hand shall possess,'1 but into this matter we need not go. The
limitation to four wives, excluding concubines, in the case of ordinary Muslims
is to be found in the third verse of Sura An-Nisa' (iv), revealed about the
fourth or fifth year of the Hijra, and earlier than the passage in which
Muhammad is limited to nine wives.
About this time Muhammad made a small expedition against an Arab tribe, the
Bani Mustaliq, which is of interest on account of a scandal regarding 'Ayisha,
who accompanied her husband and which led to a special revelation. On the march
she loitered behind and finally came into camp escorted by a youth, named Safwan
bin Mu'attal. Her excuse was that she stayed behind to find a lost necklace.
There were scandal-mongers present who made improper remarks about this. Then
came the verse:
Of a truth, they who advanced that lie were a large number of you. Sura An-Nur
(xxiv) 11.
The commentators Husain, Ibn Abba's and also Baidawi say that the verse
refers to 'Ayisha. The occasion gave rise to this Sura, delivered after the
return to Madina, and with verse nineteen of Sura An-Nisa' (iv) forms the
Prophet's denunciation of fornication and gives the law regarding it. There is a
Tradition to the effect that the Khalifa 'Umar said that the punishment
originally was that of stoning, now held to be abrogated by Sura An-Nur (xxiv)
1-4.