Bayhaqi 13847 — Collected chapters on the free women who are lawful

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said concerning this saying of Allah: "And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those women who please you, two, three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then (marry only) one, or those your right hands possess." [Surah al-Nisa: 3] They used to marry ten widows in the Days of Ignorance, and they used to regard the matter of the orphan girl as weighty. So they became mindful of their religion concerning the orphan girls, and they left what they used to marry in the Days of Ignorance. Allah said: "And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those women who please you, two, three or four." [Surah al-Nisa: 3] And He forbade them what they used to marry in the Days of Ignorance.