Up to Four, with Justice

Then, third, it treats of the permission to marry up to four wives — for one man to marry up to four — on the condition of justice: that a man exercises justice among them and deals fairly with them. Allah (swt) therefore says in verse 3:

Fa-in khiftum allā taʿdilū: if you fear that you will not be able to be just. A man should know this of himself. Am I a just person? It is something he needs to consider, between himself and Allah. Of course, many of those who do this wrongly are not going to be very conscious of such a question; they are not going to be truly honest with themselves. That is the problem, and that is why problems arise wherever multiple marriages sometimes take place. Hence fa-in khiftum, if you fear that you will not be able to be just, fa-wāḥidatan: then one only, or that which your right hand possesses, which refers to slave girls — of whom there are no longer many in most parts of the world, so far as can be understood today. That is the next matter.

There were several reasons for bringing this verse here. First, before Islam multiple marriages were practised, and in a very crude way. There was no limit on the number; a man could marry as many as he wished. In the time of jāhiliyyah there was no concept of justice. A man could leave a wife suspended — she is still my wife, but she is not my wife any more; I am not going to fulfil any of her rights — abandoning her without releasing her either. Men would inherit their father's wives who were not their own mothers, the other wives: the father died, and they were inherited. It was turmoil, persecution and oppression in earnest. For this reason Islam said: four at most, and those with justice; and laid down how it is to be done, and all the rest that goes with it. Two sisters may not be married at once; wives are not inheritance; and the other provisions besides.

There is no need to go into the whole question of polygamy here. It has been discussed at length, and several times before. The main thing to be understood is that in Islam, where this does happen, it must be done with responsibility, and that is the greatest change. Generally, the world over and especially in the West, a man may have one wife, or no wife at all — no official, married wife — and yet several girlfriends, several women he is living with, or seeing from time to time. In Islam there is no casual relationship of that kind. A man is permitted up to four, in a proper manner; and the contrast between the two can be seen.