Question:
Concerning polygamy, many people misinterpret Allah�s words so that polygamy seems categorically permitted. Allah says �If ye fear that ye shall not deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if you fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one or (a captive) that your right hand possesses, that will be more suitable to prevent you from doing injustice.� Some people say that a man can simply marry more than one wife without any strong reason for doing so as long as he is going to be fair with both of them. This neglects completely the part of the verse that allows polygamy under the condition that a person fears that he won\'t be just with the orphans. From my point of view, which could be wrong, this is clear evidence that Allah allows polygamy in extenuating circumstances where there are many orphans or widows without sufficient men to take care of them.

Answer:
The problem here is a question of the understanding of the verse, which is contingent on the language of the verse and on the evidence in the Qur��n and Sunnah that explains it. Let us, then, take a look at what the verse is actually saying:

The verse reads: �If you fear you will not deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two, three, or four...� [S�rah al-Nis�: 3]

This is a translation of: �Wa in khiftum all� tuqsit� fil-yat�m� fa-nkih� m� t�b lakum min al-nis�, mathn� wa thul�th wa rub�`�� [S�rah al-Nis�: 3]

The verse does not say to marry the orphans if they fear that they cannot do justice to them. It says to marry �women of your choice� (m� t�b lakum min al-nis�). This is clear permission to marry women in general.

It does not in any way refer back to the orphans. It does not say �marry from among the orphans� (fa-nkih� min al-yat�m�) or �marry from among them� (fa-nkih� minhinn) or �marry women of your choice from among them� (fa-nkih� m� t�b lakum min al-nis� minhinna) or anything else that could be construed to refer back to the orphans.

What is being said here, actually, is to not marry the orphans but to marry other women.

When there are a lot of orphan girls, the non-mahram guardians of many of these orphan girls have an unfair advantage over them if they wish to marry them for themselves. Being their guardians, they will be tempted to marry them without paying them their full dowries or in order to confiscate their inheritance. Therefore, Allah is telling these men that if they fear that they cannot deal justly with the orphans whom they wish to marry, then they should marry other women.

`A\'ishah, the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him) explained this verse as follows:
A man was taking care of a female orphan and he married her, although he did not desire to marry her. That girl\'s money was mixed with his, and he was keeping her portion from her. Afterwards, this verse was revealed about his case. [Sah�h al-Bukh�r�].

Once, `’ishah�s nephew`Urwah b. al-Zubayr asked her about the meaning of the Allah�s words �If you fear you will not deal justly with the orphans��. She said:
O my nephew! This is about the orphan girl who lives with her guardian and shares his property. Her wealth and beauty may tempt him to marry her without giving her an adequate dowry which might have been given by another suitor. So, such guardians were forbidden to marry such orphan girls unless they treated them justly and gave them the most suitable dowry; otherwise they were ordered to marry woman besides them. [Sah�h al-Bukh�r�]
This is the explanation of the verse given by the Mother of the Believers who was there at the time the verse was revealed and who knew firsthand the reason for its revelation.

It is also the interpretation that is consistent with the language of the verse. Interpreting the verse to mean that people should force weak orphan girls in polygamous marriages is an unjust and erroneous interpretation of the verse.

Allah knows best.

Responded by:
The Fatwa Department Research Committee, chaired by Sheikh `Abd Al-Wahh�b Al-Turayr�