What is the ruling on a woman who prevents her husband from marrying another woman and demands a divorce from him if he does so?

The questioner : The seventh question. There is a bit of a flaw in the phrasing, so we will correct it slightly. Many committed sisters completely refuse to allow their husbands to marry other women, saying that it is not permissible to have a second wife unless there is a specific reason. Sometimes the matter reaches the point where she demands a divorce. Does this affect their religion? And does the woman who demands a divorce fall under the Prophetic warning?

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that the one who demands a divorce from her husband without any valid reason is warned by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that she will not enter Paradise. I believe that this mindset, which exists in some Muslim women, is undoubtedly part of the ideological invasion that Muslims have been subjected to for about a century or half a century, directly from the disbelievers and then from some Muslim writers who were influenced by Western culture and Western ideas. They began to spread among Muslims, and the means of publication were made easy for them, the idea that a second marriage is not prescribed except out of dire necessity. They interpret some verses in which Allah the Exalted conditioned marriage to more than one woman on being just between them, and He qualified that by saying . They interpreted the ability here in a wrong and misleading way, as the ability of the heart. This is not what is intended; rather, the intended meaning is the material ability, which is limited to housing, clothing, food, drink, and the like of material things. As for the aspect of the heart, our Lord the Exalted does not make that a condition, because the Master of Mankind (peace and blessings be upon him) . So he undoubtedly loved Aisha more than all his wives, but he did not prefer her in treatment over her co-wives. When these writers, influenced by Western ideas opposing the Islamic Shari'ah, spread this idea, it became widespread among many Muslims, male and female, and it became entrenched in their minds that a second marriage is not prescribed except out of dire necessity. This is a fabrication against the Shari'ah. The only condition for a second marriage is justice, and justice is material. I believe that whoever is able to marry a second, third, or fourth wife with the condition mentioned in the Qur'an, that is better for him and more lasting in this world and then in the Hereafter. This is because he thereby achieves a Shari'ah objective to which our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) drew our attention in his authentic hadith when he said . This is one thing, and the other thing is that I often mention on this occasion that Muslim couples who enjoy the sexual aspect, as they say in this age, also gain Shari'ah benefits and very great rewards if they fulfill the right of raising the children first, and then patience with that, especially if one of them dies, particularly if the death occurs before the age of puberty and accountability. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith . This is a very great gain for the Muslim whose three children die before reaching the age of accountability. The Fire will not touch them except as the breaking of an oath . The narrator said . So the Muslim seeks from marriage something more than satisfying sexual desire, which is the reward of taking care of raising the children and teaching them, and then patience with their deaths. This is something that does not occur to the minds of those disbelievers. If a Muslim marries more than one woman, he is thereby fulfilling the noble Prophetic desire referred to in the previous hadith, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said . First, and second, he will have presented before his death a provision for him and a store. Therefore, it is a very grave error for committed Muslim women to refuse and not consent to their husband marrying other women. They have an excuse in not consenting to that, as it is a natural instinct and disposition. But from the Shari'ah perspective, they must submit themselves to the Shari'ah ruling, especially since there is that severe warning, which means that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said , or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. This is what I have as an answer to this question.

The questioner : Is there also a contradiction with the disbelievers in this?

The Shaykh : Without a doubt.
Yes