1167 - Issue; he said: "If he marries more than four, in a single contract or in separate contracts, then he consummates with them, then he embraces Islam, then each of them embraces Islam during her waiting period (idda), he shall choose four of them and separate from the rest, regardless of whether those he keeps are the ones he contracted first or last."

In summary, if a disbeliever embraces Islam while he has more than four wives, and they embrace Islam during their waiting period, or if they are women of the Scripture (Kitabiyyat), he cannot retain all of them, by agreement of those we know. He does not have the authority to retain more than four. If he desires to do so, he chooses four of them and separates from the rest, whether he married them in one contract or in multiple contracts, and whether he chooses the first [ones married] or the last. Ahmad explicitly stated this. This is also the view of al-Hasan, Malik, al-Layth, al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, al-Shafi'i, Ishaq, and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. Abu Hanifa and Abu Yusuf said: If he married them in one contract, the marriage of all of them is annulled; if it was in separate contracts, the marriage of the first four is valid, and the marriage of those in excess of four is invalid, because when a contract covers more than four, its prohibition arises from the aspect of gathering [them], so he has no option of choice after embracing Islam, just as if a woman married two husbands while in a state of disbelief, then they embraced Islam. Our evidence is what Qays ibn al-Harith narrated, saying: "I embraced Islam while I had eight wives, so I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and told him that, and he said: 'Choose four of them.'" Reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawud (4). Muhammad ibn Suwayd al-Thaqafi also reported that Ghaylan ibn Salama embraced Islam while he had ten wives, and they embraced Islam with him, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered him to choose four of them (5). Reported by al-Tirmidhi, and reported by Malik in his "Muwatta".