Title: Regarding Second Marriage Question: Although, I am married to a Muslim girl, I have fallen in love with an English woman, who is a single mother. And she loves me too. I do not want to hurt her as well as my wife. And I want to marry this English woman and give her and her child the best I can in their life. I would like to know what the rules of Islam regarding the referred issue are. Am I permitted to marry someone for the second time, without the consent of my first wife? If so, do I ask this English woman to convert to Islam before I get married? Can I practice my religion even after the second marriage? What if my current wife disagrees to it? Can I please request you to publish my name as 'anonymous' or answer to me directly without publishing the question. I would like this to be treated as private, if possible Thanks in advance Anonymous United Kingdom Answer: The fact that you have fallen in love with a woman other than your wife only reveals that you have wavered from your duty as a husband and your duties as a Muslim. You must have been spending some time with the woman, shared intimate details about each other's lives and entered into a bond with her child all while you had your family to take care of. Please don't take this a denouncement of your actions but rather take it as a point of realization to help you ponder over your situation. There was no reason for you to have developed the relationship with this woman. That is simply unfair and unrighteous behavior. Islam, actually, prescribes that a complete family unit consist of one husband and one wife with the potential of having children. Polygyny, which is the practice of having more than one wife at the same time, has a special historical context. In ancient cultures such as the one of the Prophet's time there were no limits to the number of wives a man could marry. So Islam limited it from an infinite to a finite number of marriages. During wars and other extreme cases of emergency Islam provided a cure to a social dilemma that developed due to these problems. For this purpose, Islam proposed the use of polygyny, in the background that it already existed in the society. When marrying a second woman a man does not need to have permission from the first wife, unless there was something specific in the marriage contract prohibiting him from marrying someone else. The English woman does not need to convert to Islam however, I assume you would want your children, even those whom you foster, to be properly raised with an Islamic upbringing. I tend to believe that marriages are a lot more difficult when the two persons involved are not on the same "page". You can still practice your religion, as, in most cases, this is not a hindrance to it. If your wife disagrees to the marriage then you may still marry the second woman and keep your original marriage or grant your wife a divorce and marry the second woman. It is a choice you both have to make. You should also make sure that the English woman is willing to be a second wife to you and be accepting of you having two families. It should be clear that Islam does not oblige, nor recommend, nor does it encourage men to marry more than one woman at a time. Its purpose, in referring to the existing custom of polygyny was to remedy a socio-moral ill. You on the other hand have developed a prohibited relationship and you would like to validate your actions by using Islamic law as support. However, I would also like to point out that many countries have very strong anti-polygamy laws. You as a Muslim are obliged to abide by the law by the very contractual nature of living in a particular country. Keeping all the foregoing points in mind, you will have to decide for yourself whether or not you should marry the second woman. I hope I have clarified the issue God knows best Ronnie Hassan March 28, 2003