سورة النساء

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Nuh ibn Shuayb and Muhammad ibn Hasan said: Ibn Abi al-Awja asked Hisham ibn al-Hakam: 'Is Allah not Wise?' He said: 'Yes, He is the Wisest of the wise.' He said: 'Then tell me about this verse in which Allah the Exalted says: فَانْکِحُوا ما طابَ لَکُمْ مِنَ النِّساءِ مَثْنی وَ ثُلاثَ وَ رُباعَ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا [Then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice] — is this [verse] not [a statement of] an obligatory ruling?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'And also tell me, in view of this word of Allah the Glorified who says: You can never be equitable among your wives [in terms of heartfelt love], even if you strive! But do not incline yourselves wholly to one side. (an-Nisa/129) — what kind of Wise One speaks in this way?' But he had no answer, so he travelled to Medina to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). The Imam (peace be upon him) said: 'O Hisham! It is now neither the time of Hajj nor Umrah [for what matter have you come to Medina]?' Hisham said: 'Yes, may my soul be your ransom, I have come on account of an important matter. Ibn Abi al-Awja asked me a question for which I had no answer.' He said: 'What is it?' And he related the story to him. Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to him: 'Concerning the verse فَانْکِحُوا ما طابَ لَکُمْ مِنَ النِّساءِ مَثْنی وَ ثُلاثَ وَ رُباعَ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا, it must be said that what is meant is the ability to provide maintenance. But regarding the verse: You can never be equitable among your wives [in terms of heartfelt love], even if you strive! But do not incline yourselves wholly to one side. (an-Nisa/129) — what is meant is in affection and love.' When Hisham told this answer to Ibn Abi al-Awja, Ibn Abi al-Awja said: 'By Allah, this answer is not from you.'

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated that a man from the zanadiqa (deniers of Allah) asked Abu Ja'far al-Ahwal: "Tell me about the verse: فَانْکِحُوا ما طابَ لَکُمْ مِنَ النِّساءِ مَثْنی وَ ثُلاثَ وَ رُباعَ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا [So marry such women as seem good to you, two, three or four; but if you fear that you will not do justice], while at the end of the surah it says: وَ لَنْ تَسْتَطِیعُوا أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا بَیْنَ النِّساءِ وَ لَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ فَلا تَمِیلُوا [You will never be able to be equitable between women, however much you desire, so do not incline entirely]. Is there not a contradiction between these two statements?" Abu Ja'far al-Ahwal said: "I had no answer for him, so I went to Medina to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) and asked him about these two verses." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "As for the verse: فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا فَواحِدَةً [But if you fear that you will not do justice, then only one], what Allah the Exalted meant is [the ability to provide] maintenance; and in the verse: وَ لَن تَسْتَطِیعواْ أَن تَعدِلُواْ بَیْنَ النِّسَاء وَ لَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ فَلاَ تَمِیلُواْ کُلَّ الْمَیْلِ [You will never be able to be equitable between women, however much you desire, so do not incline entirely], what Allah meant is [showing] affection and kindness [to the wives], for no one is able to observe equality between two women in [showing] affection." Abu Ja'far al-Ahwal returned to that man and told him the answer. The man said: "This answer has been brought by camels from the Hijaz [and this answer is not from you]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Imam Ali (peace be upon him) gave a ruling in a case in which a woman and her family had stipulated on a man that if he married again, took slave-girls, or abandoned her, that woman would be considered divorced. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Allah's stipulation takes precedence over your stipulation. If the man wishes, he may fulfil his stipulation; and if he wishes, he may keep his wife and, in addition to her, marry [another] and have slave-girls, and if the grounds arise, abandon her. Allah says in His Book: فَانکِحُواْ مَا طَابَ لَکُم مِّنَ النِّسَاء مَثْنَی وَ ثُلاَثَ وَ رُبَاع [So marry such women as seem good to you, two, three or four], and He said: أُحِلَّ لَکُمْ مَا مَلَکَتْ أَیْمَانُکُمْ [What your right hands possess is made lawful for you], and He said: 'And [as for] those women from whom you fear disobedience and opposition, admonish them! [And if that is not effective], keep away from them in bed! And [if there is no way other than harshness to make them fulfil their duties], strike them! But if they obey you, do not seek a way against them! [Know that] Allah is Most High, Most Great. [And His power is above all powers.]' (Nisa/34)."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever gathers to himself of women more than he can properly marry [and support], and they then commit zina, the sin is upon him. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has said: فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا فَواحِدَةً أَوْ ما مَلَکَتْ أَیْمانُکُمْ [But if you fear that you will not do justice, then only one, or what your right hands possess].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In Da'a'im it is narrated: Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was asked, "What do you say concerning a man who divorced a woman (a slave-girl) in such a way that, according to Islamic law, he may not return to her unless she first marries another man [and only then may he take her back in marriage], but instead of her marrying another man, he purchases that same divorced woman as a slave-girl. Is he permitted, on the grounds that she is now among his slave-girls, to have intercourse with her?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "There is a verse in the Qur'an which forbids it and another verse which permits it. The verse which forbids it is where He said: فَلا تَحِلُّ لَهُ مِنْ بَعْدُ حَتَّی تَنْکِحَ زَوْجاً غَیْرَهُ [She is not lawful for him afterwards until she marries another husband], and the verse which permits it is where He said: أَوْ ما مَلَکَتْ أَیْمانُکُمْ [or what your right hands possess]. But know that I dislike doing this and consider it detestable, and I therefore forbid it to myself and my children."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is not permissible for a man [at one and the same time] to have intercourse with more than four free (non-slave) women [and to have more than four wives].

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Sinan said: Imam Rida (peace be upon him), in reply to one of the questions asked concerning the reason for the permissibility of marrying four women, wrote as follows: "The reason a man may marry four women, while it is forbidden for a woman to marry more than one man, is that if a man marries four women, his child is attributed to him. But if a woman has more than one husband, it will not be known whose child hers is, since her husbands share in her marriage, and this leads to the loss of lineage, inheritance and kinship."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah the Exalted has not placed jealousy [meaning here that a woman cannot bear to see her husband also being with another wife] within women; only wicked women are jealous, but believing women are not so. Allah has placed jealousy only in men, and for this reason He has made it lawful for a man to take four wives and an unlimited number of slave-girls. But for a woman He has permitted only [marriage to] one husband, and if a woman has a relationship with a man other than her husband, she is an adulteress.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): فَانْکِحُوا ما طابَ لَکُمْ [so marry such women as seem good to you] serves as the answer to where He said: وَ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا [and if you fear that you cannot act equitably].