twenty‑five; she forty, though still beautiful. He seems to have lived in a most affectionate, peaceable, wholesome way with this wedded benefactress; loving her truly, and her alone. It goes greatly against the impostor theory, the fact that he lived in this entirely unexceptionable, entirely quiet and commonplace way, till the heat of his years was done. He was forty before he talked of any mission from Heaven. All his irregularities, real and supposed, date from after his fiftieth year, when the good Kadijah died. All his ‘ambition,’ seemingly, had been, hitherto, to live an honest life; his ‘fame,’ the mere good opinion of neighbours that knew him, had been sufficient hitherto. Not till he was already getting old, the prurient heat of his life all burnt out, and peace growing to be the chief thing this world could give him, did he start on the ‘career of ambition’; and, belying all his past character and existence, set‑up as a wretched empty charlatan to acquire what he could now no longer enjoy! For my share, I have no faith whatever in that.”
For Christians, To be Born Again in Islam! 