I am married with 2 wives,one is here in America & the other is overseas.
Question
I spend time with the one over here ocasionally as her parents dont know of this,She is a new Practising Muslimah Alhamdulillah. I meet with her almost every week & spend 3-4 hrs in the evening together. I call my other wife overseas but not as often as the one in America as its convenient for me to do so. My wife overseas inshallah will be coming here shortly alhamdulillah, she is unaware of my 2nd marriage.Till she comes, what are the ahkam of Allah on me.Please advise.
Answer
According to the Shariah, it is permissible for you to have both wives on condition you maintain justice and equality between them. However, due to the many complexities of a polygamous marriage, we advise you to inform your wife overseas of your second marriage as concealing it may be devastating to her upon discovering it when she comes to America.
This may lead to disputes between you and her, thus defeating the purpose of marriage, peace, happiness, etc. We assume your second wife is aware of you being a married man, and that your first wife will be coming to live with you soon. Furthermore, you should consider ways of informing the parents of the second wife of her marriage to you, as meeting her only once a week for a few hours is inconsistent with the spirit and essence of marriage.
and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.
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- Mufti Ebrahim Desai
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