The Quran

Preface

وَإِن خِفتُم أَلّا تُقسِطوا فِي اليَتامىٰ فَانكِحوا ما طابَ لَكُم مِنَ النِّساءِ مَثنىٰ وَثُلاثَ وَرُباعَ ۖ فَإِن خِفتُم أَلّا تَعدِلوا فَواحِدَةً أَو ما مَلَكَت أَيمانُكُم ۚ ذٰلِكَ أَدنىٰ أَلّا تَعولوا

Ahmed Ali

If you fear you cannot be equitable to orphan girls (in your charge, or misuse their persons), then marry women who are lawful for you,¹ two, three, or four; but if you fear you cannot treat so many with equity, marry only one, or a maid or captive.² This is better than being iniquitous.

That is, those outside the prohibited categories mentioned in verse 22-23. At the same time, marriage with “two, three, or four” is conditional on the fear of behaving inequitably with, or temptation of misusing, the orphan, or husbandless girls in their charge.
Literally ‘what your right hands possess.’ Milk (root MLK), possession, has been used for ‘marrying’ (Taj-al-‘arus) and amlikah for ‘given in marriage.’ ‘Ayesha is reported saying: Maklakani rasūl Allah the Prophet of God married me.’ The expression is used in the Qur’an for women one as married, as here and in 33:52, as well as for captives of war, subordinates, and maid servants and slaves. Aiman-u-kum, your right hands, has also been used for pledging in marriage, as in 4:33. The verse also virtually restricts the number of wives to one, for treating even two with absolute equality is well-nigh impossible.