And you will not be able to deal equally between wives, though you be desirous; but turn not entirely away leaving one as if suspended. And if you do right and are in prudent fear, God is forgiving and merciful.
| # | word | meaning | root |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | walan | And never | |
| 2 | tastaṭīʿū | will you be able | طوع |
| 3 | an | to | |
| 4 | taʿdilū | deal justly | عدل |
| 5 | bayna | between | بين |
| 6 | l-nisāi | [the] women | نسو |
| 7 | walaw | even if | |
| 8 | ḥaraṣtum | you desired | حرص |
| 9 | falā | but (do) not | |
| 10 | tamīlū | incline | ميل |
| 11 | kulla | (with) all | كلل |
| 12 | l-mayli | the inclination | ميل |
| 13 | fatadharūhā | and leave her (the other) | وذر |
| 14 | kal-muʿalaqati | like the suspended one | علق |
| 15 | wa-in | And if | |
| 16 | tuṣ'liḥū | you reconcile | صلح |
| 17 | watattaqū | and fear (Allah) | وقي |
| 18 | fa-inna | then indeed | |
| 19 | l-laha | Allah | |
| 20 | kāna | is | كون |
| 21 | ghafūran | Oft-Forgiving | غفر |
| 22 | raḥīman | Most Merciful | رحم |
You will not be able to be completely fair between your wives, however hard you try. But do not be completely partial so as to leave a wife, as it were, suspended in mid-air. And if you make amends and have taqwa, Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
And you will not be able to be fair regarding the women even if you make every effort; so do not sway too greatly and leave her as one hanging in a void. And if you reconcile and do right, then God is Forgiving, Merciful.
Men who have been permitted a second wife for post-war exigencies (4:3) must understand that: You will not be able to deal equally between your wives however much you wish. But turn not altogether away from one, leaving her as if in suspense between having and not having a husband. Fulfill the rights of each one of them and be mindful of Allah. Verily, Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. (Your effort is seen 53:40, and He is the Absolver of your imperfections).
And you will not be able to deal equally between wives, though you be desirous; but turn not entirely away leaving one as if suspended. And if you do right and are in prudent fear, God is forgiving and merciful.
And you will not be able to be fair regarding the women even if you make every effort; so do not sway too greatly and leave her as one hanging in a void. And if you reconcile and do right, then God is Forgiver, Merciful.
You will not be able to be fair regarding the women even if you make every effort; so do not sway too greatly and leave her as one hanging in a void. If you reconcile and be aware, then God is Forgiving, Compassionate.
You can never be equitable in dealing with more than one wife, no matter how hard you try. Therefore, do not be so biased as to leave one of them hanging (neither enjoying marriage, nor left to marry someone else). If you correct this situation and maintain righteousness, GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
Howsoever you may try you will never be able to treat your wives equally. But do not incline (to one) exclusively and leave (the other) suspended (as it were). Yet if you do the right thing and are just, God is verily forgiving and kind.
And you will never be able to be equal between wives, even if you should strive . So do not incline completely and leave another hanging. And if you amend and fear Allah - then indeed, Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.
And it will not be within your power to treat your wives with equal fairness, however much you may desire it; and so, do not allow yourselves to incline towards one to the exclusion of the other, leaving her in a state, as it were, of having and not having a husband. But if you put things to rights and are conscious of Him - behold, God is indeed much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.
Ye will not be able to deal equally between (your) wives, however much ye wish (to do so). But turn not altogether away (from one), leaving her as in suspense. If ye do good and keep from evil, lo! Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
You will not be able to treat your wives with absolute justice not even when you keenly desire to do so. (It suffices in order to follow the Law of Allah that) you incline not wholly to one, leaving the other in suspense. If you act rightly and remain God-fearing, surely Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate.
You shall never be able to do equity and justice to women in case of plurality of wives however much you wish, in good conscience, to do so. Therefore, do not disincline yourselves altogether from any of them acting upon your volition or upon a stronger volition than your own to keep her in suspense and mental anguish. And if you set estranged persons at one again and bring them back into concord and entertain the profound reverence dutiful to Allah, you shall find that Allah has always been ever Ghafurun and Rahimun.
You can never treat your wives in an equal manner, even if you do your best. But this does not mean that you can leave a wife of yours in limbo (not having a real marital relationship with her nor divorcing her so that she may find a better relationship.) It will be ideal to establish a peaceful marital relationship in order to please the Lord as God is Merciful and Forgiving.
You will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire, so do not incline too much to one of them (by giving her more of your time and provision) so as to leave the other hanging (i.e. neither divorced nor married). And if you do justice, and do all that is right and fear Allâh by keeping away from all that is wrong, then Allâh is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
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.
You will never be able to maintain ˹emotional˺ justice between your wives—no matter how keen you are. So do not totally incline towards one leaving the other in suspense. And if you do what is right and are mindful ˹of Allah˺, surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
You shall never be able to maintain real equality between wives, even though you are eager to. So, do not lean totally (towards one) and leave the other as suspended. If you act righteously and fear Allah, then, Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.
You will never be able to treat your wives with equal fairness, however much you may desire to do so, but do not ignore one wife altogether, leaving her suspended . If you make amends and remain conscious of God, He is most forgiving and merciful,
You will not be able to be equitable between your wives, be you ever so eager; yet do not be altogether partial so that you leave her as it were suspended. If you set things right, and are godfearing, God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.
Ye are not able, it may be, to act equitably to your wives, even though ye covet it; do not however be quite partial, and leave one as it were in suspense; but if ye be reconciled and fear, then God is forgiving and merciful;
It may be that you will not be able to act equitably to your wives, even though you ardently desire to. But do not turn away from her, leaving her in suspense. If you come to a friendly understanding and avoid evil, then Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
And you will never be able to do justice between (your) wives, (Literally: women) even if you are (so) eager; yet do not incline away completely (Literally: incline away all inclining) (from one), so that you leave her (behind) as if she were suspended. And in case you (do) righteousness and are pious (to Allah), then surely Allah has been Ever-Forgiving, Ever-Merciful.
Ye can by no means carry your selves equally between women in all respects, although ye study to do it; Therefore turn not from a wife with all manner of aversion, nor leave her like one in suspense: If ye agree, and fear to abuse your wives, God is gracious and merciful;
You are never able to be (totally) fair and just between women, even if it is your true (and sincere) wish: So do not turn away (from a woman) altogether, so as to leave her hanging (without support). If you come to a friendly understanding, and practice self-restraint, then Allah is Often Forgiving (Ghafoor), Most Merciful (Raheem).
It is not within your power (as far as natural feelings of love and devotion are concerned, ) to maintain perfect balance between wives (and to treat them with equal justice) even though you be ever so eager; but do not incline with a total inclination (towards one so that you completely sever your relations with the other) so as to leave her like some thing suspended (as virtually deserted). And if you keep things right and guard against evil, then surely Allâh is Great Protector, Ever Merciful.
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.