The 365 · Verses · Day 237 · Justice
Qur'an 4:3
وَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تُقْسِطُوا۟ فِى ٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ فَٱنكِحُوا۟ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ مَثْنَىٰ وَثُلَـٰثَ وَرُبَـٰعَ ۖ فَإِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا۟ فَوَٰحِدَةً أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـٰنُكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَلَّا تَعُولُوا۟
“If you fear that you will not deal fairly with orphan girls, you may marry whichever other women seem good to you, two, three, or four. If you fear that you cannot be equitable to them, then marry only one, or your slave(s): that is more likely to make you avoid bias. (Quran 4:3)”
Svenska: Och om ni befarar att inte kunna behandla de föräldralösa med rättvisa, tag då i stället [andra] kvinnor som syns er goda till hustrur: två eller tre eller fyra; men om ni inte tror er om att kunna behandla dem [alla] lika, tag då [endast] en. (Koranen 4:3)
A reflection to carry
Allah did not give the believer an absolute right; He gave a conditional one, governed entirely by ʿadl. If you can be just between multiple wives, He permitted up to four. If you fear injustice (fa-in khiftum allā taʿdilū), He commanded: fa-wāḥidah. Just one. And the verse closes: dhālika adnā allā taʿūlū. That is closer to you not committing oppression. The dīn does not give you permissions that override justice; the permissions are themselves frames that justice fills. Ya akhī, ya ukhtī, the verse is far bigger than its specific topic. It is a paradigm: every right Allah granted you in this dīn is conditioned on ʿadl. The right to lead is conditioned on justice with those led. The right to teach is conditioned on justice with the truth. The right to be a parent is conditioned on justice between children (Day 169). The right to be a guardian is conditioned on justice with the ward. The right to have wealth is conditioned on justice in its earning and spending. Allah is teaching: my rights to you come with audit conditions. Read the verse against your own life: where have I been given a permission whose justice-conditions I have not checked?
Read the longer reflection
Yā Rabb, You did not grant the believer absolute rights. You granted rights inside a frame, and the frame was always ʿadl. You permitted up to four spouses, but You closed the door with one condition: if you fear injustice, marry only one. Dhālika adnā allā taʿūlū. That is closer to you not committing oppression. Ya Allāh, this paradigm applies to every permission You have given me. You permitted me wealth, conditioned on its just earning and spending. You permitted me leadership, conditioned on justice with those I lead. You permitted me to be a parent, conditioned on equity between my children. You permitted me to speak about others, conditioned on the truth and benefit of what I say. Each permission came with an audit clause. Forgive me, ya Rabb, for every permission I exercised without auditing the justice-condition. Forgive me for the wealth I have spent without considering whether all stakeholders received their right. For the leadership decisions I have made without weighing all affected parties. For the parenting practices that secretly favored one child. For the relationships where I claimed rights I had not first audited for justice. Realign me. Make me a believer who reads every permission as a contract whose justice-clause must be honored before the permission is invoked. And ya Allah, in marriage specifically: whether I am married to one or to none, whether I am a man or a woman in this relationship, let the ʿadl-clause govern every decision in my home. Time. Attention. Provision. Affection. Conflict. All audited by qisṭ. Āmīn ya ʿAdl.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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