Do Second Wives Have Equal Rights in the United States?

Continued from page 1

One of my greatest teachers once said that anyone who truly follows his or her heart [not their whim, mind you] is at that moment truly submitting to God's guidance--even if outwardly it looks like error--and therefore is a "Muslim" i.e. submitted to God.

The Prophet advised someone once, if he could not find the answer in the Qur'an and Sunna, to follow his heart. And I advise you to do the same. If things are difficult for you now, take that as a sign from God, and from your husband, that your heart is guiding you to what you should do. And learn from the experience.

Is it a sin to marry for sex reasons?
Would it be a sin to marry someone for sex reasons? I have Muslim friend who signed a marriage contract with a woman, so that when they have sex, it won't be out of marriage, and therefore won't be a sin. Is this a correct assumption?

On the contrary, it is correct, and not a sin, to marry someone in order to engage in lawful sexual activity. The purpose is to ensure mutual responsibility to each other, to prevent any tendency to licentiousness and sleeping around casually, and to ensure proper attribution of lineage to any issue arising form such a union. If you bear a child you must be committed to the spousal duties and provide the child the full support it deserves.

Can Muslims follow astrology and other methods of divination?
Does Islam permit the use of astrology, numerology, or other methods of divination? I heard it was permitted for Jews, and I wouldn't think if it were permitted for them it would be against Islam.

Every area of human knowledge is part of the human heritage. You will find classical Muslim writers referring to such means of forecasting tendencies, as in the poems of al-Mutanabbi and Rumi. And today in much of the Arab and Middle Eastern Muslim world, you will find experts who will read the remnants of your coffee cup to forecast certain aspects of your life.

Psychics do exist who can forecast certain tendencies in one's life, but it's important to recognize that, as the Prophet said, they can err even when sincere and trying to be truthful.

This is why Muslim teachers generally advise against depending on such means of information to the point where one no longer exercises free will, or to make such means of divination as a substitute for one's religion. This was the tendency in olden times when people religiously approached Oracles for what was deemed to be "truth."