'A woman expires, unlike a man,' Saudi imam says

In recent weeks, several Twitter hashtags promoting polygamy have been popping up on the social media platform in countries across the Arab world. 

Earlier this week, one of them, titled 'Take a second wife if you can,' prompted a Saudi imam called Dr. Majed Al Fahad to send out an incredibly offensive tweet against women. 

Understandably, the tweet then led to a social media meltdown of the sorts among users. 

Here's how it all went down:

"Thank God I've fulfilled what my religion asks of me by marrying four women twenty years ago and I am now thinking of divorcing one of them to marry again because a woman 'expires', unlike a man." 

"This is a fake account, this person is just trying to stir up controversy and you all believe him." 

"You reward one of your wives with divorce after she had the patience to live with you?! You're following your own version of the religion, not prophet Mohammad's." 

The type of polygamy the imam promotes in his tweet, which is to divorce one of four wives to marry a 'new' one, is unlawful in Islam. 

In fact, the religion first allowed polygamy for the sake of widows and orphans who had no means of survival.

The only Quranic verse that speaks of polygamy is believed to have been revealed after the Battle of Uhud, which led to the death of many Muslim men who left behind families in need of support.

And even though Islamic law does allow men, unlike their female counterparts, to be wed to four spouses at a time, this is only permissible within a tight frame of conditions. 

Additionally, the Quran also clearly states that a man can only marry more than one woman if he treats her and all his other wives equally.

"But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one," Surat An-Nisaa states. 

The surah then decrees: "You will never be able to be equal between wives, even if you should strive to do so". 

This makes Islam-approved polygamy nearly impossible to attain, even when conditions for it apply.