Quran 4:3, two, three or four, or only one

Surah An-Nisa, ayah 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..." Read it in Arabic with transliteration and the Sahih International translation, with the ayah before and after it, and listen to it recited.

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4:2Before

وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰٓ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا تَتَبَدَّلُوا۟ ٱلْخَبِيثَ بِٱلطَّيِّبِ ۖ وَلَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ إِلَىٰٓ أَمْوَٰلِكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حُوبًۭا كَبِيرًۭا ﴿٢﴾

Wa aatul yataamaaa amwaalahum wa laa tatabad dalul khabeesa bittaiyibi wa laa taakulooo amwaalahum ilaaa amwaalikum; innahoo kaana hooban kabeeraa

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.

4:3This ayah

وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا۟ فِى ٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ فَٱنكِحُوا۟ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَٰثَ وَرُبَٰعَ ۖ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا۟ فَوَٰحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعُولُوا۟ ﴿٣﴾

Wa in khiftum allaa tuqsitoo fil yataamaa fankihoo maa taaba lakum minan nisaaa'i masnaa wa sulaasa wa rubaa'a fa'in khiftum allaa ta'diloo fawaahidatan aw maa malakat aimaanukum; zaalika adnaaa allaa ta'ooloo

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].

4:4After

وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلنِّسَآءَ صَدُقَٰتِهِنَّ نِحْلَةًۭ ۚ فَإِن طِبْنَ لَكُمْ عَن شَىْءٍۢ مِّنْهُ نَفْسًۭا فَكُلُوهُ هَنِيٓـًۭٔا مَّرِيٓـًۭٔا ﴿٤﴾

Wa aatun nisaaa'a sadu qaatihinna nihlah; fa in tibna lakum 'an shai'im minhu nafsan fakuloohu hanee'am mareee'aa

And give the women [upon marriage] their [bridal] gifts graciously. But if they give up willingly to you anything of it, then take it in satisfaction and ease.

Arabic: Tanzil, Uthmani script. English: Sahih International. Audio: EveryAyah. Transliteration is a learning aid; read from the Arabic when you can.

Read it in Surah An-Nisa Listen on repeat

Meaning and lessons

What Quran 4:3 means, in brief

Aishah explained this ayah (Sahih al-Bukhari 4574): it was about a guardian who had an orphan girl in his care and wanted to marry her for her wealth and beauty without giving her a fair dowry. Such guardians were told to marry other women instead, two, three or four, and if they feared they could not be just, then only one.

Ibn Kathir explains that the ayah sets four as the limit, and cites the hadith of Ghaylan, who became Muslim with ten wives and was told to keep four (Jami at-Tirmidhi). The condition is justice in what a person controls, such as time, housing and spending. Another ayah (4:129) admits that equal feelings of the heart are not possible, so that is not what is demanded.

Summarised in our own words from Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Quran 4:3. Translation of the ayah: Sahih International.

Lessons from this ayah

The ayah protects orphans from being exploited.
Justice is the condition, and one wife is the advice for anyone who fears injustice.
Read the occasion of revelation to understand an ayah.

The ruling, Hanafi first

Hanafi position

A man may marry up to four wives at once if he can be just in maintenance and in dividing his nights. If he fears he cannot, he should marry only one. A condition in the marriage contract that he will not marry again is not binding on him in the Hanafi school, though keeping one's word is praised.

Other madhhabs

Hanbali: A wife may set a binding condition in the contract that her husband will not marry another; if he does, she may end the marriage.
Shafi'i, Maliki: The limit and the condition of justice are the same. Such a contract condition is not binding in the way the Hanbali school holds.

Where Quran 4:3 is in the mushaf

Ayah 3 of Surah An-Nisa (النِّسَاءِ), "The Women", surah 4 of the Quran, a Medinan surah of 176 ayat revealed in Madinah. It is in juz 4 (para 4), hizb 8, on page 77 of the standard Madinah mushaf. People search for it as 4/3, 4 3 or Quran 4 3.

More verses on this theme: Quran verses about marriage, Quran verses about women.

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.

Questions

Good to know

What does Quran 4:3 say?

What is Quran 4:3 about?

Which surah and juz is 4:3 in?

It is in Surah An-Nisa, surah 4 of the Quran, in juz 4 (para 4), on page 77 of the Madinah mushaf.

What comes before and after 4:3?

The ayah before, 4:2, says: "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." The ayah after, 4:4, says: "And give the women [upon marriage] their [bridal] gifts graciously. But if they give up willingly to you anything of it, then take it in satisfaction and ease."