The Women
4. An-Nisā’
النساء
Page #99
4:129
وَلَن
تَسْتَطِيعُوا
أَن
تَعْدِلُوا
بَيْنَ
النِّسَاءِ
وَلَوْ
حَرَصْتُمْ
فَلَا
تَمِيلُوا
كُلَّ
الْمَيْلِ
فَتَذَرُوهَا
كَالْمُعَلَّقَةِ
وَإِن
تُصْلِحُوا
وَتَتَّقُوا
فَإِنَّ
اللَّهَ
كَانَ
غَفُورًا
رَّحِيمًا
wa-lan tastaṭīʿū ʾan taʿdilū bayna n-nisāʾi wa-law ḥaraṣtum fa-lā tamīlū kulla l-mayli fa-tadharūhā ka-l-muʿallaqati wa-ʾin tuṣliḥū wa-tattaqū fa-ʾinna llāha kāna ghafūran raḥīman
Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women, even if it is your ardent desire: But turn not away (from a woman) altogether, so as to leave her (as it were) hanging (in the air). If ye come to a friendly understanding, and practise self-restraint, Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
— Abdullah Yusufali
You will not be able to be fair between wives, even if you are eager to do so. Yet do not turn away from one altogether, leaving her as if in a suspense. But if you are conciliatory and Godwary, Allah is indeed all-forgiving, all-merciful.
