Sign in
It's the month of the Quran.Help us spread its light.Contribute to our mission
Donate
Contribute to our mission
Donate
Sign in
Sign in
Select Language
4:3
وان خفتم الا تقسطوا في اليتامى فانكحوا ما طاب لكم من النساء مثنى وثلاث ورباع فان خفتم الا تعدلوا فواحدة او ما ملكت ايمانكم ذالك ادنى الا تعولوا ٣
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 ٣
وَإِنۡ
خِفۡتُمۡ
أَلَّا
تُقۡسِطُواْ
فِي
ٱلۡيَتَٰمَىٰ
فَٱنكِحُواْ
مَا
طَابَ
لَكُم
مِّنَ
ٱلنِّسَآءِ
مَثۡنَىٰ
وَثُلَٰثَ
وَرُبَٰعَۖ
فَإِنۡ
خِفۡتُمۡ
أَلَّا
تَعۡدِلُواْ
فَوَٰحِدَةً
أَوۡ
مَا
مَلَكَتۡ
أَيۡمَٰنُكُمۡۚ
ذَٰلِكَ
أَدۡنَىٰٓ
أَلَّا
تَعُولُواْ
٣
If you fear you might fail to give orphan women their ˹due˺ rights ˹if you were to marry them˺, then marry other women of your choice—two, three, or four. But if you are afraid you will fail to maintain justice, then ˹content yourselves with˺ one1 or those ˹bondwomen˺ in your possession.2 This way you are less likely to commit injustice.
Tafsirs
Layers
Lessons
Reflections
Answers
Qiraat
Hadith
Only hadith that explicitly reference Quranic verses are included, and this selection is not exhaustive. Narrations are curated to match the chosen verses from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, cited via Sunnah.com.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2494

Narrated `Urwa bin Az-Zubair:

That he had asked `Aisha about the meaning of the Statement of Allah: "If you fear that you shall not Be able to deal justly With the orphan girls, then Marry (Other) women of your choice Two or three or four." (4.3) She said, "O my nephew! This is about the orphan girl who lives with her guardian and shares his property. Her wealth and beauty may tempt him to marry her without giving her an adequate Mahr (bridal-money) which might have been given by another suitor. So, such guardians were forbidden to marry such orphan girls unless they treated them justly and gave them the most suitable Mahr; otherwise they were ordered to marry any other woman." `Aisha further said, "After that verse the people again asked the Prophet (about the marriage with orphan 'girls), so Allah revealed the following verses:-- 'They ask your instruction Concerning the women. Say: Allah Instructs you about them And about what is Recited unto you In the Book, concerning The orphan girls to whom You give not the prescribed portions and yet whom you Desire to marry..." (4.127) What is meant by Allah's Saying:-- 'And about what is Recited unto you is the former verse which goes:-- 'If you fear that you shall not Be able to deal justly With the orphan girls, then Marry (other) women of your choice.' (4.3) `Aisha said, "Allah's saying in the other verse:--'Yet whom you desire to marry' (4.127) means the desire of the guardian to marry an orphan girl under his supervision when she has not much property or beauty (in which case he should treat her justly). The guardians were forbidden to marry their orphan girls possessing property and beauty without being just to them, as they generally refrain from marrying them (when they are neither beautiful nor wealthy).

Sahih al-Bukhari 6965

Narrated `Urwa:

That he asked `Aisha regarding the Verse: 'If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls, marry (other) women of your choice.' (4.3) `Aisha said, "It is about an orphan girl under the custody of her guardian who being attracted by her wealth and beauty wants to marry her with Mahr less than other women of her status. So such guardians were forbidden to marry them unless they treat them justly by giving them their full Mahr. Then the people sought the verdict of Allah's Apostle for such cases, whereupon Allah revealed: 'They ask your instruction concerning women..' (4.127) (The sub-narrator then mentioned the Hadith.)

Sahih al-Bukhari 2763

Narrated Az-Zuhri:

`Urwa bin Az-Zubair said that he asked `Aisha about the meaning of the Qur'anic Verse:-- "And if you fear that you will not deal fairly with the orphan girls then marry (other) women of your choice." (4.2-3) Aisha said, "It is about a female orphan under the guardianship of her guardian who is inclined towards her because of her beauty and wealth, and likes to marry her with a Mahr less than what is given to women of her standard. So they (i.e. guardians) were forbidden to marry the orphans unless they paid them a full appropriate Mahr (otherwise) they were ordered to marry other women instead of them. Later on the people asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about it. So Allah revealed the following Verse:-- "They ask your instruction (O Muhammad!) regarding women. Say: Allah instructs you regarding them..." (4.127) and in this Verse Allah indicated that if the orphan girl was beautiful and wealthy, her guardian would have the desire to marry her without giving her an appropriate Mahr equal to what her peers could get, but if she was undesirable for lack of beauty or wealth, then he would not marry her, but seek to marry some other woman instead of her. So, since he did not marry her when he had no inclination towards her, he had not the right to marry her when he had an interest in her, unless he treated her justly by giving her a full Mahr and securing all her rights.

Sahih al-Bukhari 5092

Narrated 'Urwa:

that he asked `Aisha regarding the Verse: 'If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans (4.3) She said, "O my nephew! This Verse refers to the orphan girl who is under the guardianship of her guardian who likes her beauty and wealth and wishes to (marry her and) curtails her Mahr. Such guardians have been forbidden to marry them unless they do justice by giving them their full Mahr, and they have been ordered to marry other than them. The people asked for the verdict of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) after that, so Allah revealed: 'They ask your instruction concerning the women . . . whom you desire to marry.' (4.127) So Allah revealed to them that if the orphan girl had beauty and wealth, they desired to marry her and for her family status. They can only marry them if they give them their full Mahr. And if they had no desire to marry them because of their lack of wealth and beauty, they would leave them and marry other women. So, as they used to leave them, when they had no interest, in them, they were forbidden to marry them when they had such interest, unless they treated them justly and gave them their full Mahr Apostle said, 'If at all there is evil omen, it is in the horse, the woman and the house." a lady is to be warded off. And the Statement of Allah: 'Truly, among your wives and your children, there are enemies for you (i.e may stop you from the obedience of Allah)' (64.14)

He has revealed to you ˹O Prophet˺ the Book in truth, confirming what came before it, as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Become a Monthly Donor

Monthly donations help us improve Quran.com and sustain operations so we focus less on fundraising and more on creating impact. Learn more

Notes placeholders
Read, Listen, Search, and Reflect on the Quran

Quran.com is a trusted platform used by millions worldwide to read, search, listen to, and reflect on the Quran in multiple languages. It provides translations, tafsir, recitations, word-by-word translation, and tools for deeper study, making the Quran accessible to everyone.

As a Sadaqah Jariyah, Quran.com is dedicated to helping people connect deeply with the Quran. Supported by Quran.Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Quran.com continues to grow as a free and valuable resource for all, Alhamdulillah.

Navigate
Home
Quran Radio
Reciters
About Us
Developers
Product Updates
Feedback
Help
Our Projects
Quran.com
Quran For Android
Quran iOS
QuranReflect.com
Quran.AI
Sunnah.com
Nuqayah.com
Legacy.Quran.com
Corpus.Quran.com
Non-profit projects owned, managed, or sponsored by Quran.Foundation
Popular Links

Ayatul Kursi

Yaseen

Al Mulk

Ar-Rahman

Al Waqi'ah

Al Kahf

Al Muzzammil

SitemapPrivacyTerms and Conditions
© 2026 Quran.com. All Rights Reserved