Ibadah Of Marrying More Than One And Hatred Of First Wife For That Ibadah
Marriage is not obligatory but a recommended act in religion . One marriage can be called Ibadah in that sense and more than one one marriage can only be called Ibadah when there is a divine directive to marry more than one . And we know that there is no such directive where Muslims were ordered in Quran to keep marrying more than one. The primary verse used in this regard i.e. Quran 4:3-4 clearly deals with a specific situation of that time. Now the room is open to more than one marriage upto four based on person’s social, religious, economical or other needs. It is no longer a religious requirement to marry more than one and if one does that, then he is doing an optional act which is neither religious nor Mustahab. And if one is doing it solely for religious reasons (e.g. to genuinely take a helpless woman or an orphan under one’s wings etc. ), then it would still be an optional act, and not a very sane act to do so in the face of resistence from an already established family. Therefore, the whole premise of the question i.e. “THAT MARRYING MORE THAN ONE IS AN ACT OF IBADAH” is flawed.