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The question

What is the interpretation of the two noble verses: "Then marry such women as seem good to you, two, three, or four; but if you fear that you will not be able to deal justly [with them], then only one" and "And you will never be able to deal equally [with your wives]", and how is polygyny permitted on condition of justice, then it is asserted that justice is impossible?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

Perhaps the intention behind combining the two verses, "You will never be able to do justice" and "but if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one," is to demonstrate the impossibility of achieving justice between wives, rather than combining them in recitation. This is because the arrangement of verses is divinely ordained, and altering it would be a distortion of the Book of Allah. The questioner's understanding of the statement might be different from what was intended.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
97235
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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Read the full answer on Ftawy