Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:3
And if you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses. That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice].
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 interpretation of His statement: وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلا تُقْسِطُوا فِي الْيَتَامَى فَانْكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ مَثْنَى وَثُلاثَ وَرُبَاعَ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلا تَعْدِلُوا فَوَاحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ ("And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you, two, three, or four; but if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess" (4:3)).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The exegetes differed concerning the interpretation of this.
Some of them said: its meaning is: And if you fear, O community of guardians over orphans, that you will not be just toward them (the female orphans) regarding their bridal gift (mahr), so as to act equitably therein and bring their bridal gift up to the level of the bridal gift of their peers, then do not marry them, but marry others than them: the unrelated women whom Allah has made lawful and good for you, from one up to four. And if you fear injustice—when you marry more than one of the unrelated women—that you will not be just, then marry one of them, or what your right hands possess (mulk al-yamīn).
* Mention of who said that:
8456 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of ʿUrwa, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, concerning: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you": she said: O son of my sister, this concerns the female orphan who is under the care of her guardian, and he desires her property and her beauty and wants to marry her with less than the customary bridal gift for her peers. So they were forbidden to marry them unless they would be equitable toward them in completing the bridal gift, and they were commanded to marry women other than them.
8457 — Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Yūnus ibn Yazīd informed me, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, saying: ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr informed me: that he asked ʿĀʾisha, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, about the statement of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you." She said: O son of my sister, this is the female orphan who is under the care of her guardian and shares with him in his property, and her property and her beauty please him. Her guardian then wants to marry her without being equitable in her bridal gift, so as to give her as much as another would give her. So they were forbidden to marry them unless they would be equitable toward them and reach with them the highest customary level in the bridal gift, and they were commanded to marry the women who please them, others than them. Yūnus ibn Yazīd said: Rabīʿa said concerning the statement of Allah "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans": he said, it means: leave them be, for I have made four (women) lawful for you.
8458 — Al-Ḥasan ibn al-Junayd related to us, and Saʿīd ibn Maslama informed us, both of them saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Umayya conveyed to us, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, on the authority of ʿUrwa, saying: I asked ʿĀʾisha, the Mother of the Believers, and said: O Mother of the Believers, what is your judgment concerning the statement of Allah: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you"? She said: O son of my sister, this is the female orphan who is under the care of her guardian, and he desires her beauty and her property and wants to marry her with less than the customary bridal gift of her women. So that was forbidden to them: that they marry them unless they are equitable toward them and complete the bridal gift for them. Then they were commanded to marry women other than them, if they do not complete the bridal gift for them.
8459 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: al-Layth related to me, saying: Yūnus related to me, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, saying: ʿUrwa ibn al-Zubayr related to me: that he asked ʿĀʾisha, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ—and he mentioned it identically to the narration of Yūnus, on the authority of Ibn Wahb.
8460 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of ʿUrwa, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha—identically to the narration of Ibn Ḥumayd, on the authority of Ibn al-Mubārak.
8461 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Hishām, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, she said: It was revealed—she means His statement: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans," the verse—concerning the female orphan who resides with a man, and she possesses wealth, and perhaps he marries her for her wealth while she does not please him; then he beats her and treats her badly in companionship. So concerning that an admonition was given.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: According to this interpretation, the response to His statement "And if you fear that you will not act justly" is His statement "then marry."
* * *
Others said: No, rather its meaning is the prohibition of marrying more than four, out of fear for the properties of the orphans, that their guardians would squander them. That is because a man of the Quraysh used to marry ten women, or more or less, and when he became destitute, he would fall upon the property of his orphan who was under his care and spend it, or marry with it. So that was forbidden to them, and it was said to them: if you fear regarding the properties of your orphans that you would spend them—so that you would not act justly therein, on account of your need for them for the burdens that your wives impose upon you—then do not exceed the number of four in the women you marry. And if you also fear regarding the four that you will not be just regarding their properties, then restrict yourselves to one, or to what your right hands possess.
Mention of who said that:
8462 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Simāk, saying: I heard ʿIkrima say concerning this verse: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans," he said: A man of the Quraysh would have wives with him, and he would have orphans with him; then his wealth would be lost and he would fall upon the wealth of the orphans. He said: So this verse was revealed: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you."
8463 — Hannād ibn al-Sarī related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning the statement: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you, two, three, or four; but if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess," he said: A man used to marry four, five, six, or ten (women), and the man would say: "What prevents me from marrying as so-and-so has married?" Then he would take the wealth of his orphan and marry with it. So they were forbidden to marry more than four.
8464 — Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of Ṭāwūs, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: The men were restricted to four, on account of the properties of the orphans.
8465 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the statement: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans": for the man used to marry with the wealth of the orphan as much as Allah the Exalted willed, and Allah forbade that.
* * *
Others said: No, rather its meaning is: that the people felt burdened regarding the properties of the orphans, lest they not act justly therein, but they did not feel burdened regarding the women, lest they not be just toward them. So it was said to them: just as you feared not being just toward the orphans, fear likewise regarding the women not being just toward them, and marry of them no more than from one to four, and do not go beyond that. And if you fear that you will also not be just upon adding more than one, then marry only that wherein you do not fear committing injustice: one, or what your right hands possess.
* Mention of who said that:
8466 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: The people were in their condition of the Jāhiliyya, unless something was commanded to them or something was forbidden to them. He said: They brought up the orphans, and then it was revealed: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you, two, three, or four; but if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess." He said: Just as you feared not being equitable toward the orphans, fear likewise not being equitable toward the women.
8467 — 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: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans" up to "your right hands": They were strict regarding the orphans, but not strict regarding the women; one of them would marry the women and then not act justly among them. So Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said: just as you fear not being just toward the orphans, fear likewise toward the women, and marry from one up to four. And if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess.
8468 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the statement: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you," until He reached: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust," he said: just as you feared the injustice toward the orphans and it preoccupied you, fear likewise regarding the joining together of women. A man used to marry in the Jāhiliyya ten or fewer than that, and Allah—exalted be His praise—made four lawful and then brought them back to four by His statement: "two, three, or four; but if you fear that you will not be just, then one," he says: if you fear that you will not be just among four, then three; and if not, then two; and if not, then one. And if you fear not being just toward one, then what your right hand possesses.
8469 — 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 Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning the statement: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you," he says: what has been made lawful for you of the women—"two, three, or four"—then fear regarding the women the same that you feared regarding the orphans: that you would not be equitable toward them.
8470 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥajjāj ibn al-Minhāl related to us, saying: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: Islam came while the people were in their condition of the Jāhiliyya, unless something was commanded to them which they then followed, or something was forbidden to them which they then avoided, until they asked about the orphans, whereupon Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, revealed: "then marry the women who please you, two, three, or four."
8471 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū al-Nuʿmān ʿĀrim related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Zayd related to us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, sent Muḥammad ﷺ while the people were in the condition of their Jāhiliyya, unless something was commanded to them or something was forbidden to them. They asked him about the orphans, whereupon Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, revealed: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you, two, three, or four." He said: just as you fear not being equitable toward the orphans, then fear not being equitable and just toward the women.
8472 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the statement: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans," he said: In the Jāhiliyya one used to marry ten unmarried women, and one made much fuss over the matter of the orphan. So they neglected in their religion the matter of the orphan, but persisted in what they used to marry in the Jāhiliyya. Therefore He said: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you, two, three, or four," and He forbade them what they used to marry in the Jāhiliyya.
8473 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning the statement: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry the women who please you": In their Jāhiliyya they took nothing away from the wealth of the orphan, but they married ten women and married the wives of their fathers. So they neglected in their religion the matter of the women, and Allah admonished them regarding the orphans and regarding the women. He said concerning the orphans: وَلا تَتَبَدَّلُوا الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ ("And do not exchange the bad for the good") up to إِنَّهُ كَانَ حُوبًا كَبِيرًا ("indeed, that is a great sin"), and He admonished them regarding the matter of the women and said: "then marry the women who please you," the verse, and He said: وَلا تَنْكِحُوا مَا نَكَحَ آبَاؤُكُمْ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ ("And do not marry the women whom your fathers have married") [Surat al-Nisāʾ: 22].
8474 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, on the authority of Ibn Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning the statement: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans" up to "what your right hands possess," he says: if you fear the injustice toward the orphans and it grieves you, fear likewise regarding the joining together of women. He said: And the man used to marry in the Jāhiliyya ten or fewer than that, and Allah made four lawful and brought them back to four. He says: "but if you fear that you will not be just, then one," and if you fear not being just toward one, then what your right hand possesses.
* * *
Others said: Its meaning is: just as you feared regarding the orphans, fear likewise regarding the women lest you commit fornication (zinā) with them, but marry the women who please you.
* Mention of who said that:
8475 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā informed us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the statement: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans," he says: if you feel burdened regarding the guardianship over the orphans and the consuming of their properties, out of faith (īmān) and affirmation, feel burdened likewise regarding fornication (zinā), and marry the women with a good marriage—"two, three, or four; but if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess."
8476 — 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 like of it.
* * *
Others said: No, rather its meaning is: And if you fear not being just toward the female orphans over whom you are the guardians, then do not marry them, but marry for yourselves what is lawful for you of others.
* Mention of who said that:
8477 — Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Hishām ibn ʿUrwa, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans," he said: It was revealed concerning the female orphan who resides with a man; he is her guardian, she has no guardian other than him, and no one contests her with him; and he marries her for her wealth, and beats her and treats her badly in companionship.
8478 — Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Yūnus related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning this verse: "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans, then marry what pleases you," that is to say: what is lawful for you of your orphans among your relatives—"two, three, or four; but if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess."
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct of the statements that we have mentioned concerning that, with regard to the interpretation of the verse, is the statement of the one who says that its interpretation is: "And if you fear not being just toward the orphans, then fear likewise regarding the women, and marry of them only that wherein you do not fear committing injustice, from one up to four; and if you also fear the injustice toward the one, then do not marry her, but adhere to what your right hands possess, for that is more appropriate that you not commit injustice toward them."
We say only that this is the most appropriate with regard to the interpretation of the verse, because Allah—exalted be His praise—began the verse that precedes it with the prohibition of consuming the properties of the orphans without right and mixing them with other properties. He—exalted be His remembrance—said: وَآتُوا الْيَتَامَى أَمْوَالَهُمْ وَلا تَتَبَدَّلُوا الْخَبِيثَ بِالطَّيِّبِ وَلا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَهُمْ إِلَى أَمْوَالِكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حُوبًا كَبِيرًا ("And give the orphans their properties, and do not exchange the bad for the good, and do not consume their properties together with your own properties; indeed, that is a great sin"). Then He informed them that, if they fear Allah in this and feel burdened therein, it is obligatory upon them in the matter of the women to fear Allah and to feel burdened in the same manner as they are obligated to feel burdened in the matter of the orphans. And He informed them how the way out for them from the injustice toward them (the women) is, just as He made known to them the way out from the injustice in the properties of the orphans. So He said: marry—if you are safe for yourselves from the injustice toward the women—what I have permitted and made lawful for you of them, two, three, and four; and if you also fear for yourselves the injustice in the matter of the one, in that you cannot treat her equitably, then do not marry her, but take concubines from the slave-women (mamālīk), for you are then more appropriate not to commit injustice toward them, because they are your property and your possession, and you are not obligated toward them with those rights that you are obligated with toward the free women; so that that is closer for you to the preservation from sin and injustice.
In the statement there is therefore—since the meaning is what we have said—an omitted part, which, by the indication of what is apparent in the statement, requires no mention. That is because the meaning of the statement is: And if you fear not being just toward the properties of the orphans, so as to act equitably therein, fear likewise not being equitable toward the rights of the women that Allah has imposed upon you, and marry of them only that wherein you are safe from injustice: two, three, and four; and if you also fear therein, then one; and if you fear regarding the one, then what your right hands possess. So the mention of His statement "fear likewise not being equitable toward the rights of the women" was omitted, by the indication of what is apparent in His statement, the Exalted: "but if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess."
* * *
If a speaker were to say: Where then is the response to His statement "And if you fear that you will not act justly toward the orphans"?
Then it is said: His statement "then marry the women who please you"—except that the meaning that indicates that by it is intended what we have said is His statement: "but if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess; that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust."
* * *
And we have already previously explained that the meaning of "al-iqsāṭ" (the practicing of equity) in the language of the Arabs is justice and equity, and that "al-qasṭ" (without the hamza-form) is injustice and inequity—in a manner sufficient so as not to need to repeat it here.
* * *
As for "al-yatāmā" (the orphans): that is in this place a plural for both the male orphans and the female orphans.
* * *
As for His statement "then marry the women who please you": He means: marry what is lawful for you of them, not what is forbidden for you of them, as in:
8479 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Mālik, concerning the statement: "then marry the women who please you": what is lawful for you.
8480 — 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 Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning the statement: "then marry the women who please you," he says: what is lawful for you.
* * *
If a speaker were to say: And why was it said "then marry the women who please you" (mā ṭāba lakum, with "mā"), and not said "marry whom please you" (man ṭāba lakum)? For "mā" is used (customarily) for what is non-human.
Then it is said: Its meaning is in a manner other than that toward which you were inclined; rather its meaning is: marry with a good marriage, as in:
8481 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "then marry the women who please you": marry the women with a good marriage.
8481m — 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 like of it.
* * *
What is intended by His statement "what pleases you" is therefore the act (of marrying), not the persons of the women and their individuals; therefore "mā" was said and not "man," as one says: "Take of my slaves (raqīq) what you wish," when you mean: take of them according to your pleasure. And if you had wanted to say: take whom you wish of them, then you would have said: "Take of my slaves whom you wish of them." Likewise His statement "or what your right hands possess," in the meaning of: or the possession of your right hands.
* * *
The meaning of His statement "then marry the women who please you, two, three, or four" is only: let each of you marry two, three, or four, as it is said: وَالَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَأْتُوا بِأَرْبَعَةِ شُهَدَاءَ فَاجْلِدُوهُمْ ثَمَانِينَ جَلْدَةً ("And those who accuse chaste women and then do not bring four witnesses, lash them with eighty lashes") [Surat al-Nūr: 4].
* * *
As for His statement "two, three, or four" (mathnā wa-thulātha wa-rubāʿa): these are not declined (with tanwīn), because they are diverted (maʿdūla) from "two," "three," and "four," just as "ʿUmar" is diverted from "ʿĀmir" and "Zufar" from "Zāfir," whereby their declension is omitted. Likewise "aḥād," "thunāʾ," "mawḥad," "mathnā," "mathlath," and "marbaʿ": all of that is not declined, for the cause that has been mentioned, namely the diversion from their root forms. And what indicates that it is so, and that the masculine and the feminine are equal therein, is what is said in this surah and in "Surat Fāṭir": "two, three, or four," by which "the wing" (al-janāḥ) is meant, and "the wing" is masculine. And also that it is not annexed (in an iḍāfa) to that to which "the three" (al-thalātha) and "the three" (al-thalāth) is annexed, and that the article "alif-lām" is not added to it. Therein lies therefore an indication that it is a proper name for the number, a definite (maʿrifa) word; for if it were indefinite (nakira), the article "alif-lām" would be added to it and it would be annexed just as "the three" and "the four" are annexed. And what clarifies this is the statement of Tamīm ibn Ubayy ibn Muqbil:
You see the blue horseflies beneath his chest, singly and in pairs, slain by his (the horse's) neighing.
He made "aḥād wa-mathnā" (singly and in pairs) refer back to "al-nuʿarāt" (the horseflies), which is a definite word. Sometimes the Arabs make it indefinite and then decline it, as the poet said:
And indeed the youth, at whose remembrance one is bewildered, we have killed for him—out of pairs and singles—
four of you, and a fifth another, and a sixth, at the fall of darkness, upon the lance of Maʿbad.
And what clarifies that "thunāʾ" and "aḥād" are not declined is the statement of the poet:
And indeed I have killed you, in pairs and singly, and I left Murra behind like the bygone yesterday.
And the statement of the poet:
Death decreed for you that you would meet me, one by one, in a sacred month.
And it has not been heard from the Arabs that they divert from its form what exceeds "al-rubbāʿ" and "al-marbaʿ." It has not been heard from them "khumās" nor "al-mukhmas," nor "al-subāʿ" nor "al-musbaʿ," nor what exceeds "al-rubāʿ," except in a verse of al-Kumayt. For there is related from him, regarding "the tenfold," the form "ʿushār," namely his statement:
They did not wait long upon you, until you cast upon the men tenfold qualities.
He means: "ten, ten." It is said that of anything else nothing has been heard.
* * *
As for His statement "but if you fear that you will not be just, then one" (fa-wāḥidatan): the accusative of "wāḥidatan" is in the meaning of: and if you fear not being just—in what is obligatory upon you of justice toward what exceeds one of the women who are with you through marriage—in what Allah has imposed upon you of rights toward them, then marry one of them.
And if the reading therein had been related with the nominative (fa-wāḥidatun), it would have been permissible, in the meaning of: then one is sufficient, or: then one suffices, as He—exalted be His praise—said: فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُونَا رَجُلَيْنِ فَرَجُلٌ وَامْرَأَتَانِ ("And if there are not two men, then one man and two women") [Surat al-Baqara: 282].
* * *
And if a speaker were to say to us: You know that what is lawful for you of all the free women is the marrying of four, how then was it said: "then marry the women who please you, two, three, or four," while that is nine in number?
Then it is said: Its interpretation is: marry the women who please you—either two, if you are safe for yourselves from injustice in what is due to both of them toward you; or three, if you do not fear that; or four, if you are safe regarding that toward them.
What indicates the correctness of that is His statement: "but if you fear that you will not be just, then one," for the meaning is: and if you fear regarding the two, then marry one. Then He said: and if you fear that you will also not be just toward the one, then what your right hands possess.
* * *
If a speaker were to say: The command and the prohibition of Allah hold as obligation and imposition, until there comes a proof that it is by way of instruction, guidance, and information. And Allah—exalted be His remembrance—said: "then marry the women who please you," and that is a command; is there then a proof that it belongs to the command that is not by way of imposition and obligation?
Then it is said: Yes, and the proof of that is His statement: "but if you fear that you will not be just, then one." From that it is therefore known that His statement "then marry the women who please you," even though it has the form of a command, is in the meaning of the indication of the prohibition of marrying that number of women regarding which the marrier fears injustice, not in the meaning of the command to marry. For what is intended by it is: and if you fear not being just toward the orphans, so that you feel burdened therein, feel burdened likewise regarding the women, and marry only that wherein you are safe from injustice toward them, what I have made lawful for you, from one up to four.
And we have explained in a place other than this that the Arabs put forward the statement with the form of a command, while their meaning therein is the prohibition, or the threat and announcement (of punishment), as He—exalted be His praise—said: فَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِنْ وَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ ("So whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve") [Surat al-Kahf: 29], and as He said: لِيَكْفُرُوا بِمَا آتَيْنَاهُمْ فَتَمَتَّعُوا فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ ("Let them disbelieve in what We have given them; so enjoy, for you will come to know") [Surat al-Naḥl: 55, Surat al-Rūm: 34]. So that came forward with the form of a command, while by it the threat, the announcement, the intimidation, and the prohibition are intended. Likewise His statement "then marry the women who please you" is in the meaning of the prohibition: do not marry other than the women who please you.
* * *
And in the manner that we have said concerning the meaning of His statement "or what your right hands possess" the exegetes have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
8482 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "but if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess," he says: and if you fear not being just toward one, then what your right hand possesses.
8483 — 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: "or what your right hands possess": the concubines (al-sarārī).
8484 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "but if you fear that you will not be just, then one, or what your right hands possess," (that is to say): and if you fear not being just toward one, then what your right hand possesses.
8485 — Yaḥyā ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Juwaybir related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning the statement: "but if you fear that you will not be just," he said: in sexual intercourse and affection.
* * *
The discourse on the interpretation of His statement: ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَلا تَعُولُوا (3) ("That is more appropriate that you will not be unjust" (4:3)).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He—exalted be His remembrance—means by it: and if you fear not being just toward two, three, or four, so that you marry one, or if you fear not being just toward the one, so that you take concubines from what your right hands possess, then that is "adnā," that is to say: closer—"allā taʿūlū," he says: that you do not commit injustice and do not deviate.
* * *
Of that it is said: "ʿāla al-rajulu, fa-huwa yaʿūlu ʿawlan wa-ʿiyālatan," when he deviates and commits injustice. And of that is "ʿawl al-farāʾiḍ" (the deviation in the obligatory shares), for when its shares increase, a reduction occurs.
As for (the meaning derived) from need, of that it is said: "ʿāla al-rajulu ʿaylatan," and that is when he becomes needy, as the poet said:
And the poor man does not know when his wealth will come, and the rich man does not know when he will become poor (yaʿīl).
In the meaning of: he becomes poor.
* * *
And in the manner of what we have said concerning that the exegetes have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
8486 — Ḥumayd ibn Masʿada related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Yūnus related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust," he said: "al-ʿawl" is the deviating (being unjust) toward the women.
8487 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to me, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the statement: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust," he says: that you do not deviate.
8488 — 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 the statement: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust": that you do not deviate.
8489 — 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 like of it.
8490 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū al-Nuʿmān Muḥammad ibn al-Faḍl related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Dāwūd ibn Abī Hind informed us, on the authority of ʿIkrima: "that you will not be unjust," he said: that you do not deviate. Then he said: Have you not heard the statement of Abū Ṭālib:
With a scale of equity whose weight does not deviate (ghayru ʿāʾil).
8491 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, saying: Ḥammād ibn Zayd related to us, on the authority of al-Zubayr, on the authority of Ḥurayth, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning this verse: "that you will not be unjust," he said: that you do not deviate. He said: And he recited a verse of poetry which he claimed Abū Ṭālib said:
With a scale of equity that does not wrong a barleycorn, and a truthful weigher whose weight does not deviate (ghayru ʿāʾil).
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: And this verse is also related in a manner other than this narration:
With a scale of truth that does not darken a barleycorn, which has of itself a witness that does not deviate (ghayru ʿāʾil).
* * *
8492 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, concerning the statement: "that you will not be unjust," he said: that you do not deviate.
8493 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm—the like of it.
8494 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, saying: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq al-Kūfī, he said: ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān—may Allah be pleased with him—wrote to the people of Kūfa concerning something for which they had reproached him: "Indeed, I am not a scale that deviates (lā aʿūl)."
8495 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿAththām ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid related to us, on the authority of Abū Mālik, concerning the statement: "more appropriate that you will not be unjust," he said: that you do not deviate.
8496 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust": more appropriate that you do not deviate.
8497 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning the statement: "that you will not be unjust," he said: your deviating.
8498 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust," he says: that you do not deviate.
8499 — 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: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust," he says: your deviating.
8500 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the statement: "more appropriate that you will not be unjust," that is to say: that you do not deviate.
8501 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust," he says: that is more appropriate that you do not deviate.
8502 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn informed us, on the authority of Abū Mālik, concerning the statement: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust," he said: that you do not commit injustice.
8503 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn and ʿĀrim Abū al-Nuʿmān related to us, both of them saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Abū Mālik—the like of it.
8504 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Mujāhid: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust," he said: your deviating.
8505 — Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: "that is more appropriate that you will not be unjust": that is lesser for your expenditure; one is less than two, three, and four, and your slave-woman is lesser in expenditure than a free woman—"that you will not be unjust": lesser for you in (the burden of) the maintenance of the household.
