4:3

Salaam all,

This is 4:3
وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلاَّ تُقْسِطُواْ فِي الْيَتَامَى فَانكِحُواْ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ النِّسَاء مَثْنَى وَثُلاَثَ وَرُبَاعَ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلاَّ تَعْدِلُواْ فَوَاحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَلاَّ تَعُولُواْ
Wain khiftum alla tuqsitoo fee alyatama fainkihoo ma taba lakum mina alnnisai mathna wathulatha warubaAAa fain khiftum alla taAAdiloo fawahidatan aw ma malakat aymanukum thalika adna alla taAAooloo

The Aya says:
And if you (plural) feared that you not be just with the orphans then marry what causes good for you of the women, including two, three and four. So, if you feared that you will not be just then one, or what you have legal authority over. This is closer that you be just/ without many dependants.

My personal note:
There are several issues regarding this Aya. It is the Aya that allows marriage up to four wives, and it presents it in relation to justice. This is why it limits the polygamy to four because more than that, injustice becomes inevitable. The Aya then limits it further in presenting that if we feared injustice still, then only one would be closer to justice. So, in a sense, while the Aya permits marriage up to four, it prefers the marriage to one. Why? Because while marriage to one is the better choice as a general rule, there will be occasions where polygamy may be of benefit to the individuals or society. Therefore banning completely may present clear challenges to societies in distress, as in societies which lost lots of men in battle and so on.

The other issue is what is the relationship between orphans and marrying more than one woman? There are two answers that come to mind:
1- YATAMA is a word that covers orphans, but it also covers any dependant person without a man to support him or her. In Lisan Al Arab, it was used for women without husbands. So, while it covers orphans, it potentially covers women without husbands. If so, then as if it says that if there are women without husbands, then marrying more than woman may help protect those women from injustice.
2- And this one is the understanding of Imam Shafii ®. Here, it contrasts that since you do not like injustice to the orphans and that is agreed upon by all societies, then you should not like injustice in treating your wives and that is why the set limit of marriage is up to four, no more, with preference of one.

Both meanings and potential other understandings of links apply and may all be correct at the same time.

I wanted to go over three terms:

MA TABA LAKUM MINA ALNNISAI is a statement that I translated as: what cause good for you (plural). It can also be understood as what is good for you (plural). Some common misunderstanding of the term is “what you like”. This is a misunderstanding because TABA is good in a pure sense or what causes good in a pure sense. However, what like may or may not be good in a pure sense. So, this term should not be understood as marry as much as you like, but marry up to four according to what is good for you or what causes you good.

The second term is MA MALAKAT AYMANUKUM. This is a term that will mean: what you have legal authority over. This term has wide coverage of understanding. It covers marriage, as being included in legal authority, and goes further to situations that are not covered exactly by traditional marriage, including but not limited to, sex between the master and his female slaves, when slavery was present. In that situation, pregnancy was supposed to lead to free children who have the full rights of children of the master.

The third term is ADNA ALLA TaAAooLOO which I translated as closer that you not be unjust or closer that you not have many dependants. This is because TaAAooLOO is related to tipping the scale in one direction or another. Tipping the scale can be used for injustice in case we tipped it wrongly. It also can be because there is great burden on the scale, as in having many dependants. This too can lead to injustice as well.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Wain: and if
Khiftum: you (plural) feared
Note: the root is KH-W-F and it means fear or scare. KHIFTUM is an action that is completed. It means: the action of fear happened by the subject (second person plural).
Alla: that not
Tuqsitoo: you (plural) portion justly/ judicious in portioning/ just in portioning
Note: the root is Qaf-S-TTA and it means portioning. Some derivatives of this root give the meaning of just portioning and others not. TUQSITOO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of portioning justly is happening or will be happening by the subject (second person plural).
Fee: in
Alyatama: the orphans/ the dependant without support or man
Note: ALYATAMA is derived from the root Y-T-M and it means being alone. This word is used for the orphans because they lost their parent. It is also used for a woman who is alone without support. Conceptually, it covers any dependant person who does not have clear human support amongst the known relatives of parenthood or marriage.
Fainkihoo: then marry/ then have legal sex
Note: Fa means then or therefore or so. INKIHOO is derived from the root N-K-Ha and it means the having of sex between a male and female in a legal manner and it takes the meaning of the marriage and the marriage contract in a sense. INKIHOO is an order or a demand to a group of people. It means: marry
Ma: what
Taba: led to goodness/ was good and caused goodness
Note: the root is Ta-Y-B and it means good and leads to goodness. TABA is an action that is completed. It means: the action of goodness or leading to goodness happened by the subject (MA= what, just preceded).
Lakum: to you/ for you
Mina: of/ from
Alnnisai: the women
Note: the word means the women. It has two potential roots that may be related to it. The first N-S-Y and it is the one used for women. This same root is used for the sciatic nerve as a concrete word and for forgetting. The relation between the different meanings is only in an indirect manner. Another root is N-S-Hamza and it means putting things behind in time or space of delaying things. Concrete words are the women that have a delay in the menses because of possibility of pregnancy.
Mathna: two
Note: the root is TH-N-Y and it means to fold something. This is then used to make the one two through folding and other meanings. MATHNA here means two.
Wathulatha: and three/ including three
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA often corresponds with “and/ addition” but the more encompassing meaning is in inclusion one in another or all in a bigger picture or sentence. THALATHA is derived from the root Th-L-Th and it means three. THULATHA is three.
warubaAAa: and four/ including four
Note: WA is a letter that links what is before with what is after. This link is through inclusion, either one is included in the other or they are all included in the bigger sentence or bigger picture. WA often corresponds with “and/ addition” but the more encompassing meaning is in inclusion one in another or all in a bigger picture or sentence. RUBaAAa is derived from the root R-B-Ain and it means four and so on. RUBaAAa means four.
Fain: so if
Khiftum: you (plural) feared
Note: the root is KH-W-F and it means fear or scare. KHIFTUM is an action that is completed. It means: the action of fear happened by the subject (second person plural).
Alla: that not
taAAdiloo: you (plural) be just
Note: the root is Ain-D-L and it means just or straightforward or straight without bends. TaAADILOO is an action that is being completed or will be completed. It means: the action of being just is being completed or will be completed by the subject (third person plural).
Fawahidatan: the one
Note: FA means then or therefore or so. WAHIDATAN is derived from the root W-Ha-D and it means one. WAHIDATAN is one in the feminine form.
Aw: or
Ma: what
Malakat: she owned/ she happened to have authority
Note: the root is MLK and it means ownership or authority over something. One concrete meaning is the fruit when it becomes strong and held together. So, in a sense MULK has the meaning of holding things together in a strong bond and with authority over it. MALAKAT is an action that is completed. It means: the action of owning or having authority happened by the subject (third person feminine singular pointing to Aymanukum= your right/ your right hands/ your legal right).
Aymanukum: Your (plural) right/ your right hand/ your legal right/ your oaths.
Note: AYMANUKUM is derived from the root Y-M-N and it means right as in the opposite of left. This is then taken conceptually to mean many other things as in right hand, oath and good luck and so forth. AYMANU means right or right hand or legal right or oath of. KUM means plural you. MA MALAKAT AYMANUKUM covers what the meaning of: What you have legal authority over.
Thalika: that
Adna: closer
Note: the root is D-N-W and it means nearness or nearing. ADNA means nearer or nearest.
Alla: that not
taAAooloo: you (plural) tip the scales (with injustice or lots of dependants).
Note: the root is Ain-W-L and it is used in concrete for one who tips the scale in one direction or another. Therefore it can conceptually be used for one who is unjust. It can also be used for one who has many things that tip the scale or push him to tip the scale as in kids or dependants.


Salaam all and have a great day.


Hussein