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Muslim
men have a list of whom they cannot marry. However, Mohammad could marry any woman he wanted and as many as he desired. Since the Koran speaks only to men, there is no list for women. Muslims have decreed that Muslim women can only marry Muslim men, whereas Muslim men can marry non-Muslim
women.
- Prohibited to you (For marriage) are: Your mothers,
daughters, sisters; father's sisters, Mother's sisters; brother's daughters, sister's daughters; foster-mothers
(Who gave you suck), foster-sisters; your wives' mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives
to whom ye have gone in,- no prohibition if ye have not gone in;- (Those who have been) wives of your sons proceeding from
your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time, except for what is past; for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most
Merciful. (4:23)
Wife can be replaced with better women:
It may be that, if he divorce you, his lord will give him instead consorts
better than you, submissive, believing, obedient, repentant, devout in worship, observers of the fast, both widows and virgins.
(66:5)
Wives are replaceable:
But if ye decide to take one wife in place of another, even if ye had given the latter
a whole treasure for dower, Take not the least bit of it back: Would ye take it by slander and manifest wrong?(4:20)
DOWRY
Before marriage, the man
pays the woman a dowry. This is the woman’s exchange value for cash since
the man gets a “benefit” from her:
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Also prohibited are women already married, except those whom your right hand posses: Thus
hath ye Allah ordained (prohibitions) against you: Except for these, all others are lawful, (provided ye seek them in marriage)
with gifts from your property,- desiring chastity, not lust, seeing that ye derive benefit from them, give them their dowers
(at least) as prescribed; but if, after a dower is prescribed, agree Mutually (to vary it), there is no blame on you (4:24)
Muslims
say the dowry the man gives the woman upon marriage is a gift and that it honors her; that it is hers and cannot be take away.
The Koran, however, has allowed a loophole into that theory:
You can take dowry or inheritance from
the woman if she displays unbecoming conduct:
If
no sex from wife, get money back:
If you divorce them before you have touched them, but you have fixed a dower for them, then
make over to them half of that which you have fixed, unless they should remit it or the guardian for the marriage should remit
it, or unless the husband should voluntarily decide to pay a sum in excess of the half (2:237)
DIVORCE
If a man divorces his wife (no verse
allows women to divorce their husbands,) but then he wants her back, she must marry and have sex with another man first: So if a husband
divorces his wife (irrevocably), He cannot, after that, re-marry her until after she has married another husband and He has
divorced her. In that case there is no blame on either of them if they re-unite, provided they feel that they can keep the
limits ordained by Allah. Such are the limits ordained by Allah, which He makes plain to those who understand. (2:230)
Men have more rights in divorce, and women must
wait through 3 monthly cycles before marrying:
Divorced women shall wait, concerning
themselves, for the space of three courses. If their husbands should desire reconciliation during this period, they would have the stronger right to the continuation of
the marriage than that it should be irrevocably dissolved. In such case the wives have rights corresponding to those which the husbands have, in equitable reciprocity, though, in certain situations
men would have the final word and would thus enjoy a preference. (2:228)
The father gets the child in divorce:
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If
they give suck to the child for you, give them their due recompense, and settle the matter between yourselves equitably;
but if you encounter difficulty from each other, then let another women suckle the child for the father.(65:7)
CHILD MARRIAGE
Mohammad married a child (see hadith section.)
Child marriage is never forbidden in the Koran or in hadiths.
Divorcing pre-pubescent girls (those who have no monthly courses:)
The prescribed period for
those of your wives who have lost all expectation of monthly courses, in case of doubt, is three months and also in case of
those who have no monthly courses. In case of those who are with child, the prescribed period shall be until they are delivered.(65:4)
POLYGAMY
The verse
that decrees polygamy makes no sense: Should you apprehend that you will not be able to deal fairly with orphans,
then marry of other women as may be agreeable to you, two or three, or four; but if you feel you will not deal justly between
them, then marry only one, or, out of those over whom you have authority. That is the best way for you to obviate injustice.
(4:3)
Marry up to 4 wives if you can’t deal fairly with orphans? What has marrying 4 women
have to do with orphans? If it means to marry the orphans, how does that help orphan boys? There is no justification for polygamy,
although Muslims try desperately to find it in this verse. The only justification is pure lust.
You cannot keep perfect
balance emotionally between your wives, however much you may desire it, but incline not wholly towards one, leaving the other
in suspense. (4:129)
Women
converts claim they can put a no polygamy clause in their marriage contracts. The Koran actually forbids that:
It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided
by Allah and His Messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed
on a clearly wrong Path. (33:36)
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