Sahih Al-Bukhari 5230 (Prophet SWS Not Allowing Ali (rta) For Second Marriage)
Allah has clearly stipulated in the Qur’an that if a man is not just or equitable in his dealings with his multiple wives he should marry only one. The just and equitable thing is to ask for the permission of the first wife, if she refuses then he should refrain from marrying the second time and causing injustice and pain by going forward with this decision. Polygamy was a practice established in pre islamic Arabia, with the advent of Islam this practice which would allow men to take as many wives as he wished was limited to 4. Polygamy was retained because unlike modern society Arabia was divided into tribes and the weaker sections of the society like women and children were supported by husbands who were the head of the family. Only men could fight, that left more women and children as the men were martyred in frequent wars. So Allah allowed men to take up multiple wives to shelter widowers and orphans. In this too Allah has set bounds that the man must be just and if he fails he should remain in a monogamous marriage. Polygamy is not a Right as many people claim and exercise, it is an allowance with conditions and is fair only when the moral values of the husband and the wives are respected. Allah also allows Muslim men to marry chaste Christian And Jewish women yet you will find majority of Muslim scholars who will advise against marrying Christians, the Shia jurisprudence completely disallows this practice, so these are allowances a man may do it only of it is beneficial and not harmful. If Allah didn’t care about the feelings of women why would Allah mention immediately after the verse “You may take upto four wives” that “if you fear injustice then take only one”. We have been given justice (adl) and intellect(aql) as a part of our fitrah. Now Allah will test us even with his divine law(Shariah). A man who marries multiple times secretly to fulfill his lust will surely be tested and asked if he treated his wives fairly, if he thought about the feelings of his first wife before marrying another woman. Just like a man who beats his wife and disrespects her will be asked on the day of judgement.