مثنى وثلاث. ما العلاقة بين اليتامى وتعدد الزوجات في قوله تعالى وإن خفتم ألا تقسطوا في اليتامى فانكحوا ما طاب لكم من النساء ؟

It is in this context that people are told that if they fear perpetrating wrongs on orphans they ought to be equally worried about perpetrating them on women	For the relevant traditions see the comments of Ibn Kathir and Qurtubi on this verse - Ed
This expression denotes 'slave-girls', i	This conclusion is also supported by traditions

Somali - Abduh : Haddaad ka Cabsataan inaydaan ku Cadaalad Falin Agoonta Guursada wixii idiin Wanaagsan oo Haween ah Labo Saddex iyo Afar Haddaad ka Cabsataan inaydaan Caddaalad Falin Mid kaliya Guursada ama waxay Hanatay Gacmihiinnu Saasaa u Dhaw inaydaan Jawrfalinc• After marriage such men sometimes committed excesses against these girls.

القرآن الكريم: In case there are complaints from wives that they are not being treated equitably, the Islamic state has the right to intervene and redress such grievances
مثنى وثلاث ورباع: This is likely to cause much greater harm than polygamy to the moral and social order
سورة النساء: It is in this context that the Muslims are told that if they fear they will not be able to do justice to the orphan girls, then they should marry other girls whom they like

The result was that a man sometimes married as many as ten women and, when expenses increased because of a large family, he encroached on the rights either of his orphan nephews or other relatives

Yang demikian itu maksudnya mengawini empat orang istri atau seorang istri saja, atau mengambil hamba sahaya lebih dekat kepada tidak berbuat aniaya atau berlaku lalim

Melayu - Basmeih : Dan jika kamu takut tidak berlaku adil terhadap perempuanperempuan yatim apabila kamu berkahwin dengan mereka maka berkahwinlah dengan sesiapa yang kamu berkenan dari perempuanperempuan lain dua tiga atau empat Kemudian jika kamu bimbang tidak akan berlaku adil di antara isteriisteri kamu maka berkahwinlah dengan seorang sahaja atau pakailah hambahamba perempuan yang kamu miliki Yang demikian itu adalah lebih dekat untuk mencegah supaya kamu tidak melakukan kezaliman• kemudian jika kamu tidak akan dapat berlaku adil di antara mereka dalam giliran dan pembagian nafkah maka hendaklah seorang saja yang kamu kawini atau hendaklah kamu batasi pada hamba sahaya yang menjadi milikmu karena mereka tidak mempunyai hak-hak sebagaimana istri-istri lainnya

For further elaboration see my book, Sunnat k A'iniHaythiyat, Lahore, 3rd edition, 1975, pp

Muslim jurists are agreed that according to this verse the maximum number Of wives has been fixed at four.

سورة النساء: ii The second view is that of Ibn 'Abbas and his disciple 'Ikrimah who expressed the opinion that in the Jahiliyah period there was no limit on the number of wives a man could take
مثنى وثلاث ورباع: 中国语文 - Ma Jian : 如果你们恐怕不能公平对待孤儿，那末，你们可以择你们爱悦的女人，各娶两妻、三妻、四妻；如果你们恐怕不能公平地待遇她们，那末，你们只可以各娶一妻，或以你们的女奴为满足。 The Prophet peace be on him ordered him to keep only four wives and divorce the rest
مثنى وثلاث ورباع: English - Sahih International : 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]• Such arguments only show the mental slavery to which these people have succumbed

female captives of war who are distributed by the state among individuals

Each of the three interpretations is plausible and all three may possibly be correct

Some people who have been overwhelmed and overawed by the Christianized outlook of Westerners have tried to prove that the real aim of the Qur'an was to put an end to polygamy which, in their opinion, is intrinsically evil

The purpose of this verse is to tell men that if their financial circumstances do not permit them to support a free woman as their wife then they may marry a slave-girl see verse 25 below ; if they consider it necessary to have more than one wife and it would be difficult for them to treat their free wives equitably they may resort to slave-girls, for here the burden of obligations is lighter by comparison

That polygamy is an evil per se is an unacceptable proposition, for under certain conditions it becomes a moral and social necessity.

ما العلاقة بين اليتامى وتعدد الزوجات في قوله تعالى وإن خفتم ألا تقسطوا في اليتامى فانكحوا ما طاب لكم من النساء ؟: Indonesia - Bahasa Indonesia : Dan jika kamu takut tidak akan dapat berlaku adil terhadap hakhak perempuan yang yatim bilamana kamu mengawininya maka kawinilah wanitawanita lain yang kamu senangi dua tiga atau empat Kemudian jika kamu takut tidak akan dapat berlaku adil maka kawinilah seorang saja atau budakbudak yang kamu miliki Yang demikian itu adalah lebih dekat kepada tidak berbuat aniaya• In the first place they should never marry more than four, and of those four, they should marry only as many as they can treat fairly
موقع هدى القرآن الإلكتروني: They married as many women as they wanted and then subjected them to injustice and oppression
الجمع بين آية التعدد وبين قوله تعالى: (وَلَنْ تَسْتَطِيعُوا أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا): Since it was widely practised at that time, however, Islam confined itself to placing restrictions on it