Verse 130
The Women • madinah
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وَلَن تَسْتَطِيعُوٓا۟ أَن تَعْدِلُوا۟ بَيْنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ ۖ فَلَا تَمِيلُوا۟ كُلَّ ٱلْمَيْلِ فَتَذَرُوهَا كَٱلْمُعَلَّقَةِ ۚ وَإِن تُصْلِحُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
4:4.
2:232.
Important Words:
معلقة (a thing suspended) is derived from علق. They say علقه i.e. he hung it up or suspended it. علق الامر means, he left the affair suspended, i.e. undecided. معلقه is, therefore, a woman whose husband neither keeps her properly as a wife nor divorces her so that she might marry another man (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The words, And you cannot keep perfect balance between wives, however much you may desire it, mean that it is not humanly possible for a man to keep perfect balance between his different wives in every respect. For instance, love being an affair of the heart over which man has no control, a husband cannot be expected to have equal love for all his wives. But he can certainly treat them with equity in matters of money, time, etc., and this he must do. So acting equitably between the different wives, which has been laid down by Islam as an essential condition for polygamy, pertains only to such overt acts over which man has control. This is the interpretation which the Holy Prophet himself has put on this verse, both through his word and example. ‘A’ishah reports that the Holy Prophet used to treat his wives with equity in all matters over which man can have control and having done this, he used to pray to God, saying: "My Lord, these are my dealings in matters over which I have control; so blame me not for that which is in Thy power and not mine," meaning the feelings of the heart (Dawud, ch. on Nikah). The Holy Prophet is also reported to have said: "If a man has two wives and he is inclined to one of them (neglecting the other), he will rise on the Day of Resurrection with one of his sides having been torn off (Dawud, ch. on Nikah). Thus, both the example and the sayings of the Holy Prophet show that though a husband cannot love his wives equally, he should in his outward treatment, i.e. allotment of time, money, etc. be equally just and fair to all of them. In this connection see also 4:4.
4:4.
2:232.
It is humanly impossible for a man to keep perfect balance between his wives in all respects; for instance love being an affair of the heart over which man has no control, a husband cannot be expected to have equal love for all his wives. But he can certainly deal by them with equity in other respects, and this he must do. So acting equitably between one’s wives pertains only to such acts over which one has control. This is the interpretation the Holy Prophet himself put upon this verse.