⚖️ Polygyny: rulings & justice · #11
May a man marry two sisters at the same time?
It is forbidden to be married to two sisters at the same time, whether full sisters, paternal half-sisters, maternal half-sisters or sisters through breastfeeding.
Allah SWT says in the list of forbidden women: "and (forbidden is) that you take two sisters together, except what has already passed" (Surah an-Nisa' 4:23). If they are married in a single contract, both marriages are void; if one after the other, the second marriage is void. This prohibition is only temporary: after the wife dies, or is divorced and her ʿiddah ends, the husband may marry her younger or older sister. See Mahram and Glossary.
Allah SWT says in the list of forbidden women: "and (forbidden is) that you take two sisters together, except what has already passed" (Surah an-Nisa' 4:23). If they are married in a single contract, both marriages are void; if one after the other, the second marriage is void. This prohibition is only temporary: after the wife dies, or is divorced and her ʿiddah ends, the husband may marry her younger or older sister. See Mahram and Glossary.
Difference between schools. If a wife is divorced with an irrevocable (ba'in) talaq, the Shafi'is permit marrying her sister during the ʿiddah; the Hanafis and Hanbalis forbid it until the ʿiddah ends. With a revocable (raj'i) talaq, all the schools forbid it until the ʿiddah ends.
Sources
Surah an-Nisa' 4:23