Malfuzat – Volume X — Page 241
25 March 1908 241 peace. Then what is the reason that the mother should be kept displeased? Difficulties Faced by Co-Wives The Promised Messiah as said: A man had two wives. After a dispute between the two, one of them left for her parents’ home without the permission of her husband. The person came to me and asked if he should divorce her? I thought that these are very delicate matters and a co-wife has to endure rather great hardships. It has been seen that some women commit suicide because of their difficulties. Just as an insane person is not held accountable for his actions, similarly such women also are not accountable, and they deserve mercy because the difficulties that co-wives face can drive them to the brink of insanity. The fact was that this person was himself a little more inclined towards his second wife and that wife also abused and pestered the poor woman. Eventually, she could not bear those hardships and felt compelled to leave. The man himself admit- ted that this, indeed, was the case and retracted his decision [to divorce her]. God Himself forgives such faults as well. Thus, He says in the Quran: 1 َو اَل اَنْلِّمَحُت اَم اَل َةَقاَط اَنَل ٖهِب َو اَل اَنْلِّمَحُت اَم اَل َةَقاَط اَنَل ٖهِب 1. Burden us not with what we have not the strength to bear ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:287). [Publisher]