Divorcing the first wife is not required for a second marriage

Question

A man married and for some reason left his wife, yet did not divorce her either. Then he married a second time. Is it permissible for a man to marry a second time without a divorce or not?

Answer

For a man to marry a second time it is not necessary to divorce the first wife; rather, up to four at one time is permitted to him, by the words of the Exalted: [ar]فَٱنكِحُوا۟ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَـٰثَ وَرُبَـٰعَ[/ar] “…then marry such women as seem good to you, two, three or four…” (Surah al-Nisa’, 4:3).

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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