Can a Muslim Man Marry Another Woman of His Choice When the Wife is Alive?

Shujath says: July 28, 2015 at 7:11 pm

In which Act or under Indian law, a married Muslim man can seek divorce from his wife legally when their marriage was solemnized under Islamic Shariat? Can such Muslim man marry another woman of his choice when the wife is alive and living separately, will this not amount to bigamy under Indian laws? Explain! -Shujath

Admin says:

Dear Shujath,

You asked a legal question so we will stick to legality. Note that we are not legal expert but still let us share our understanding of Indian laws.

In India, there are many parallel marriage laws (read details here).

If you (one or both being Muslims) got married by the secular Special Marriage Act 1954 or by any non-Islamic religious marriage (Hindu, Christian and Parsi), then bigamy/polygamy is against Indian laws.

However, if a Muslim boy/man marries by Islamic Nikaah to a Muslim girl/women (or non-Muslim but converted for Nikaah), then Islamic Sharia laws apply. This means the divorce will be valid after talaak, talaak and talaak (this option is only for the husband, not wife). Further, the Muslim man can marry up to 3 additional girls/women as permissible by Indian laws.

The former Muslim wife can always go to Indian secular courts to challenge the Sharia rules applicable to her Islamic marriage, but it is very hard to win the case against Sharia rules.

Above rules are applicable in India and in most Muslim countries, however if you move to the West, only Western secular laws apply.

Is this clear? Let us know what else we can tell you. -Admin

Also read: VIDEO: Interfaith Marriage with Equality, Hindu-Muslim Marriage-video, Love-Jihad, Don’t fake-convert, Polygamy and talaak, Akansha unwillingly converted to Nusrat, Hindu-Muslim marriages, Hindu-Muslim lovers’ experiences, Hindu girl-Muslim boy, Idols, pluralism, SRK-can you do it?, Zakir Naik, Christian-Hindu marriages, Jain-Muslim marriages, Brahmin-Muslim marriages, Bollywood and Interfaith Marriages.
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