No Ceiling on Polygyny in the Qur'an

The common understanding of verse 3 of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ is that the Qur'an permits polygyny but sets a ceiling of four. Hence, today many who oppose polygyny and consider it a violation of women's rights attack the Qur'an. In response, the religiously observant defend it, and some even permit mutʿah in addition. Meanwhile, some restrict the permissibility of polygyny to the early Islamic period, or at most allow it under specific conditions. In this article, I intend to be bold and show that everyone has been mistaken, and that the Qur'an did not set a ceiling for polygyny; rather, it left it to social conditions to balance themselves out naturally.

The verse in question states: "... fa-nkiḥū mā ṭāba lakum mina al-nisāʾi mathnā wa-thulātha wa-rubāʿa," ... then marry what pleases you of women, two and three and four. The first point is that this phrase is not in the position of "granting permission" but rather of "recommendation"; that is, the verse does not say you are permitted to marry up to a ceiling of four, but rather recommends that if you cannot maintain equity among orphans, marry women who please you, two and three and four. In other words, it is a kind of encouragement toward polygyny. I will explain the reason for this in the lines ahead. If the Qur'an's intention were to set a ceiling for polygyny, it would have stated plainly: you are permitted to marry a maximum of four wives.

The second point is that the phrase "mathnā wa-thulātha wa-rubāʿa" expresses absolute "multiplicity," not necessarily a multiplicity of a maximum of four. The Qur'an uses this phrase in only one other verse, at the beginning of Sūrat Fāṭir: "al-ḥamdu lillāhi fāṭiri al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍi jāʿili al-malāʾikati rusulan ulī ajniḥatin mathnā wa-thulātha wa-rubāʿa." What is meant by angels with two wings, three wings, and four wings? Before answering this question, we must first ask what is meant by angels. According to the verses of the Qur'an, angels lack will, and their function is fixed and unchanging. In other words, since angels possess only those fixed attributes that God has placed in their essence, they are in reality the very forces present in existence that have no will of their own, such as the force of gravity. "By way of explanation, anything that falls under the category of 'forces' does not possess existence in and of itself and has no being of its own; rather, its being depends on the establishment and continuation of a kind of 'relation,' and a relation is formed when two existent things connect with one another in some way, that is, exert force upon each other."(1) Hence, a one-winged angel does not exist, because at least two existent things, as two wings, must exist to exert force upon one another for a relation to form and an angel to come into being. Now, we know today that some of the forces in the universe—angels—come into being from the interaction of numerous phenomena, the multiplicity of which sometimes exceeds four. Therefore, when the Qur'an says "mathnā wa-thulātha wa-rubāʿa," it does not mean a maximum of four, but rather absolute "multiplicity"—a multiplicity, of course, that increases stage by stage: first two, then three, four, five, and so on.

Let us return to the opening verses of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ; these verses first recommend upholding equity (qisṭ) among orphans, then state, “وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا فِى ٱلْيَتَامَى فانكِحُوا مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ مَثْنَى وَثُلاثَ وَرُبَاعَ”—if you fear that you will not deal equitably with the orphans, “then marry (fankiḥū) …”. Let us note that the subsequent phrase begins with “fa-”, meaning this phrase is dependent on the preceding one and is a stage after it, not an independent statement. Thus, the Qurʾān’s intent is: O people, you must strive to improve the livelihood of orphans and unprovided-for women; of course, the first priority is with orphans because they suffer from minority of age. But if you fear that you will not uphold equity regarding them, then help improve the livelihood of the needy from another aspect, namely by marrying, from among the unprovided-for women, those who are agreeable to you—according to your capacity, two, three, four, five, and so on—until this social problem is resolved. Yet, if you still fear that you will not be able to observe justice among your wives, then it is better to refrain from polygyny; of course, marry as many as you can from among those whom your right hands possess (mā malakat aymānukum), and do not worry so much about observing justice regarding them, for it is better for them if their milk al-yamīn relationship—that is, the master–slave-girl relation—is transformed into a husband–wife relation.

It is of great importance to note that those women who have been left unprovided-for—meaning they are neither within the fortress of their own family nor within the fortress of a husband—naturally did not possess any particular beauty or charm, or had some problem such that no one had sought to marry them until then, and naturally men have little desire for such marriages, since they appear to increase the burden of livelihood and so forth, and hold no pleasure for them. Hence the Qurʾān says: “fankiḥū mā ṭāba lakum”—“ṭāba” indicates a relative, not absolute, attraction. That is, those women who are good and suitable for you, whom you do not dislike but rather find relatively agreeable, marry them; for otherwise, you will most certainly not observe justice regarding them. It is also important to note that the concern about failing to observe justice in this verse pertains, for the most part, not to the detriment of the first wife, who was more desirable, but to the detriment of the second, third, and fourth wives, in marrying whom there was no great infatuation or affection, but rather it was out of assistance, compassion, and the like. The Qurʾān warns that if marrying them entails unjust treatment toward them, then it is better that these marriages not take place. Let us note that at the time of the Qurʾān’s revelation, there was no limit on polygyny; rather, anyone who had the means could propose to and take as wives as many women as he wished. Of course, in such a case, justice might not be observed toward the first wife. But the subject of verse 3 of Sūrat al-Nisāʾ is not those women with whom men are delighted to marry, but rather women who received little attention from men.

Verse 50 of Sūrat al-Aḥzāb also supports the author’s claim that no ceiling on polygyny is set in the Qurʾān, for in this verse the lawful marriages for the Prophet are enumerated in addition to his previous wives. The verse (in a fluent, conceptual translation) says: “O Prophet, only relations with the wives whose dowries you have paid are lawful for you, and your marriage to those whom your right hands possess, whom God has granted you, is lawful; and also marriage with the daughters of your paternal uncles, paternal aunts, maternal uncles, and maternal aunts who emigrated with you; and also marriage with women who wish to bestow themselves upon the Prophet of God and themselves propose marriage. But, O Prophet, their proposal is only for you, by virtue of your being the Prophet of God, and you have no right, out of self-sacrifice and kindness to another, to tell them, ‘Marry such-and-such a believer instead of me,’ and place him in the predicament of accepting their proposal; for their hearts are set only on marriage with you, and not with other believers. Their proposal is solely for marriage to the Prophet, and not to another. God Himself knows how to resolve the marriage affairs of the believers so that there be no hardship upon you.”(2)

Let me also add this explanation: “Verse 52 of Surah al-Ahzab did not nullify the ruling of verse 50, because in ‘It is not lawful for you [to marry] women after this, nor to exchange them for other wives, even if their beauty pleases you, except those your right hand possesses,’ ‘after this’ is not temporal; rather, it means beyond the scope and extent of this category of women mentioned in verse 50, in addition to those whom your right hand possesses that the Prophet would henceforth acquire. For after the consolidation of the Prophet’s position and charisma, his marriages increasingly took on a political function, and God precluded this with these verses so that a proposal of marriage from the Prophet would not become a cause for boasting and a special status for the one proposed to.” (3)

Based on the explanations provided, no ceiling for polygyny has been specified in the Qur’an, and the practice of the Prophet and his close followers also confirms this claim, as they simultaneously had more than four wives. However, whether, from the Qur’an’s perspective, it is permissible to establish conditions and limitations on polygyny through legislation is a matter of debate that falls outside the scope of this article. I hope to address it on another occasion.

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Endnotes:

1 — Adapted from the article “Iblis; the Fire of Ambition, Satan; Born of Power Relations”

2 — Adapted from “Open Discussion on the Meaning of Malek-e Yamin”

3 — Ibid.

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No Ceiling on Polygyny in the Qur’an

Nima Haghpour — 11 November 2016

[email protected]

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