mother or father. Polygamy According to the Sharia (Law), Muslims are allowed to practice polygyny. According to the Quran, a man may have up to four legal wives only if there is a fear of being unjust to non-married orphan girls. Even then, the husband is required to treat all wives equally. If a man fears that he will not be able to meet these conditions then he is not allowed more than one wife. A bride-to-be may include terms in her marriage contract that require monogamy for her husband or require her consent before he marries another wife. Sororal polygyny Sororal polygyny is forbidden. A man cannot marry: two sisters a woman and a descendant of her sibling a woman and sibling of her ancestor Iddah A woman cannot marry after divorce or the death of her husband for a certain period. This period is known as iddah. A divorcee cannot marry for three menstrual cycles after divorce A divorcee who has no courses cannot marry for three months A pregnant woman cannot marry until she gives birth A widow cannot remarry for four lunar months and ten days Modern implementations In today's world, Muslims practice Islamic marital laws in a multitude of ways all over the globe. In the United States, for example, 95% of Muslim American couples included in a 2012 study by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding had completed both the Nikkah and had obtained a civil marriage license, which is required to have a marriage legally recognized in the United States. The study also shares that “In some cases, the Islamic marriage contract is completed once the couple has decided to get married, but cohabitation occurs later after the wedding reception. In other cases, the Islamic marriage contract is completed simultaneously with the civil marriage and is followed immediately by the wedding reception.” There is ongoing debate about whether or not Sharia should be recognized in western countries like the United States and Australia that would allow for the Nikkah to be recognized as a legally valid marriage. There are also other elements to the Islamic marriage rituals that have difficulty being acknowledged in courts, according to the study, including the Mahr, or the dowry. Women who are denied their dowry do not have a clear path to legal contestation in either the US or Canada. Studies have also shown that even young