Plural marriage and fair treatment of co-wives, Dought & clear, - * Conditions for plural marriage

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on what conditions is it allowed for a muslim to marry more than one wife?
Praise be to Allaah.
Marrying more than one wife is a matter which is recommended, subject to certain conditions: that the man be financially and physically able for it, and that he be able to treat his wives justly.
Plural marriage brings a lot of benefits, including protecting the chastity of the women whom he marries, bringing people closer together, and producing a lot of children. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) referred to when he said: “Marry the one who is loving and fertile”. And it serves a lot of other purposes. But for a man to marry more than one wife by way of boasting and taking that as a challenge to prove himself, this is a form of extravagance and extravagance is forbidden. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and waste not by extravagance. Verily, He likes not al-musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)”[al-An’aam 6:141]
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, from Kitaab Fataawa Islamiyyah, vol. 3, p. 205.

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- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M. MD, IRI (Managing Director, Islamic Research Institution)

Plural marriage and fair treatment of co-wives, Dought & clear, - * A man wants to take a second wife – would the second wife be sinning?

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My cousin and I love one another; he came to propose marriage to me but my mother refused. So he married someone else and had two daughters, but three years later he came back and wants to marry me according to the law of Allaah and His Messenger, and he wants to divorce his wife because of the problems and difficulties between them that have nothing to do with me. I love him but I am afraid of doing wrong to his wife; I do not want to bear any sin if I marry him. May Allaah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing to stop you marrying him, whether he divorces his wife or not. Your marriage to him would not be counted as wrongdoing towards his first wife, because plural marriage is something that is regarded as commendable according to sharee’ah for the one who is able to treat his wives fairly. With regard to the problems between him and his first wife, and his thinking of leaving her, you have nothing to do with that, and you will not be sinning, so long as you do not ask him to divorce her or encourage him to divorce her in any way.
But if he does not divorce her and he wants to marry you, then he must treat you both fairly. If he fears that he will not be able to treat you fairly then it is not permissible for him to engage in a plural marriage, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“… then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one or (slaves) that your right hands possess”
[al-Nisa’ 4:3].

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- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M. MD, IRI (Managing Director, Islamic Research Institution)