Surah Al-Nisâ’ 4:3

وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا فِي الْيَتَامَىٰ فَانكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ ۖ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا فَوَاحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ ۚ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَلَّا تَعُولُوا

4:3 The intent of this verse is not to grant permission to Muslims to marry four wives. Its basic purpose is to discourage the practice of polygamy and protect the rights of women by avoiding situations in which a woman may suffer economically and socially as the result of a divorce. To have several dozen wives was a common practice for Arabs of the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). This practice is also known in other cultures; it even still exists in modern times in societies where polygamy is not permitted, but is nonetheless practiced in secret.

To discourage polygamy, the Holy Qur’ân first limits the number of wives to a maximum of four, before imposing a strict condition of equality: “If you fear that you will not be able to deal equitably then (marry only) one.” Later in verse 129 we are told, وَلَن تَسْتَطِيعُوا أَن تَعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ النِّسَاءِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ, “It is not within your power to maintain perfect balance between wives, even though you are so eager.” To deal equitably is an injunction; any violation of this is a significant sin and against Qur’ânic law. Thus, this permission of a maximum of four wives nonetheless imposes considerable restriction and severe conditions on males that makes taking another wife almost impossible.

Permission to have more than one wife is not a substantive law in the Holy Qur’ân, but a remedial or emergency law. It should not be brought into operation unless circumstances justify it, such as times of war when many men lose their lives, women are widowed and children are orphaned. The objects of marriage are four-fold::1) protection against social, moral, and spiritual maladies (2:187; 4:24); 2) a source of progeny (4:1); 3) a source of a loving companion providing peace of mind and comfort (30:21); and 4) the social and economic protection of orphans and widows of war (4:127).

Moral, physical and social problems have arisen in societies with very strict monogamy laws. Strict monogamy is often associated with high divorce rates and extramarital affairs, which can lead to considerable societal, psychological, and financial hardship. Limited polygamy allows for widows and divorced women to enter into a stable marital relationship in times of war, when the male population has been severely decimated. It is to meet such exigencies that the Qur’ân allows the contraction of multiple matrimonial relationships by the man. Marriage in Islam is also a civil contract. Both the parties enter into it under certain conditions. Thus, a woman is at liberty to set a condition on the marriage that the men not take another wife. The violation of that condition will be sufficient to entitle her to divorce her husband and, if so provided in the contract, claim reasonable damages. She is at liberty to separate herself from her husband if he does not abide by the conditions that were agreed on. On the other hand, the example of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) is one of nobility and charity. While still youthful and full of vigor, at the age of twenty-five he married a forty-year-old widow, Khadîjah, and led an exemplary monogamous life with her for another twenty-five years, even though society at the time would have allowed him to take another wife. After the death of his first wife, he took in marriage older widows and divorced women with the sole intention of giving them social and economic protection. Only one of his wives, ‘Âishâ, was a young unmarried woman. The monogamy that now is predominant in the West should not be considered as a Christian accomplishment. Until recent times, polygamy was practiced by Christians and was allowed in Judaism, Hinduism, and many other religions. Abraham, David, Solomon, and many other Prophets and patriarchs of the Israelites, as well as Krishna and Zoroaster and others esteemed for their sanctity, had more than one wife.

The phrase مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ  “Two or three or four” is a parenthetic clause relating to both the free woman mentioned in the first part of the sentence and to females “whom your right hands possess” from among prisoners of war. Both these nouns are governed by the imperative of the verb “marry.” Thus, the meaning of the passage is to marry from among free woman or captives. The obscene interpretation that female prisoners of war can be held as concubines is incorrect and runs counter to the moral teachings of Islam.

There is yet another aspect given in this verse concerning this permission. We read فَانكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ “Marry of women as may be agreeable to you.” The term “marriage” in Islam always means a mutually-agreed-upon civil contract between husband and wife, and forced “marriages” are not permitted. Unfortunately, this is still a practice in many societies.