Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:129
And you will never be able to be equal [in feeling] between wives, even if you should strive [to do so]. So do not incline completely [toward one] and leave another hanging. And if you amend [your affairs] and fear Allah - then indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The discourse on the explanation of His statement: وَلَنْ تَسْتَطِيعُوا أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ النِّسَاءِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ فَلا تَمِيلُوا كُلَّ الْمَيْلِ فَتَذَرُوهَا كَالْمُعَلَّقَةِ ("And you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive to do so; do not then incline wholly [toward one], so that you leave her as one suspended in the air") (4:129).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His praise, means by the words "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives": you will not have the power, O men, to maintain equality between your women and wives in the love of your hearts, so that you would be just between them therein, in such a way that there would not be in your hearts more love for some of them than for their co-wives. For that is among the things you do not control and that is not within your power. "However much you may strive" — He says: even if you were to strive to treat them equally therein. As in:
10626 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive": it is an inescapable fact that you will not be able to be just between them.
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"Do not then incline wholly" — He says: do not then incline with your affection wholly toward her whose love you cannot control, to such a degree that this leads you to wrong her co-wives by neglecting the duties you owe them: in the division of the [marital] turns among them, the maintenance, and the proper conduct. "So that you leave her as one suspended in the air" — He says: so that you leave her who is not the one toward whom you incline with your affection "as one suspended in the air," that is to say: as one who has neither a husband, nor is unmarried or a widow.
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And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
Mention of those who said what we have said concerning His statement: "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive."
10627 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn Ḥassān, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, concerning "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive," he said: [being just] of oneself [i.e. inwardly], in love and in sexual intercourse.
10628 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, concerning "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive," he said: of oneself.
10629 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath and Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, he said: I asked him about His statement "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive," and he said: it concerns sexual intercourse.
10630 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, he said: it concerns love and sexual intercourse.
10631 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Sahl related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: it concerns love.
10632 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, he said: it concerns love and sexual intercourse.
10633 — al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, concerning His statement "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive," he said: it concerns affection, as if by that he meant love.
10634 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive," he says: you are not able to be just between them in desire, even if you were to strive for it.
10635 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — and Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda — he said: It has been transmitted to us that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb used to say: "O Allah, as for my heart, over that I have no power! And as for the rest, of that I hope to be just!"
10636 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive," he means: in love and in sexual intercourse.
10637 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us — and Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us — both said: Ayyūb related to us, on the authority of Abū Qilāba: that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, divided [the turns] among his wives and was just therein, and then said: "O Allah, this is my division in that over which I have power; do not then blame me for that over which You have power and I have no power."
10638 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī related to us, on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Rufayʿ, on the authority of Ibn Abī Mulayka, he said: This verse was revealed concerning ʿĀʾisha: "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives."
10639 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, he said: it concerns desire and sexual intercourse.
10640 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, he said: it concerns sexual intercourse.
10641 — ʿAlī ibn Sahl related to us, saying: Zayd ibn Abī al-Zarqāʾ related to us, saying: Sufyān said concerning His statement "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive," he said: it concerns love and sexual intercourse.
10642 — Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement "and you will never be able to be just between [your] wives, however much you may strive," he said: it concerns what arises from his body and his heart; that is something he cannot control.
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Mention of those who said what we have said in the explanation of His statement: "do not then incline wholly."
10643 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ibn ʿAwn related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad, he said: I said to ʿAbīda: "do not then incline wholly," he said: of oneself [i.e. inwardly, with the heart].
10644 — Sufyān related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAwn, on the authority of Muḥammad, on the authority of ʿAbīda, the same.
10645 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda: "do not then incline wholly" — Hishām said: I think he said: in love and in sexual intercourse.
10646 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥabbān ibn Mūsā related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, saying: Hishām informed us, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of ʿAbīda, concerning His statement "wholly," he said: of oneself.
10647 — Baḥr ibn Naṣr al-Khawlānī related to us, saying: Bishr ibn Bakr related to us, saying: al-Awzāʿī informed us, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, he said: I asked ʿAbīda about the statement of Allah "do not then incline wholly," he said: of oneself.
10648 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Sahl ibn Yūsuf related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "do not then incline wholly," he said: in sexual relations (al-ghishyān) and the division of the turns.
10649 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "do not then incline wholly" — do not deliberately commit ill treatment.
10650 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
10651 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Bakr related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: It was transmitted to me from Mujāhid: "do not then incline wholly," he said: that he deliberately acts wrongly and commits injustice.
10652 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā ibn Maymūn, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
10653 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: "do not then incline wholly," he said: this concerns conduct with respect to his spending the night with her, and with respect to what she receives of his kindness.
10654 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "do not then incline wholly," he says: that he turns away from her, so that he does not provide for her maintenance and does not allot a single day to her.
10655 — al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Mujāhid said: "do not then incline wholly," he said: that he deliberately acts wrongly. He says: "do not incline wholly," he said: it was transmitted to me that it is sexual intercourse.
10656 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Ḥammād ibn Zayd, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Abū Qilāba, he said: The Prophet, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, divided [the turns] among his wives and was just therein, and he said: "O Allah, this is my division in that over which I have power; do not then blame me for that over which You have power and I have no power!"
10657 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Abū Qilāba, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yazīd, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, on the authority of the Prophet, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, with the same content.
10658 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Hammām ibn Yaḥyā, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Naḍr ibn Anas, on the authority of Bishr ibn Nahīk, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Prophet, may Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, he said: "Whoever has two wives and inclines toward one of them at the expense of the other will come on the Day of Resurrection with one of his two sides hanging down."
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Mention of those who said what we have said in the explanation of His statement: "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air."
10659 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," he said: you leave her while she is neither unmarried/a widow, nor has a husband.
10660 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," he said: neither unmarried, nor married.
10661 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Mubārak, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," he said: neither divorced, nor married.
10662 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Sahl ibn Yūsuf related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, the same.
10663 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," that is to say: as one held back or as a prisoner.
10664 — al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," he said: as a prisoner.
10665 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām ibn Salm related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His statement "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," he says: neither divorced, nor married.
10666 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar informed us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, concerning His statement "do not then incline wholly, so that you leave her as one suspended in the air": neither divorced, nor married.
10667 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Bakr related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: It was transmitted to me from Mujāhid: "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," he said: neither unmarried, nor married.
10668 — al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ: "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," she is neither unmarried, nor a woman with a husband.
10669 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: al-Muḥāribī, Abū Khālid and Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, he said: do not leave her as though she has no husband.
10670 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," he said: neither unmarried, nor married.
10671 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement "so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," he said: "the one suspended in the air" is she who is not released and left to herself to seek [a husband] for herself, and who is not at the ready like a woman who is with her husband; she is neither with her husband, nor divorced from him, so that she might seek for herself. She is therefore "the one suspended in the air."
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah, exalted is His praise, by the words "do not then incline wholly, so that you leave her as one suspended in the air," commanded the men only to be just between their wives in that wherein they are able to be just between them: in the division of the turns among them, in the maintenance, and in refraining from injustice therein by favoring one above the other — in that wherein He has imposed upon them justice. For He has remitted for them that wherein they are not able to be just between them, namely what is in the hearts of love and affection.
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The discourse on the explanation of His statement: وَإِنْ تُصْلِحُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا ("And if you make amends and fear [Allah], then Allah is indeed Forgiving, Merciful") (4:129).
Abū Jaʿfar said: By this He, exalted is His praise, means: "and if you make amends," O people, in your deeds, so that you are just in your division of the turns between your wives and in what Allah has imposed upon them as duties owed to you, namely the maintenance and the proper conduct, and you commit no injustice therein. "And fear [Him]" — He says: and you fear Allah regarding the inclining that He has forbidden you, namely that you favor one above the other and thereby wrong her in her right that Allah has assigned to her against you. "Then Allah is indeed Forgiving" — He says: then Allah will cover for you what proceeded from you previously of inclining and injustice toward them before that time, by refraining from punishing you for it, and He covers that for you by forgiving you what previously occurred from you therein. "Merciful" — He says: and He is Merciful toward you, since He accepts your repentance and receives your penance for the injustice that previously proceeded from you therein toward them, and since He has permitted you the reconciliation between you and them, by their relinquishing their rights to the division of the turns, on condition that they not be divorced.