Domestic Issues and Their Solutions — Page 165
165 ‘Islam has allowed four marriages with certain conditions and everyone is not free to indulge in this at their whim. In this regard the first condition is to be firm on righteousness and th en self - reflect and ponder over whether the [additional] marriage is warrantable or not. Secondly, the person should consider if he can maintain fairness between the wives. If not, then the man has no right to take a second wife. If he cannot fulfil t he ri ghts and obligations of his first wife and is anxious to get married for a second time, he has no right to do so. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: ‘A husband should have such regard and respect for the feelings of his first wife, that if he fe els the need of a second wife, but is afraid that it would hurt his first wife and break her heart, in such a case, if he can exercise restraint without falling into sin,’ that is, not commit a sin, ‘and without sacrificing his lawful needs, it would be pr eferable for him to forego the advantages of a second marriage for the sake of comforting his first wife. ’ (Malfuzat, Vol. 7, pp. 64 - 65, edition published in London – Essence of Islam, Vol. III, p. 321) The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says here , do not take more wives merely out of eagerness as some men do. This is also a response to those who criticise that Islam allows polygamy. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) says that the main point is that if one can be patient for the sake of the