Marry four - Does religion need to be modifed according to TIME? Quran is the only religious book on the face of the earth that says - marry only one -. The context of this phrase is the following verse from Surah Nisa of the Glorious Quran: - Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one. - [Al-Quran 4:3] Before the Quran was revealed, there was no upper limit for polygyny and many men had scores of wives, some even hundreds. Islam put an upper limit of four wives. Islam gives a man permission to marry two, three or four women, only on the condition that he deals justly with them. In the same chapter i.e. Surah Nisa verse 129 says: - Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women.... - [Al-Quran 4:129] Therefore polygyny is not a rule but an exception. Many people are under the misconception that it is compulsory for a Muslim man to have more than one wife. Broadly, Islam has five categories of Do_s and Donts: i. - Fardh i.e. compulsory or obligatory ii. - Mustahab - i.e. recommended or encouraged iii. - Mubah - i.e. permissible or allowed iv. - Makruh - i.e. not recommended or discouraged v. - Haraam - i.e. prohibited or forbidden Polygyny falls in the middle category of things that are permissible. It cannot be said that a Muslim who has two, three or four wives is a better Muslim as compared to a Muslim who has only one wife