'Make polygamy compulsory' hashtag goes viral in Saudi Arabia

Earlier this week, a Twitter hashtag demanding that polygamy becomes compulsory in Saudi Arabia sparked controversy on the social media platform. 

The hashtag, 'we demand that polygamy becomes compulsory' is still trending on Twitter, with thousands reacting to it. 

While this is certainly not the first time Saudi tweeps launch a pro-polygamy hashtag, this is one of the first to see tweeps make such a demand.

Among the thousands reacting to the matter via the hashtag, many said polygamous marriages shouldn't be enforced on anyone and must remain a matter of choice. 

However, others were all for the idea, tweeting their support of it. 

And it wasn't only Saudis who tweeted through the hashtag, tweeps joined in from across the Arab world...

"First of all, God did not impose polygamy on anyone but made it an optional choice that is only permissible in specific situations. So how do you want to force people into this?"

Every time polygamy comes up on social media, several users highlight an important fact that many seem to ignore or forget: In Islam, taking more than one wife is only permissible under a very tight frame of conditions.

The religion first allowed polygamy for the sake of widows and orphans who have no means of survival.

The only Quranic verse that speaks about polygamy is believed to have been revealed after the Battle of Uhud, which led to the death of many Muslim men who left behind families in need of support.

The Quran clearly states that a man can only marry more than one woman if he treats her and all his other wives "equally".

"But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one," Surat An-Nisaa states.

The surah then declares: "You will never be able to be equal between wives, even if you should strive to do so". 

This makes Islam-approved polygamy near impossible to attain, even when conditions for it apply.