Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 3

(Ayah 3) ➊ {وَ اِنْ خِفْتُمْ اَلَّا تُقْسِطُوْا … :} The context of revelation for this verse is that in response to a question from Urwah bin Zubair (may Allah have mercy on him), Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "Some orphan girls were under the guardianship of certain people, and due to the wealth and beauty of these girls, those people would marry them, but considering them as their own household girls, they would neither give them the dowry like they would to girls from other households nor fulfill their other rights in the same way. So Allah Almighty forbade them from doing this in this verse, saying that if you cannot be just with orphan girls in their dowries and expenses, then marry other women, whomever you like, besides them." [ بخاری، التفسیر، باب : «و إن خفتم ألا تقسطوا فی الیتمٰی» : ۴۵۷۴ ]

➋ {مَثْنٰى وَ ثُلٰثَ وَ رُبٰعَ :} Using this verse as evidence, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and the majority of scholars have written that it is not permissible for a person to have more than four wives in his household at one time; this is a special privilege only for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Imam Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) says that this issue is explicitly proven from the Sunnah. Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) says that there is consensus among the scholars on what Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) has stated. When Ghaylan bin Salamah al-Thaqafi (may Allah be pleased with him) became Muslim, he had ten wives in his marriage; the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Choose four from among them." [ أحمد : 14/2، ح : ۴۶۳۰۔ ابن ماجہ، النکاح، باب الرجل یسلم و عندہ … : ۱۹۵۳، عن ابن عمر رضی اللہ عنہما و قال الألبانی صحیح ] For more incidents of the Companions, see Ibn Kathir. Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "The Rafidis (Shia) and some others use this verse as evidence that more than four marriages are permissible, but this is the result of ignorance of language and Sunnah."

➌ {فَاِنْ خِفْتُمْ اَلَّا تَعْدِلُوْا … :} Some people have used this as evidence for the impermissibility of more than one marriage, saying that if you fear you will not be just, then suffice with one wife or a slave woman. Along with this, they also cite another verse in which Allah Almighty says: «وَ لَنْ تَسْتَطِيْعُوْۤا۠ اَنْ تَعْدِلُوْا بَيْنَ النِّسَآءِ وَ لَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ» [ النساء : ۱۲۹ ] "And you will never be able to do justice between women, even if you desire it." They conclude from both that since justice can never be achieved, a man cannot have more than one wife. These people have done the same as those «لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلٰوةَ » people who do not read further «وَ اَنْتُمْ سُكٰرٰى» [ النساء : ۴۳ ]. Here too, the complete statement of Allah Almighty is as follows: "And you will never be able to do justice between women, even if you desire it, so do not incline completely (towards one) so as to leave the other hanging. And if you make amends and fear Allah, then surely Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [ النساء : ۱۲۹ ] It is clear that the justice which a human cannot do, i.e., the inclination of the heart, is not obligatory. Having multiple wives is the Sunnah of our Prophet and his Companions.

➍ {ذٰلِكَ اَدْنٰۤى اَلَّا تَعُوْلُوْا:} That is, if someone fears that he cannot even do the justice that is obligatory, such as equality in spending the night and in maintenance, because equality in heartfelt love, inclination, and companionship is not possible, then he should keep one wife or slave women; this is closer to you not deviating from justice. Some people have translated it as: "This is closer to your dependents not becoming too many and you not becoming poor," and then based birth control on this, saying to have fewer children. However, children are also born from slave women, and there is no limit to the number of slave women, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded to have more children, as he said: "Marry women who are loving and prolific, for I will boast of your numbers on the Day of Resurrection." [ أبو داوٗد، النکاح، باب النھی عن تزویج من لم یلد من النساء : ۲۰۵۰، عن معقل بن یسار رضی اللہ عنہ، قال الألبانی حسن صحیح]

Then the meaning of {”اَلَّا تَعُوْلُوْا“} was explained by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself: "This is closer to you not committing injustice, not deviating from justice." [ ابن حبان : ۴۰۲۹، عن عائشۃ رضی اللہ عنہا، و صححہ الألبانی الصحیحۃ : ۳۲۲۲ ]