QUOTE "In countries that allow a man to legally marry more than one woman (i.e. Islamic countries), does the man need to show some kind of proof that he can in fact support all of his wives financially?"
I dont have an answer for that, Im sure someoen from such country will post somethng inshaAllah.
However, i dont believe finance is an issue in marraige (not completely but it varies with circumstances, u need some money at least!). This is because someone may be rich today but poor tomorrow. In such a case, it is not islamic to resort to divorce, as Allah may increase them in wealth later.
The Messenger of Allaah (saw) said: “There are three who are all entitled to Allaah’s help: the one who fights for the sake of Allaah; the mukaatab who wants to pay (the price of his freedom); and the one who gets married seeking chastity. This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi.
And we all know of the hadeeth: in al-Saheeh (no. 1425) narrated from Sahl ibn Sa’d al-Saa’idi, who said: “A woman came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, I have come to give myself (in marriage) to you.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) looked at her and looked her up and down, then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) lowered his head and paused. When the woman saw that he had not made a decision about her, she sat down. A man from among the Sahaabah said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, if you are not interested in her, then marry her to me.’ He said, ‘Do you have anything?’ He said, ‘No, by Allaah, O Messenger of Allaah.’ He said, ‘Go to your people and see if you can find anything.’ So the man went, then he came back and said, ‘No, by Allaah, I could not find anything.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘Look and see (if you can find anything), even if it is only an iron ring which you can give.’ So he went, then came back, and said, ‘No, by Allaah, O Messenger of Allaah, not even an iron ring. But (I have) this izaar (garment) of mine, she can have half of it.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘What can she do with your izaar? If you are wearing it she will have nothing of it.’ The man sat down, then after a long time had passed, he got up (to leave). The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw him leaving and called him. When he came, he said, ‘What do you know of the Qur’aan?’ He said, ‘Soorah Such-and-such and Soorah Such-and-such.’ He said, ‘Do you know them by heart?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘Then go, you are married to her by what you know of the Qur’aan.’” Can you imagine how poor this sahabi was if he could not even afford an iron ring!
Trust in Allah for provision:
“And no moving (living) creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allaah” [Hood 11:6]
“And so many a moving (living) creature carries not its own provision! Allaah provides for it and for you. And He is the All‑Hearer, the All‑Knower” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:60]
“Verily, Allaah is the All‑Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:58]
“so seek your provision from Allaah (Alone), and worship Him (Alone), and be grateful to Him” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:17]
“And kill not your children for fear of poverty. We shall provide for them as well as for you. Surely, the killing of them is a great sin” [al-Israa’ 17:31] Some people think they cannot have children because they are poor. And we know from Imaam An Nawawi's 40 ahadith, #4 from saheeh bukhari ... the angel writes down 4 things, first one being his means of livelyhood. So all children are born with what Allah has kept for us already, and we ask Allah to increase our provision for us!
And from Tafseer Ib Katheer of surah An Nur:32 "And marry those among you who are single and pious of your servants amd maidservants. If they be poor, Allah will enrich them out of his bounty. And Allah is All Sufficient, All knowing". Concernig the verse above, Ibn Mas'ud said "seek thru richness marriage"
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If you put your trust in Allaah in the true sense, He will grant your provision as He grants to the birds, who go out in the morning hungry and come back full.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Maajah and al-Tirmidhi).
If u think this is impractical, think again. What I typed above, I looked into that years ago before I got married and made my decision even though I had very little then. This is one of my "personal miracle" or "sign from Allah" Alhamdulillah.
QUOTE In countries that don't permit polygamy, is it islamically permitted for a man to take a second wife anyway? i.e. to have one first marriage which is recognised by the secular law of that country, and to marry a second woman in an Islamic ceremony?
Well, the kuffar has a wife, then has a "second one" and really in many cases both women are actually aware of that situation. These things are just not official or legally recognized. Unfortunately, the "second one" has no rights and is just in most cases, just an object. The Muslim man however is different, because of the number of verses that recognize the rights of women. In fact, I do have some friends here (canada) like that and they are not rich but alhamdulillah, very happy families!
