⚖️ Polygyny: rulings & justice · #5

How many nights does the husband stay with a new wife — virgin and previously married?

For a new wife who is a virgin, the husband stays with her seven consecutive nights; for a previously married woman, three nights, and only then does the normal rotation begin.
Anas bin Malik r.a. said that it is part of the sunnah, when a man who already has a wife marries a virgin, to stay with her seven nights, and if she was previously married, three nights, and then to divide the rotation (Sahih al-Bukhari 5213; Sahih Muslim, Kitab ar-Radha'). These opening nights are the new wife's right and need not be made up to the other wives. They are meant to help the new wife settle in and lose any sense of strangeness. See Fiqh of polygyny.

Difference of madhhab. The majority (Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) accept this right of seven/three nights; the Hanafi school holds that new and existing wives are treated equally, with no privilege of opening nights.

Sources

Sahih al-Bukhari 5213Sahih Muslim, Kitab ar-Radha'

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This answer is general reference, not a fatwa. For your situation, consult the religious affairs office, a Syarie lawyer or your state Syariah Court.

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