A prominent Malaysian cleric has warned Muslims against repeatedly marrying and divorcing for fun after reports of a man who married 30 times and has scores of children and grand-children.
Harussani Zakaria, a religious leader in northern Perak state, said in a report over the weekend it was sinful to marry multiple times for the sake of "breaking records or for pleasure."
"When you have so many wives, keep divorcing them and you can't even remember their names or your children from these marriages, and worse still, your children do not even know each other, that is morally not right and forbidden in Islam," he was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times.
Malaysian Muslim men are allowed four wives under Islamic law, but retiree Mohamad Zin Hassan, 78, from northern Terengganu state has outpaced most of his counterparts.
The New Straits Times said the former driver had been married 30 times and that one wife lasted a day after unspecified wedding night problems.
He has also been divorced 27 times, is twice-widowed, and has 16 children, 70 grand-children and 15 great grand-children, said the newspaper, which published an interview with him during the week.
{{/usCountry}}He has also been divorced 27 times, is twice-widowed, and has 16 children, 70 grand-children and 15 great grand-children, said the newspaper, which published an interview with him during the week.
{{/usCountry}}It said the septuagenarian could only remember his eldest son's name, and relied on his present wife, Asma Hadi Ismail, 51, to jog his memory.
Harussani, also a member of Malaysia's National Fatwa Council, said there was no need for a decree on multiple marriages, but called on Muslims to "avoid the bad consequences of their own doing."
"For all you know, these children, who do not know each other, may end up marrying each other. If this happens, who should be blamed?" he said.