Two wives-Humour

A man from the tribe of Banu Nawfal Ibn 'Abd Manaaf married a second wife who was fair and pretty. Umm Mahjan, his first wife, who was dark in complexion, was upset when she heard the news. Jelousy and disappointment drove her to confront her husband, but he explained,

"By Allaah, Umm Mahjan, there is no need to jealously guard me anymore. I am an old man. You too are old and there is no need for me to be jealous over you. Nobody can be more honoured in my sight than you; neither does anybody enjoy a greater right over me than you. I, therefore, advise you to accept my decision and avoid bad thoughts from taking hold of you."

These words pleased her and she felt comfortable. A few days later, he said to her, "Wouldn't you like to live together with my new wife? I think it would create harmony between us. Further, it will be a means of systematic organisation within our home and it will prevent outsiders from making nasty remarks against us."

She agreed and he gave her a dinar, saying "I dislike your co-wife seeking superiority over you simply because she sees you enjoying some speciality. Take this and prepare some special gift which you can give to her tomorrow when we meet."

He then approached his new wife and said, "I intend to unite you with Umm Mahjan tomorrow. She wants to honour you and I dislike her making any attempt to be superior than you simply because you enjoy some speciality. Take this dinar and purchase for her a gift so that she does not regard you scepticism. But do not mention anything to her about the dinar."

He then approached a trusted friend and sought his assistance, "I have arranged for my new wife to meet with Umm Mahjan tomorrow. I would like you to visit us at breakfast, at which time I will insist that you join us. When we are done with the meal, you should ask me which wife I hold dearer. I will express my displeasure at the question, following which you should insist upon oath that I answer you."

The next morning, his new wife visited Umm Mahjan and his friend came around as agreed. After they had eaten, his friend turned to him and asked, "Which of your two wives do you love more?"

He replied, "Subhanallah! Do you dare ask a question of this nature while both my wives are listening to our discussion. This is a grave question indeed."

But when his friend insisted on an answer, he declared, "I love that wife who was given one dinar. I will not utter a word more than this."

Each of the two wives chuckled in pleasure, thinking that she was the one alluded to.