Ruling on Having More Than Four Wives at the Same Time
Taken from: Fatawa Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on having more than four wives at the same time?
❖ Answer:
A Muslim man may keep a maximum of four free wives at the same time. Keeping more than four wives is haram and a major sin. Having more than four wives was a special allowance for the Prophet (ﷺ).
✿ Allah Almighty says:
فَانْكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ مَثْنَى وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ
(Surah al-Nisa: 3)
“Marry those women who are lawful to you, two, three, or four.”
✿ Imam Ibn Juzzi (رحمه الله, 741H) said:
قد انعقد الإجماع على تحريم ما زاد على الرابعة
“There is consensus on the prohibition of having more than four wives at one time.”
(Tafsir Ibn Juzzi, 1/178)
Islam gives absolutely no permission to keep more than four wives. Therefore, if a disbeliever embraces Islam while having more than four wives, he should choose whichever four he wishes to retain, and release the rest. This is the position of Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi‘i, and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (رحمهم الله).
