Concept of multiple marriages integral to Islamic law, says cleric on Assam Bill
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Lucknow: In response to the passage of the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025, Lucknow Islamic Centre Chairman Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali on Friday asserted that the allowance of more than one marriage forms an essential component of Islamic personal law.
He stressed that the Constitution grants every citizen the fundamental right to practise their religion, which includes the right of each community to follow its own personal laws in matters of faith and family.
The cleric underlined that while Islam permits a man to have more than one wife, it simultaneously prescribes strict conditions and guidelines for doing so, emphasising responsibility and fairness. He reiterated that the “concept of more than one marriage is an integral part of Islamic personal law”, but must operate within those stringent religious norms.
Citing demographic trends, Maulana Firangi Mahali claimed that on the ground, the proportion of people with more than one marriage is actually higher in the majority community than among minorities. His remarks came a day after the Assam Assembly passed the Anti-Polygamy Bill, which criminalises entering into a second marriage without dissolving the first, with punishment of up to seven years in jail, and up to 10 years for hiding an existing marriage, along with provisions for compensation to affected women and exemptions for Sixth Schedule and Scheduled Tribe areas.
(Inputs from IANS)