Love the ones you're with

A Muslim man marries two women in a single ceremony.

By Jack Boulware

Jan 18, 2001 | Depending on the cultural milieu, a love triangle can be a source of embarrassment, rage or even violence. Nobody likes to be cuckolded, especially if the other woman turns out to be your good friend. One man recently found himself trapped in sexual relationships with two young women at the same time. The 41-year-old Lothario solved his problems very neatly, however -- he married them both.

Abdul Muin Hamid lives in Malaysia's northern Kedah state and, in his professional capacity as a driver, shuttles people to work in his van. Among his regular customers are Suhaida Saad, 23, and her 25-year-old friend, Rohaya Romli. During the commutes each day, idle talk between driver and passengers led to something beyond idle, and Hamid began affairs with both women.

Each girl soon learned the truth. When they confronted Hamid, he must have thanked Allah for being a Muslim. His faith permits a man to marry up to four wives as long as he can provide for each wife and their subsequent children. He wasn't doing anything wrong at all! So Hamid proposed to both girls, and last week the three were married in a single ceremony.

"Suhaida and Rohaya were good friends, but they didn't know I was having an affair with both at the same time," Hamid explained to the New Straits Times.

Both women have quit their jobs to become full-time housewives. "I don't have any problem with [Rohaya], nor she with me ... This is our fate," said Suhaida.

The plan is for all three to live happily in the same house until an additional home can be constructed. Hamid insists that he will schedule the marriage, and spend time with his two wives on alternate days. And of course his love will also be equally divided between them.

Summing up his situation, in perhaps the understatement of the year, Hamid said: "They soon discovered what was going on, but we managed to work things out."

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