Polygamy in Islam - Part 1

Polygamy in Islam - Part 2

Opening Questions and Introduction

Assalamu alaikum. I have two questions. One, will God tell you what? Yes. And also, will He speak to us? Yes, we're going to do that toward the end. I want to discuss that toward the end.

The Prophet's Sunnah Regarding Marriage

Now brothers and sisters, I want you to use your imagination for a few moments. Prophet Muhammad had something uniquely in common with one of his companions, and that is Ali, the fourth Khalifa. Prophet Muhammad had something uniquely in common with his companion Ali, the fourth Khalifa.

Can anybody tell me what that is? Something unique that they had in common, that those two had in common. Anybody can tell me? I'll give you a hint. The hint has something to do with marriage. Prophet Muhammad had something uniquely in common with his companion Ali, and it had something to do with marriage.

They both had two wives, no. They were cousins, yes, they were cousins. But that's not what I'm talking about. No, they weren't married to the same person, no. Yeah, he did marry the Prophet's daughter Fatima, yes. But what did they have uniquely in common? Both loved women, okay.

Brothers and sisters, what is the Prophet's sunnah in terms of marriage? If I asked you brothers, what is the Prophet's sunnah in terms of marriage, what would you say? What's the sunnah in terms of marriage? Well, we can see that he had more than one wife. How many brothers would say it is the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad to have more than one wife? If you believe that's the sunnah, raise your hand. Sisters too, how many believe it's the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad to have more than one wife? Raise your hand.

Brothers and sisters, it is not the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad to have more than one wife. It is not the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad to have more than one wife. His sunnah is marriage. That's his sunnah. I'm saying that for a reason. That's not a trick. Let me tell you why.

The Sunnah is Marriage, Not Polygamy

The dalil, that is not a trick. He said in words, my sunnah is marriage. Not two, three, four, five, six, seven, twelve. And I'll tell you why this is important. If you say as a brother, I'm going to marry more than one wife because I am following the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, you have a fallacy in your argument.

The woman will say to you, you want to follow the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad? You want to follow his sunnah and marry more than one wife? Fine, follow his sunnah. His sunnah was he married one wife. He never took another wife until his first wife died, 25 years being married. After you marry me for 25 years, then you can take on another wife. That's the sunnah. You want to follow the sunnah? Follow that.

The fallacy is, if you try to follow exactly what he did, you're going to get in trouble. His sunnah is marriage. That's the sunnah. Now whether you marry one, two, three, or four, it's up to you. It's your choice.

Not a trick question. What did Prophet Muhammad have in common with his cousin Ali, the fourth Khalifa? That's right. Ali never took on another wife. He was only married to Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad, while she was alive. And only when she died did he take on more than one wife at one time. Just some interesting facts to give you.

America's Laws and Islamic Law: A Comparison

Brothers and sisters, we're going to close out, but before we do, I want to actually give you an opportunity for some questions and answers and some dialogue. I mentioned the last point that the sister was talking about. I want to, just for your information, brothers and sisters, I just want you to stay along with me for a moment.

You know, I've said in this class that, in my opinion, America is the chief agent for Shaitan, for the devil, in the world, in my opinion. America are the chief representative and agents of Shaitan. This is my opinion. Is it Quran and Sunnah? No, it's what? My opinion.

How many of you think that in this country, America, committing fornication is a crime punishable by law? Raise your hand. A crime punishable by law. How many believe that adultery, a man married to a woman and sleeps with another woman, how many believe that in this country, America, it is a crime punishable by law, by punishment? How many of you believe that bigamy slash polygamy, bigamy married to two wives slash polygamy, more than one wife, is a crime punishable by law in this country? Raise your hand. Now let's stop and think for a second.

State Laws on Fornication and Adultery

What do you think the punishment in this country is for committing fornication? Fornication, that is two unmarried people committing illegal intercourse, is not determined by the federal government or determined by statute. State law. Statute, state statute. This is it. And the reason I'm protesting, I'm not the best fellow in the world, I could be wrong. I reserve the right to say statute without a T. It means that it's left up to individual states, and brothers and sisters, believe it or not, in many states of America, it's not even a crime to commit fornication.

Common law marriage is something different. Common law marriage means that you live with a woman, and all intents and purposes, she's your wife, but you then go to a legal ceremony. That's what a common law marriage is. And the difference between, I understand the point that you're saying. There's a difference between common law ceremony and fornication.

I just wanted to make a comment. I have a problem with taking from here too. We're Americans. Not everybody American is bad. You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give that impression. I don't mean every American. I don't mean that. When I say American, I'm sorry. Thank you. I don't mean all the American people. I mean

primarily the American government and its laws, and many of the people that run this government, in my estimation, in my opinion, is the big shaitan. We can debate the issue, and I'm going to, as time goes on, I'm going to continue to unfold it. But before you do, sister, let me just give you this information. This is just for your information.

Now, same thing with adultery. State law. Some states of the union, it's not even a crime to commit adultery. In fact, some states of the union, believe it or not, if a man commits adultery with his wife, even after committing adultery, that's not even grounds for divorce. Some states, I'm saying. Some states, it still is grounds for divorce. Many states, many states, it's not even grounds for divorce. A woman can find her husband in a bed with another woman, and she can go and say, I want a divorce because this man committed adultery, and that's not grounds for divorce in many states.

Islamic Punishments for Fornication and Adultery

What I'm doing, brothers and sisters, in the next few moments, I'm showing you some comparisons between Islam and the state. What is the punishment in Islam for committing adultery? Death by stoning. What is the punishment for committing adultery in Islam? Death by stoning. I want to make sure you understand what I'm saying. What is the punishment in this country for committing adultery? It varies from state to state.

Let me give you an idea. Let me just give you one example of fornication first and then adultery. First of all, what's the punishment in Islam for committing fornication? One hundred lashes. One hundred lashes. One hundred. What's the penalty for committing fornication in Islam? One hundred. One hundred strikes. One hundred lashes. One hundred whips, being whipped a hundred times. This is in Quran, 24th chapter (Quran 24:2).

Massachusetts law. Have you ever been to Massachusetts? This is the law: whoever commits fornication shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three months or be fined not more than $30. It's in the law now. Statute. Massachusetts.

In Wisconsin, adultery: whoever has sexual intercourse with a person not his spouse may be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not more than six months or both. That's adultery.

But brothers and sisters, you haven't heard the sad part. The sad part is that none of these laws are even enforced. But according to the books, the committing of polygamy, which is halal with Allah, what is their punishment in their books? A felony. Hear what I'm telling you? A felony. Fornication, adultery in some states not even against the law. Any state that is against the law is not enforced. But polygamy, throw the book at them. Six years imprisonment in some states and fines of more than $5,000.

You can commit adultery, fornication in America, it's alright. You can go to a whorehouse, it's alright. House of prostitution is okay, man. You can sneak around, but don't marry the woman and take care of her as the Islamic way. Don't give her justice. Why? Because this country is ruled by Shaitan. Say what you want to say.

The Definition of Zina in Islam

The definition of intercourse in Islam is one and only that: penetration. That's the definition. Fondling is not committing zina. Zina, fornication, adultery, the legal definition is penetration. If a man is found under the covers of a woman that's not his wife, he cannot be charged or proven to have committed zina. There must be penetration. That's the definition.

If you brothers and sisters try to implement the Islamic law, someone commits fornication, Muslim, and say brother, it's not for Allah, you commit fornication, take your lashes, he says okay. You come to the masjid and we give him a hundred lashes according to the Quran, according to the law of Islam. That man now goes to the authorities of this country and says that these people beat me, and you can be held liable and you can go to jail because the Islamic law conflicts with the laws of this society.

The Importance of Taqwa and Justice

Brothers and sisters, before I let you, I'm saying to you today my admonition to this class and to us, you want to be successful, you see you can't take a part of Islam and say Allah permits me to have more than one wife, I'm going to give it, except you also talk about justice, except you talk about taqwa and the fear of Allah. I detest people who jokingly say to Muslims, oh, you know, he's a Christian, right? I love Islam, man, man can marry more than one wife, he can marry four wives, I'm going to become a Muslim so that I can have me four women. That's a joke.

Why leave Christianity to become a Muslim so you can have four wives when you can be a Christian and have all the women you want? Think about it. I had to come and take shahadah just to have four women and marry them and take care and be equal and have the imam breathing down my neck, having the wife take me to the imam's office? And I can just be living you with the rest of the Christians and Jews and do whatever the heck I want to do. That don't even begin to make sense. And you can't argue with the facts because we know the evidence about what they do in this country and their fakeness, brothers and sisters.

Further Comparisons of Islamic and American Law

Let me tell you another thing. Check this out. Do you know what the punishment is in Islam for a man found in the barn with his cow? You know, I'm trying to be nice. A man is in the barn with his cow and we catch him on his cow. What do you think the punishment is in Islam? Kill him and kill the cow. That's how bad it is. Kill him and kill the cow. How do you kill him? Check this out. Take him on the highest building and drop his butt down. Oh, that's cruel.

But what about America? A felony against polygamy. Polygamy is so horrible. But yet, in this country, a man found on top of his cow? The cops say, move over, let me do it too. Now, that's horrible, but I'm saying, brothers and sisters, that's the way it is in this society. No, I'm serious. Honestly, you sound like I'm not joking. I'm serious. It's how sick it is because in this society, they don't enforce it and most of the laws in this country, there

is no law against homosexuality anymore. And those states that there is a law, they don't enforce it. Why? Because the judges are homosexual, the lawyers, the prosecutors, all of them, the cops, all of them are homosexual. And you know, they got a police gay benevolent association society, police.

I'm telling you, brothers and sisters, this country is so wicked to the very core. And I'm saying, don't let them deceive you in thinking something is wrong with the Quran. Ain't nothing wrong with the Quran. Nothing wrong with our laws. Our laws are right and exact. But what's wrong is in this society. May Allah bless us.

Understanding the Quranic Verse on Zina

Now, yes, ma'am. You will see in the Quran, 24th chapter, that the punishment for zina is 100 stripes. Let me give you the exact verse. Now, turn to 24, verse 2 (Quran 24:2). Can I read Yusuf Ali's translation? What did I say? What did I just now say? 24:2. But what did I just say? Can I read Yusuf Ali's translation? What did I say? Can I read Yusuf Ali's translation? Am I reading the Quran right now? What am I reading? Yusuf Ali's translation.

What it says? Uh-oh. What we done done here? We opened up a can of worms, didn't we? Let me read what Yusuf Ali's translation says. What you talking about, Imam Siraj? Yusuf Ali says, what's the difference? That's why I say, brothers and sisters, Mr. Yusuf Ali was an apologist.

Let's see what the Quran says first. What's the Quran? It's the words of Allah. He says:

Az-Zaaniyatu waz-Zaani fajlidoo kulla waahidin minhumaa mi'ata jaldah

Zani and Zaniya. What does Zani mean? What does Zani mean? What does the word Zana mean? Zina. What does it mean? Zina means illegal sexual intercourse in general. What does Zina mean? Illegal sexual intercourse. Is fornication zina? Yes. Is adultery zina? Yes.

How to understand this verse from the Quran? It has to go to Prophet Muhammad. He made a distinction between the person who commits zina, illegal sexual intercourse, whether they are single or whether they are married. Any of the people during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad, during the lifetime of the Khalifa Abu Bakr, during the lifetime of the Khalifa Umar, during the lifetime of the Khalifa Uthman or Ali, any time they committed fornication, the punishment was what? A hundred stripes. And any time the crime was adultery, what did the Prophet do? What did the Khalifas do? Stone them to death.

Sister, you can find that in Sahih Bukhari, volume number eight under punishment. Volume number eight under punishment. And you will see the distinction of zina when a person is single and zina when a person is married.

Historical Context of American Laws

In this country, there have been cases, yes. In the early days, brothers and sisters, you will see America was

Questions About Polygamy and Legal Issues

What I want to ask you about, we're talking about legalization. Now, you're more than one wife here if you're married, those who are married there. Do you have any kind of problem here with the governmental structure? Essentially, you don't really have what we call, like I was in other countries in Africa, where they have a separate law which is accepted under the state for Sharia and accepted under the law for what they call civil law. I don't know that you have anything like that.

I believe that in time, that this country, there are going to be people, Muslims, Muslims, that's going to fight for that and win in court. I'm saying no. I'm telling you no. Give me some more information. Let me answer you fully, (insha'Allah).

In the early, late 1800s, the Mormons went to court and fought in the Supreme Court to make polygamy legal. They lost. Right now, you don't have that. You don't have it. In lieu of that, I've been recommending to the brothers and sisters, anyone who's in a polygamous relationship should make written papers giving certain properties for the protection of both wives.

Let me explain something in this country. There's been cases where a man married to a woman, let's say, for five years. He deserts the woman, goes to another state, and marries another woman without ever having divorced the first wife. That's a polygamous relationship with the second wife 30 years, and then died, and the court awarded all of his property to the first and only legal wife. Because even in this country, they don't accept sequential polygamy, which means if you do not divorce one wife and you marry another, according to most of the states, that first wife is still your wife.

I'm saying, brothers and sisters, take care of your business. Some of you in Islam are still married to women, so-called legally, in this society. And some of you sisters are still married to brothers legally in this society and you got married Islamically. And I'm saying to you, take care of your business. Cut the relationship legally with your former mate. Cut it today. Do what you have to do to cut it, because legally they still have claims against you, even though they may be non-Muslim.

Orthodox Jews and Their Legal System

Don't the Orthodox Jews, number one, practice polygamy and two, don't they have their own system, their own justice system, as we spoke of it last week? They have their own system, they don't even go before the courts when they deal with crimes?

Freedom of Religion vs. Freedom of Belief

Brothers and sisters, many of us believe that the United States government gives you the right to practice your religion according to your belief or practice your religion. Freedom of religion, that's not true. What this country does is give you freedom of belief. Don't believe me? I have the law books right here. It's very clear. Every law book will tell you, no, you can believe what you want to believe, but you sure can't practice what you want to believe.

You are 100% right. Guess what? It is our desire to in fact change it. We have a mandate from Quran and Sunnah to change it. Whenever you see an evil, change it. And how do you do it? The way the Prophet did it, when he did, teach Tawhid, go out, develop, and grow. I thank you sister, you are absolutely correct. We should stop just talking about it, but try to do something about it. (Insha'Allah) we will. We are. Thank you.

The Rights of Spouses in Islam

Good question. Let me tell you what the law is. A man is not permitted to go four months without consummating with his wife or being with his wife. Four months, unless she agrees. And if he does go four months without being intimate with his wife, those are grounds for divorce.

Now, the spirit of Islam: you are not a true believer until you want for your brother what you want for yourself. Then that means, brothers and sisters, that we ought to be sensitive to the needs of our mates. That's the spirit of Islam. Is that right?

Now, brother, don't you, don't we sometimes get the hadith and come to sisters if they don't want to be intimate and we say, it's not right, the angels curse you into morning. Don't we say that? And don't we take the hadith and say, remember what the hadith said, honey? Now, what about the sister who says that? Because what you could do, what we could do, listen to me, what you could do, actually, is push them toward the haram just the way they can push us toward the haram. So we must be cognizant of that. And if you fear that you can't keep within the limits, then you must consider separating. It's real. Because otherwise you cause chaos in the family.

Stay together in peace. And that ma'ruf means everything. It means intimacy. And that's why the verse says, sister, don't leave them hanging and suspended. What does that mean? It means that they cannot enjoy sexual gratification because you are not doing it. And at the same time, they can't go outside of the marriage to you. So you're keeping them hanging.

Taking a Second Wife Without Caring for the First

Excellent question. Is it permissible for a brother, if he's not taking care of a first wife, is it permissible for him to take on another wife, even if his first wife is on welfare assistance?

Now, brothers and sisters, that is totally ludicrous. If a person has a business, the business is failing, is in the red, losing money, making no money, they say, oh, let me go open up another business and keep this business open. Does that make sense? No, brothers and sisters, it is, to me, a foolish, foolish, foolish, foolish thing to do for a brother who's not taking care of his first wife. He hasn't met the foundation, the fundamentals of the first wife. He's going to take extra burden on his neck. No, sister, it doesn't make sense. It's not right, and certainly, if they come here, I'm not going to perform the marriage. I'm not going to.

Legal Divorce and Remarriage in Islam

If a sister is married and they weren't divorced legally by the state, and if a sister remarries Islamically, what is her condition? Now, we understand that the brother can have more than one wife, so it may be a little more leeway for him, but with a sister's situation, if she's not divorced legally and she remarries Islamically, is there a penalty or what is her condition?

That's a good question. I'm going to repeat the question. Brother asked the question, if a woman is married, let's say married to a man legally, I want to define what I mean by legally here, is married according to this law, because married according to Islam is legal. Now, if she's married according to this law, she should first get divorced according to this law first, dissolve it.

Now, there are situations where a person, let's say a woman married to a man, he deserts her, she can't find him, and there used to be times in this country, most states, you had to wait seven years before a man can be presumed dead legally. That means you have to make some effort to find him. It's called the Enoch laws, E-N-O-C-H, Enoch laws. But most laws changed, and they moved it from seven to five, but then what states did is use another law called desertion, and when a man deserts the wife, that's the grounds for divorce.

My first point is that sisters and brothers, well, especially sisters, have to resolve their first relationship first. If they're married, if they're tied to this system, they have to untie themselves to the system because of the stigma that can happen, because that man can come back on the scene and he still has legal claims and rights over you, sister, and it can cause a big problem, and according to the state, your second marriage would be invalid.

Even Islamically, the woman is still married to the man. She didn't stop it. What did they do? Islam, you can't just stop. There's something that you have to do. Death stops it, or divorce stops it. It doesn't stop it by walking away. You have to get a legal document saying that you divorced from this particular person unless you're still married.

Public Assistance and Husband's Rights

Does a woman have the right to obey her husband if her husband has her on public assistance, meaning that the Quran says that the man of maintenance? The question is, wouldn't it be the state having more rights? In fact, the state does have more rights. The question is this: if the husband, the question is, does the wife have to obey her husband if she's on public assistance?

You say, look, ma'am, who's the man of the house? She says, yes, I will obey the man of the house. Well, the man of the house without you is Uncle Sam. I'll tell you what it is. Uncle Sam said what it is because when Uncle Sam come on the scene, you got to do what Uncle Sam say do. That's why the brothers have to get our wives off the public assistance. We got to take care of our wives ourselves. Brothers, I'm telling you, we have to do it. We have to do it. And you know what? Our wives will never really respect us as they will until we get them off of the public assistance.

I'd rather work and sweep the street, make me a dollar, take care of my wife rather than let the system get on the public assistance. You know something? She's right. Brother, in my opinion, she said, it sounds like a joke, but she's right. She said, why don't the men get on public assistance? In my opinion, it's better for the men to go deal with the man and say, look, man, I got a bad situation right now. I can't find a job. I want to work. Give me a job and I'll work, but right now I can't work and I'm not going to send my wife here and lie in your face. Here I am, man. Deal with me. Give me some money to take care of my family or give me a job. That's what we have to do. And I agree with you, sister. Instead of you sitting down in the home and you send your wife out going, get that money, get that money, bring the money back here. Get out of my face with that stuff.

Living Arrangements Without Marriage

Can a woman decide to live in a household with another family, including a man, and other people, perhaps? Can she get into that situation and live with them like an extended family, sort of, without marrying that particular man?

Let me give you what I know from the history of Islam. There was a woman named Fatima bint Qais. You can find this in Sahih Muslim, volume number two in the last chapter under divorce. The first 15 hadiths give you this story. Fatima bint Qais. She was divorced by her husband, irrevocably. And her husband asked her to leave the house. And Prophet Muhammad told her to stay at such and such house. Not to marry the person, but stay at such and such house.

Then he thought, he called her back. No, don't go there, because many of my sahaba visit that house, and you'll not be able to keep the hijab. Therefore go to Ibn Umm Maktum, the blind brother. She says, he was a relative by the way of her. He said, go there, and then you can relax your hijab a little.

The general principle, sister, is that we can't be alone in a situation where a man and a woman can be alone, where she cannot practice her hijab or seclusion, if you would. Technically, it's not haram for a woman in a

particular circumstance to find herself in a home where she is protected by other people, because the hadith says it's not permissible for a woman and man to be alone in seclusion without someone else. So if you're in a situation where there's no seclusion, then it's okay. But you've got to be very, very, very, very careful about that. In general, I would say no, that you can't do it. You just can't move into a family, I think. But let me check out the legal ramifications of that, (insha'Allah).

I think, sister, everywhere in Islam, we should try to avoid the bad, the harm. If you are placed in a situation where it's harmful, then it's better to be in a situation less harmful. So when you look at each situation, you have to make an evaluation, because in Islam, alhamdulillah, it's flexible enough, because of what's called darura, necessity. Out of necessity, you're in a circumstance that the choice is to live with this Muslim family or live in a shelter where it's dangerous. Then you live with the Muslim family until you get yourself in the best position.

Public Assistance for Children from Previous Marriage

A brother marries a sister. She's on public assistance. And he takes her off of public assistance in terms of himself with her. But she has children who receive or are entitled to receive public assistance. Now, the question is, can that man leave those children that are not his, but she has from a previous marriage, can she receive, for them, public assistance? That's the question. It's a difference. It's a difference.

And I'm going to be honest with you. There's a difference. In Islam, the man is not responsible for the children of another man. The responsibility is always on the natural father of the children. That's always the responsibility. Now, if a sister is receiving, in my opinion, this is like a fatwa that's not binding. If a man is receiving, if a woman is receiving public assistance, she's not lying. The father's abandoned. The father's not taking care of his responsibility. The question is, can she receive that? As far as I'm concerned, yes.

I think it's better, better, if the Islamic community would develop in a way that the Islamic community could take care of the Muslims rather than the disbelievers. Why? Because Allah says:

Yaa ayyuhal-ladheena aamanoo laa tattakhidhul-Yahooda wan-Nasaaraa awliyaa'a ba'duhum awliyaa'u ba'd

Take not the Jews and the Christians as friends and protectors, as walis. Don't take them as walis, friends and protectors. They are friends and protectors of one another. So my estimation, the Muslim community should put themselves in a position where they can do it and I would encourage the man, I would encourage the man himself, even though it's not his responsibility, but to try to do it. Because in my estimation, we'd be better than letting the disbelievers do it. But you know, there's some, you know, one of the things that we have to recognize is that some of our tax dollars is in that money. So, but there's a whole system of things that we have to do, (insha'Allah).

But I agree with you, it's a difference. It's a hundred percent difference than a man having his wife lie, going to welfare and having the welfare take care of her. I think it's a hundred percent difference. Jazakallah khair. We

Review of Key Points from Last Week

I want to remind you again that polygamy is not an Islamic institution. Polygamy existed before the revelation of the Quran. What Allah, in fact, has done, He has regulated it. He has made it only that a man can marry up to four wives at one time.

I mentioned it to you last week, that there's one time that it becomes haram. It's not permissible for a man to take another wife, and what is that? Yes. It says, according to the Quran, if a man fears that he cannot be just between two wives, he can only marry one. So you must at least have the belief, I can be just between them.

But I also mentioned last week, according to the ayat of the Quran:

"And you will never be able to be perfectly fair between wives, even if you [eagerly] wish [to be so]. So do not incline completely [toward one] and leave another hanging. And if you correct yourselves and fear Allah - then indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful."

Wa lan tastatee'oo an ta'diloo baynan-nisaa'i wa law harastum

You will never be able, never be able to have the ability to be just between wives, even if it was your ardent desire. What does that mean? We said that meant what? It's saying, this ayat from the Quran is saying, that a man cannot be just between wives in terms of affairs of the heart. That's what it's talking about. Why? Because Prophet Muhammad gave us the example.

When Allah says in Quran that, if you fear that you'll not be able to be just between wives, He's not talking about affairs of the heart, because you can't be just, even though it's your desire. But, in terms of treating them with equality and justice, that you have to do, insha'Allah.

Polygamy in America vs. Muslim Countries

Also, we said, brothers and sisters, that America is a Christian nation, and legally, polygamy and bigamy is illegal. But it's practiced in this country, in de facto, in reality. We said that more polygamy is practiced in America than all the Muslim countries combined, but it's polygamy, American style.

Also, by the way, brothers and sisters, really, according to the Christian religion, nothing in the Bible, nothing in the Torah, nothing in the Injil that teaches against polygamy. In fact, some of the great prophets had more than one wife. Prophet Sulaiman, Solomon, Prophet Dawud, David, Prophet Ibrahim, Abraham, Prophet Musa, Moses, many of them. And many prophets, they had many wives. And this is according to their own Bible.

So, this is the people in this society who allow you to have, here you go, you have a mayor of New York City. A mayor, who yesterday, instead of marching in front of the parade, he marched with the gay people. Can you

imagine that? A mayor of the city marching with gay people. Here it is, against the Bible, against the Torah. And he marches with them to say that it's okay to be gay, it's okay to be homosexual.

So, brothers and sisters, this is against us. And we said also last week, never apologize for what Allah has revealed in the Quran. You don't have to apologize. It's there. Polygamy is something that Allah has permitted.

Women and Polygamy: The Reality

And the last point I said, some of the sisters think, and some of the apologists have said, that a woman could never stand to share her man with another woman. And we said that's not true. While women who's the first wife may not like the idea of a husband taking another wife, but it's the women who is the second, the third, or the fourth wife who chooses voluntarily to marry a man already married, which says that the law of polygamy is as beneficial for the woman as it is for the man. In fact, I think that if we banned, which we can't do, we said no more polygamy, I think more sisters will be hurt than brothers. That's how I feel.

Now, brothers and sisters, what I'm going to do, I'm going to open up for questions and answers, statements. Any statements you want to have, it's okay. Now is the time to do them. Last week we had about ten people who had some statements to make, and now I'm going to give you that opportunity. Questions and or statements.

The Correct Approach to Taking a Second Wife

I've heard by many sisters that they wouldn't be against it as much if the brother approached it in the correct manner. Would you expound on what is the correct procedure?

Brothers said that there's some sisters who said that they wouldn't mind it so much if the brothers approached it from the right manner. And I agree with them, by the way. I agree that all of us need to go to school in a real sense, and to learn how to approach it. Number one.

First of all, we shouldn't sneak around and do it in secret. Why shouldn't we get married in secret? It's against the sunnah. Prophet Muhammad said, in getting married, proclaim it, announce it. And the more people, the better.

Don't go, brother. One of the worst things you can do, go and sneak and get married to another sister and your wife don't even know about it. This is not Islam. This has nothing to do with Islam. Why? Because the polygamy affects everybody. That means everything is changed. The wife's time is changed. And so when you're going to be away from your wife, what are you going to do, lie? Say, well, I was working all night. Every other night you work all night long? No, it doesn't make sense. Because sooner or later, you're going to be confronted by it anyway.

Not only that, if you sneak and marry a sister and nobody knows about it, or very few people know about it, if you're with this woman in public, and it's a Muslim sister, then you give her a bad name. They say, what's this

sister doing riding around in that car with that brother? Well, that's my husband. But who knows about it? So you bring suspicion on the couple. And it looks very, very, very bad.

So the first thing we should do, we should be honest with ourselves, honest with our mates, and then to do it, but to do it in the open, insha'Allah.

Marriage to Christian and Muslim Wives

Assalamu alaikum. My question is, there's a world marriage system where you marry one wife, a Christian, and the other wife is a Muslim, and he happens to die. What would be the condition of his body at that particular time? Who would have more rights to his body?

If the brother is married to two wives, one is a Christian and one is a Muslim, and he dies, who would have better rights to that body? I would say what he should do, he should write a will saying that, in the case that I die, I want to be buried according to the Islamic law, contact such and such person.

And brothers and sisters, this is very important, because I know cases, we know cases, where brothers have died, and sisters have died, and their family members took their body and buried them as a Christian, and we couldn't do anything about it. So please make sure you take care of your business. We have papers about how to prepare your will, and also statements about death, if you die.

Is Luqman still around? Assalamu alaikum. Wa alaikum salaam. We have any more of those sheets around? Anybody know? I have one. I can run some copies. Would you? Insha'Allah. When can you bring it? Next week, insha'Allah. In this class, I'll help. Ok, insha'Allah. Next week, Brother Sheko will bring us some of those sheets and papers that talks about how to dispose of our bodies if we die, insha'Allah.

Informing the First Wife

Yes, I was debating with a brother, and I told him that he had to tell his first wife that he was going to get married. He said you said that you don't have to. Let me tell you what I said. The question is, does a man need the permission of his first wife in order to take another wife? No, he doesn't. But does he have to tell? Of course he has to tell.