tbaba1234:
", Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly [with them], then only one, " Q 4:3

tbaba1234: First of all, the injunction of multiple wives was sanctioned by Allah not the messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Every muslim knows that so cease the act.

", Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly [with them], then only one, " Q 4:3

The above verse permits a man to take more than one wife on the condition that he can deal justly with them. So justice between wives is a precondition to marry more than one, This offers a practical solution to some of the societal problems. For example, In war torn regions of Africa, there are many widows caught in tough financial conditions because they have to take care of their kids alone. The Islamic model offers them Justice in a family environment. In the African American community in the U.S., there are so many men in prisons that the ratio of men to women is unfavourably skewed. We have many women without husbands and end up being mistresses and 'baby mamas'. It is a practical solution to problems societies face.


We live in

NL member:

That verse is not a a license for Muslim men to marry four wives and the truth is that the verse of polygamy was directed specifically at a man who wanted to treat an orphan unfairly as is stated in this hadith where Aisha herself said that this reference was initially given to address marriages with orphans:

Narrated Aisha:
There was an orphan (girl) under the care of a man. He married her and she owned a date palm (garden). He married her just because of that and not because he loved her. So the Divine Verse came regarding his case: "If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls…" (4.3) The sub-narrator added: I think he (i.e. another sub-narrator) said, "That orphan girl was his partner in that date palm (garden) and in his property." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 97)

This is further buttressed by the fact that the verse says, 'treat orphans fairly and if you fear that you cannot treat them fairly then marry two wives and three wives and four wives (as opposed to treating the orphans unfairly)

Koran 4 verse 2; And give to the orphans their properties and do not substitute the defective [of your own] for the good [of theirs]. And do not consume their properties into your own. Indeed, that is ever a great sin.
Koran 4 verse 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].

That verse is not a license for all Muslim men to marry four wives.

Maclatunji, please I beg you in the name of Allah to not hide this post.
May Allah reward you for not hiding it.
Amin.

biddybee: the order was changed for selfish reasons. what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

NL member:

That verse is not a a license for Muslim men to marry four wives and the truth is that the verse of polygamy was directed specifically at a man who wanted to treat an orphan unfairly as is stated in this hadith where Aisha herself said that this reference was initially given to address marriages with orphans:

Narrated Aisha:
There was an orphan (girl) under the care of a man. He married her and she owned a date palm (garden). He married her just because of that and not because he loved her. So the Divine Verse came regarding his case: "If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls…" (4.3) The sub-narrator added: I think he (i.e. another sub-narrator) said, "That orphan girl was his partner in that date palm (garden) and in his property." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 97)

This is further buttressed by the fact that the verse says, 'treat orphans fairly and if you fear that you cannot treat them fairly then marry two wives and three wives and four wives (as opposed to treating the orphans unfairly)

Koran 4 verse 2; And give to the orphans their properties and do not substitute the defective [of your own] for the good [of theirs]. And do not consume their properties into your own. Indeed, that is ever a great sin.
Koran 4 verse 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].

That verse is not a license for all Muslim men to marry four wives.

Maclatunji, please I beg you in the name of Allah to not hide this post.
May Allah reward you for not hiding it.
Amin.

tbaba1234:
The ayat gives men the permission to marry orphans under their care, if they are afraid they can't do justice with them but it should be done because they find them pleasing. I am typing from my phone otherwise I would have given you a detailed explanation. Two, three or four...

The original context was taking care of orphans, Now, you have to understand the social principle of marriage in Islam, marriage is a means of offering women wilayah, it is a transfer of responsibility from the father to the husband. All of the responsibility for her care etc is transfered to the husband.

Now, you have an orphan you are taking care of distantly, and you think you are not doing a good enough job. By getting married, the responsibility is made official on you.

It is an inaccurate view to say it only applies to orphans, the closest companions of the messenger (peace and blessings be upon him ) had multiple wives. You can not revise what is established to suit your whims.

tbaba1234: The prophets wives were not orphans,

The wives of the closest companions were not all orphans.


Do you understand the quran better? Or are you trying to test revise the meaning.

tbaba1234: What was the reaction of the early muslims to this ayat?
Those with more than four wives had to let some go, if the address was specific to orphans that will not be the reaction.
In addition, we can see the understanding of this ayat from the sayings of companionship. There is really no ambiguity there. Ibn abbas has a tafsir of the quran.
I am typing on a phone otherwise I would have given a more detailed explanation.
The ayat was revealed on a special occasion but it certainly gives men the right to multiple wives if they can treat them justly.
If you say it only applies to orphans but the companions married many wives and they limit it to four. Does that not say something about your theory.
As regards slavery, there is no ayat of the quran or hadith that says catch slaves. It was a social reality but Allah placed reforms in the muslim society.

tbaba1234: Mr man, it is not ambiguous, the very next ayah talks about giving the bride gift.

Umar never had six wives at a time.

Also, up until this last century polygamy was a common practice by most people. Before Islam it was practiced by all major religions and peoples, islam put a limit.

This ayah is that restriction,

Ghailan ibn aslamah althaqafi had ten wives and the messenger asked him to reduce it to four. Altlirmidhi and ibn majar

Qais ibn al harith al asadi had eight wives, he was asked to reduce it to four. Abidawud

Nawfil ibn muawiyah had five wives, same thing.

This clearly shows the application of the ayah.The ayah limited the number of wives that can be married. Polygamy is valid in islam with the limit and a condition of justice. We follow the quran and the sunnah, and the application of this injunction is clear. If something is wrong, there will be a clear directive to stop.

Slaves were obtained primarily through war, and the privilegs a slave had in an islamic community were far greater than Imperialist communities. Muslim slaves became kings and were followed by the people .

Please read tafseers to obtain better understanding, do not interpret ayat to suit your desires.

obaiyanu: Thanks alot for all the contribution and maturity.
But please may I ask a question on those with 10 or 6 wives that were asked to reduce it to 4. How was the reduction done. was it that the men had to choose who stays and who had to leave or was is that the last ones were the one to leave the marriage?

tbaba1234:

The men made the choice of who to keep.

NL member:

That verse is not a a license for Muslim men to marry four wives and the truth is that the verse of polygamy was directed specifically at a man who wanted to treat an orphan unfairly as is stated in this hadith where Aisha herself said that this reference was initially given to address marriages with orphans:

Narrated Aisha:
There was an orphan (girl) under the care of a man. He married her and she owned a date palm (garden). He married her just because of that and not because he loved her. So the Divine Verse came regarding his case: "If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls…" (4.3) The sub-narrator added: I think he (i.e. another sub-narrator) said, "That orphan girl was his partner in that date palm (garden) and in his property." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 97)

This is further buttressed by the fact that the verse says, 'treat orphans fairly and if you fear that you cannot treat them fairly then marry two wives and three wives and four wives (as opposed to treating the orphans unfairly)

Koran 4 verse 2; And give to the orphans their properties and do not substitute the defective [of your own] for the good [of theirs]. And do not consume their properties into your own. Indeed, that is ever a great sin.
Koran 4 verse 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].

That verse is not a license for all Muslim men to marry four wives.

Maclatunji, please I beg you in the name of Allah to not hide this post.
May Allah reward you for not hiding it.
Amin.

NL member:

That verse is not a a license for Muslim men to marry four wives and the truth is that the verse of polygamy was directed specifically at a man who wanted to treat an orphan unfairly as is stated in this hadith where Aisha herself said that this reference was initially given to address marriages with orphans:

Narrated Aisha:
There was an orphan (girl) under the care of a man. He married her and she owned a date palm (garden). He married her just because of that and not because he loved her. So the Divine Verse came regarding his case: "If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls…" (4.3) The sub-narrator added: I think he (i.e. another sub-narrator) said, "That orphan girl was his partner in that date palm (garden) and in his property." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 97)

This is further buttressed by the fact that the verse says, 'treat orphans fairly and if you fear that you cannot treat them fairly then marry two wives and three wives and four wives (as opposed to treating the orphans unfairly)

Koran 4 verse 2; And give to the orphans their properties and do not substitute the defective [of your own] for the good [of theirs]. And do not consume their properties into your own. Indeed, that is ever a great sin.
Koran 4 verse 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].

That verse is not a license for all Muslim men to marry four wives.

Maclatunji, please I beg you in the name of Allah to not hide this post.
May Allah reward you for not hiding it.
Amin.