The Middle East and North Africa: from permission to prohibition

1Overview: four models of regulation

Almost every country in the region has a personal status law (qanun al-ahwal al-shakhsiyyah) codified from fiqh. However, the way they regulate polygyny differs and can be divided into four models:

1. Notification after the contract — the husband needs no court permission, but the marriage officer must notify the existing wife, and the wife is entitled to seek divorce for harm (Egypt).
2. The judge checks before the contract — the judge checks financial means and makes sure the prospective wife knows the husband is already married (Jordan).
3. Conditional judicial permission — an application to the court on exceptional and objective grounds, the wife is summoned to attend, and there are penalties for marrying without permission (Morocco, Iraq, Syria).
4. Criminal prohibition — a second marriage is invalid and punished (Tunisia, Turkey).

Saudi Arabia is discussed on its own page: Saudi Arabia. Other Gulf states and Iran: GCC & Iran.

2Egypt: notifying the wife and the right to divorce for harm

Law: Egypt's personal status law consists of several statutes: Law 25/1920, Law (Decree) 25/1929 as amended by Law 100/1985, Law 1/2000 (procedure, including khulʿ) and Law 10/2004 (family courts). Matters not codified are referred to the strongest opinion of the Hanafi school.

Polygyny — article 11 bis of Law 25/1929 (inserted by Law 100/1985):

• The husband must state his marital status in the marriage contract; if he is already married, he must list the name and address of each existing wife.
• The ma'dhun (marriage officer) must notify an existing wife of the new marriage by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
• An existing wife may seek divorce if she suffers material or moral harm from the new marriage such that living together becomes impossible — even if there is no condition in the contract. This right lapses after one year from the date she learns of the marriage, or earlier if she consents expressly or implicitly.
• A new wife who did not know her husband was already married may also seek divorce.
• Polygyny is not considered harm in itself — the wife must prove harm in court; judicial practice varies.

Penalties: Article 23 bis of Law 25/1929 — a husband who gives false information about his marital status or his wife's address may be fined and imprisoned; a ma'dhun who fails to notify the wife may be fined, imprisoned or suspended from duty.

Conditions in the contract: A wife may place conditions in the marriage contract. In practice, the ma'dhun usually does not write a condition that denies the husband's right to marry again, but may write a condition that the wife is entitled to be divorced with all her financial rights if the husband marries again (Musawah, 2022).

3Egypt: marriage and divorce statistics

• CAPMAS (Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics), annual bulletin 2024: 936,739 marriage contracts (2023: 961,220; down 2.5%) and 273,892 divorces (2023: 265,606; up 3.1%); 259,697 notarised divorce certificates. Contracts in urban areas 395,215 (42.2%), rural areas 541,524 (57.8%).
• Share of polygyny: The CAPMAS bulletin reported in the media does not publish the percentage of polygynous marriages. The best available figure is the Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) 2014 (Ministry of Health and Population, El-Zanaty & Associates, the DHS Program), Table 7.2: about 3% of married women reported that their husband had another wife — 4% at ages 45–49 compared with 1% at ages 20–24; higher in rural areas, in poor households and among less-educated women.

CAPMAS breakdown by the husband's marital status (single/already married) for the latest year (to be verified).

4Jordan: the judge checks before the contract

Law: Personal Status Law No. 15 of 2019, replacing the temporary law of 36/2010. Its basis is the Hanafi school (matters not stated are referred to the strongest opinion of the Hanafi school). Syariah courts under the Supreme Judge Department (Jabatan Ketua Hakim, دائرة قاضي القضاة) hear Muslim family cases.

Polygyny — article 13: Before concluding the marriage of a man who already has a wife, the judge must ensure:

1. the husband is able to pay the intended wife's mahr (dower);
2. the husband is able to provide maintenance (nafkah) for all his dependants;
3. the intended wife is informed that the man is already married.

After the contract, the court informs the existing wife or wives according to Syariah court procedure. The first wife's consent is not required. Article 79 obliges the husband to be just between his wives in the rotation of nights (giliran) and maintenance (nafkah).

Registration: Article 36 requires the contract to be documented by a judge or his representative; a contract outside the court is subject to Penal Code penalties and a fine of up to JOD 200 on those involved. Article 97: a talaq outside the court must be registered within one month.

5Morocco: the Moudawana and judicial permission

Law: Family Code (Moudawana) 2004 — Law 70-03. Based on Maliki fiqh.

• Article 40: polygyny is prohibited if injustice between wives is feared, and is prohibited if the wife stipulated in the contract that the husband would not marry again.
• Article 41: the court will not permit polygyny if there is no exceptional and objective justification, or if the husband lacks sufficient resources to support two families and guarantee maintenance, housing and equality.
• Article 42: the husband must apply for the court's permission, stating his reasons and attaching a financial statement.
• Article 43: the court summons the existing wife. If the husband gives a false address, he may be punished under article 361 of the Penal Code.
• Article 44: the hearing is in chambers, with both parties heard; a decision granting permission cannot be appealed and may set conditions for the benefit of the first wife and the children.
• Article 45: if the first wife chooses divorce, the court sets the amount of the wife's and children's rights, which must be paid within 7 days; if it is not paid, the polygyny application is deemed withdrawn. If the wife refuses but does not ask for divorce, the shiqaq (discord) procedure (article 94–97) applies.
• Article 46: the prospective wife must be told by the judge that the applicant is already married and must state her consent; this is recorded in an official report.

6Tunisia and Turkey: legal prohibition

7Iraq, Syria and Lebanon (in brief)

• Iraq — Personal Status Law No. 188 of 1959, article 3: a man may not marry more than one wife without a judge's permission, which is given only if (i) the husband is financially able, (ii) there is a lawful interest, and (iii) there is no fear of injustice. A contract without permission is punishable by imprisonment and/or a fine; there is an exception for marrying a widow. Article 40(5): the wife may apply for divorce if the husband marries again without the court's permission. In the Kurdistan Region, the 2008 amendment requires, among other things, the first wife's consent before the court. MICS 2011: about 6% of marriages are polygynous.
• Syria — Personal Status Law 1953 (No. 59), article 17 (amended by Law 4/2019): the judge may refuse if there is no lawful reason or the husband cannot support all his wives. Existing wives need not be notified; a wife may stipulate a right to divorce if the husband marries again. The media have reported a rise in polygyny during the war (for example, 30% of marriage contracts in Damascus in 2015) — this figure is not an official statistic (to be verified).
• Lebanon: there is no civil family law; Muslims are subject to the Sunni or Ja'fari Shariah courts. Sunni and Shia men may marry up to four; a Sunni wife may set a no-polygyny condition in the contract. UNFPA policy (2011): about 2.3% of marriages are polygynous.

8Divorce and the authorities

9Current issues and recent amendments

• Morocco: a review of the Moudawana has been under way since 2023; the government's proposals include requiring the prospective wife to be asked at the contract whether she stipulates that the husband will not marry again, and narrowing the grounds for exceptions — status of parliamentary approval (to be verified).
• Egypt: a new draft personal status law has been under discussion since 2021 and is reported to keep notification of the wife; it has not yet been passed (to be verified).
• Iraq: the 2025 amendment to Law 188/1959 allows couples to choose the Ja'fari or Sunni code for family matters — its effect on article 3 (to be verified).
• Jordan: Law 15/2019 replaced the temporary law of 2010 without changing the model of checking financial means and notifying the wife.

10What Malaysians need to know

• Registration in Malaysia is still compulsory. A marriage abroad by a Muslim resident in Malaysia must be registered in their state within the period set by the state enactment. Polygyny abroad without the permission of the Malaysian Syariah Court may lead to action under state Islamic family law — see Cross-border and Recognition.
• Tunisia and Turkey: a polygynous marriage contract there is a crime and invalid — never do it.
• Morocco, Iraq, Syria: a contract with a second wife requires the permission of a local judge; foreign nationals are subject to additional procedures (status documents, sometimes approval from the authorities) (to be verified).
• Egypt and Jordan: the marriage officer or the court will notify an existing wife — your status will become known. Declaring a false status is an offence.
• 'Urfi marriage (unregistered) in Egypt and elsewhere harms the wife's rights and the establishment of the children's lineage. Do not get involved — see Informal marriage.
• Have documents authenticated through the Malaysian Embassy in the country concerned before re-registration in Malaysia.

Sources & references