Is Second Wife Recommended?

About this lecture

In this lecture, the speaker examines the classical Islamic ruling on polygamy, explaining why the Hanbali scholars — and others — actually consider it recommended for a man to stick to one wife if she is sufficient to keep him chaste. He presents two classical reasons (the risk of injustice and the severing of family ties among children) alongside two additional reasons particularly relevant to Muslims living in the UK, including the serious legal and spiritual consequences of resorting to man-made courts. The lecture also tackles the apparent contradiction between the Quranic verse on the impossibility of full fairness and the Islamic obligation of just treatment between wives, resolving it through the distinction between emotional love and practical conduct.