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What is the ruling on marrying another woman while retaining the first wife, who rejects polygyny, knowing that the husband loves his wife and that she has not fallen short in fulfilling his rights, and he fears losing her and wishes to combine both wives, and he has the financial capability to do so?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Allah Almighty has permitted a man to marry up to four women, provided he observes justice among them and is capable of fulfilling marital rights such as financial support and housing. Justice is a fundamental condition; whoever fails to be just will come on the Day of Judgment with one side leaning. Polygyny is a solution to societal problems such as spinsterhood and a means to increase the Muslim nation. It is preferable for the questioner to persuade his wife with wisdom and good counsel, but if she does not agree, her consent is not a condition for the permissibility of marrying another.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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