The Ruling on Marrying a Second Wife Without the First Wife’s Knowledge
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Question:
A message was received by the program from Qatar - Doha, sent by a listener there, identified as (M. M. A.), residing in Doha. Our brother has a collection of questions; in one of them, he asks: Is it permissible for a man to marry two women without the knowledge of one of them, while giving the second the impression that he is not married?
Answer:
This requires detailed explanation: It is permissible to marry a second or third wife without the knowledge of the previous wives; there is no harm in that. For example, if he travels to a country and marries there, and comes to her when he travels to that place, there is no harm in that.
However, in the same country, knowledge is necessary so that he can divide his time between them and be just between them. He is not allowed to give her the impression that he has no wife; rather, he must inform her that he has a wife, because this is deception. Therefore, if he is in the same country, he must let her know that he has a wife. He says: Yes. He must divide his time between them all, be just with them, and give them their rights. He is not allowed to deceive or use trickery.
As for other countries, such as if he travels for study, he is allowed to marry in that country to guard his chastity, even if he did not consult the woman or inform the woman. That does not harm him as long as he does not have the number permitted, which is four, but has room. So, if he has only one, he takes a second; if he does not have two, he takes a third; if he has three, he takes a fourth. There is no harm, provided he does not exceed four.
The point is that if he needs it and wants to marry, it is not a condition for that to inform his wife if she is in another country, but with regard to the obligatory division of time and justice in financial maintenance and other matters that are obligatory for the husband in terms of justice. Yes. We ask Allah for guidance for everyone. Yes.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.
A message was received by the program from Qatar - Doha, sent by a listener there, identified as (M. M. A.), residing in Doha. Our brother has a collection of questions; in one of them, he asks: Is it permissible for a man to marry two women without the knowledge of one of them, while giving the second the impression that he is not married?
Answer:
This requires detailed explanation: It is permissible to marry a second or third wife without the knowledge of the previous wives; there is no harm in that. For example, if he travels to a country and marries there, and comes to her when he travels to that place, there is no harm in that.
However, in the same country, knowledge is necessary so that he can divide his time between them and be just between them. He is not allowed to give her the impression that he has no wife; rather, he must inform her that he has a wife, because this is deception. Therefore, if he is in the same country, he must let her know that he has a wife. He says: Yes. He must divide his time between them all, be just with them, and give them their rights. He is not allowed to deceive or use trickery.
As for other countries, such as if he travels for study, he is allowed to marry in that country to guard his chastity, even if he did not consult the woman or inform the woman. That does not harm him as long as he does not have the number permitted, which is four, but has room. So, if he has only one, he takes a second; if he does not have two, he takes a third; if he has three, he takes a fourth. There is no harm, provided he does not exceed four.
The point is that if he needs it and wants to marry, it is not a condition for that to inform his wife if she is in another country, but with regard to the obligatory division of time and justice in financial maintenance and other matters that are obligatory for the husband in terms of justice. Yes. We ask Allah for guidance for everyone. Yes.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.