⚖️ Polygyny: rulings & justice · #19
A non-Muslim man with more than four wives embraces Islam: what must he do?
He must choose only four wives (if they are also women he may marry under Islam) and separate from the rest.
The evidence is the story of Ghailan ath-Thaqafi, who embraced Islam with ten wives, and the Prophet ﷺ ordered him to choose four (narrated by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, sahih). In the Shafi'i school, he is free to choose any four, not necessarily those he married first. The wives who are released are entitled to be treated well and to have their rights explained. For converts in Malaysia, registration matters and civil-law consequences should be referred to the state Islamic Religious Department and a lawyer. See Interfaith & converts.
The evidence is the story of Ghailan ath-Thaqafi, who embraced Islam with ten wives, and the Prophet ﷺ ordered him to choose four (narrated by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, sahih). In the Shafi'i school, he is free to choose any four, not necessarily those he married first. The wives who are released are entitled to be treated well and to have their rights explained. For converts in Malaysia, registration matters and civil-law consequences should be referred to the state Islamic Religious Department and a lawyer. See Interfaith & converts.
Difference of madhhab. The Hanafis hold that if the contracts took place one after another, the first four are kept; the majority permit choosing any four.
Sources
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah (sahih) — the story of Ghailan ath-ThaqafiSurah an-Nisa' 4:3