The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 270
CH. 4 AN-NISA' PT. 5 وَلَنْ تَسْتَطِيعُوا أَنْ تَعْدِلُوا بَيْنَ النِّسَاءِ And you cannot keep. 130 perfect balance between wives, وَلَوْ حَرَصْتُمْ فَلَا تَمِيلُوا كُلَّ الْمَيْلِ however much you may desire فَتَذَرُوهَا كَالْمُعَلَّقَةِ وَإِنْ تُصْلِحُوا it. But incline not wholly to one SO bthat you leave the other like a thing suspended. And if you amend and act righteously, surely Allah is Most Forgiving and Merciful. 595 The words "4:4. b2:232. وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا (people that she might marry another man (Lane & Aqrab). Commentary: are prone to covetousness) literally mean, "souls have been put face to face with covetousness. " These words thus give the real cause that often leads to estrangement between husband and wife. It may be expressed as niggardliness on the part of the husband and covetousness on the part of the wife. When the husband does not like his wife, he thinks it a burden to support her. On the other hand, the wife sometimes makes excessive demands on her husband. The verse exhorts both to treat each other equitably and fairly. The words, and reconciliation is best, embody an appeal to the married couple to live amicably and avoid disagreements; for that is in their own interest in all respects. 595. Important Words: a (a thing suspended) is derived from. They say a i. e. he hung it up or suspended it. means, he left the affair suspended, i. e. undecided. as is, therefore, a woman whose husband neither keeps her properly as a wife nor divorces her so 710 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. 'Ā'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