Dear forum friends,
"How many wives is a man allowed?" In this world there are different answers for different peoples. To Christians: One wife at a time. But Jesus didn't make that law, although Christians do that. In fact he didn't change the law of Moses
that allowed for more than one wife.
For Moslems: Mohammed allowed his followers to have not more than four wives. Obviously, those who would have liked to have more, and could afford it, were disappointed. It seems one of the reasons for this was so that women who were without husbands could find a protector in those difficult times. Also, so that there
was help for the first wife with the work of the household, which was often too
much for one woman. I understand that the first wife had to approve the choice
of other wives so that, hopefully, things would remain as amicable as possible
in the home.
For Baha'is two wives were allowed. This cut the Moslem allowance in half so to
speak. But it came with the injunction that the husband must treat both wives absolutely equally in all respects. As this is not humanly possible the result is
: One wive only is allowed. At least, one at a time -- If a person's wife dies
or there is a divorce and he is wifeless then it is permissible to marry again -
- one wife.
Now it is true that a man could love more than one wife; but could he treat them
both equally? Anyway, I know, that a good marriage is built on comeradeship as
well as love, and one wife should suffice. I will not even start the argument as
to how many husbands could a wife have! ;-))
Now I would like to tell you an ancient Persian story about the two friends and
the four wives. As I remember it two friends were accustomed to sit in a coffeehouse and smoke the hookah, and one told the other how wonderful it was to have two wives.
In flowery language he praised the excitement of having two exotic flowers who were so different, so that he was never bored. The eyes of the listener became bigger and bigger as he listened to the tales of his friend. He thought, "surely
my friend has paradise on earth. Why should he alone taste from the honey of two
women, as apparantly he does every night?" Soon he also married a second wife.
He went to the second wife's room on the wedding night to share her bed but she
sent him angrily away: "Leave me to sleep, go to your first wife. Do you think I
want to play second fiddle here? It's either me, or your other wife!"
Sadly he went to his first wife for solace. But as he tried to get into her bed
she scolded "No, not with me! You have married a second wife, and I am not good
enough for you any more, so go to her already!"
To make a long story short, he had to leave his house and go to the nearby mosqueto find peace and try to sleep As he tried to sleep in a prayerful position he heard behind him a noise. Astounded he turned and saw his friend there. "What on
earth are you doing here?" he asked his friend who had told him of the joys of having two wives.
"My wives have driven me out of the house. That has been going on for some time.
"
"But why did you tell me of the advantages of having two wives then?"
His friend answered shamefacedly: "I was so lonesome here in the mosque, night after night, and so I wanted to have a friend here."
And what is the conclusion of this old tale? Never mind the allure or infatuation of another woman.
With Best wishes, Uncle Ben
