Why did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) not allow ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib to take a second wife when he was married to Faatimah (may Allah be pleased with them both)?
Question

                Why did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) not allow ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to marry the daughter of Abu Jahl even though she was Muslim, and her father had also died by that time? Why did the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbid him to do that even though it was something that was basically permissible?
Praise be to Allah.
    The 
    Muslim should accept everything that has been proven from the Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) of words and deeds, and should 
    understand that all wisdom is in what the Prophet (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) said or did. Those who know that know it, and those who 
    are unaware of it are unaware of it. 

    Plural 
    marriage or polygyny is something that is well established in Islam on the 
    basis of clear, unambiguous texts which cannot be undermined in any way 
    whatsoever, no matter what skeptics and fabricators say. 

    
    However this marriage could have exposed him to problems and negative 
    consequences that outweighed any benefits; in such cases plural marriage is 
    disallowed, as in the case where the husband is not able to treat all his 
    wives fairly, and he is afraid of being unfair or unjust towards them, or 
    other cases in which the negative consequences outweigh any benefits that 
    may be sought. 

    It is 
    on this basis that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) 
    forbade ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib to take another wife in addition to his daughter 
    Faatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), even though plural marriage was 
    permissible in principle for him and for others. 

    It was 
    narrated from al-Miswar ibn Makhramah that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib proposed 
    marriage to the daughter of Abu Jahl, when he was already married to 
    Faatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him). 

    When 
    Faatimah heard about that, she went to the Prophet (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) and said to him: Your people are saying that you do not 
    get angry for the sake of your daughters, and ‘Ali is going to marry the 
    daughter of Abu Jahl. 

    
    Al-Miswar said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stood 
    up and I heard him when he bore witness, then he said: “I gave a daughter of 
    mine in marriage to Abu’l-‘Aas ibn ar-Rabee‘; when he spoke he told me the 
    truth and when he made me a promise he fulfilled his promise. Faatimah is a 
    part of me, and whatever hurts her hurts me. By Allah, the daughter of the 
    Messenger of Allah and the daughter of the enemy of Allah will not be joined 
    together as wives of one man.” 

    So 
    ‘Ali abandoned that proposal. 

    
    Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3110; Muslim, 2449. 

    The 
    scholars mentioned a number of reasons for the Prophet (blessings and peace 
    of Allah be upon him) forbidding ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib to go ahead with this 
    marriage. These reasons all boil down to four things: 

    -1-

    This 
    marriage would be hurtful to Faatimah; whatever hurt her would hurt the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and whatever hurts the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is a major sin. The 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stated that clearly when 
    he said: “Faatimah is a part of me, and whatever hurts her hurts me.” 

    
    According to another version: “She is a part of me; what disturbs her 
    disturbs me and what hurts her hurts me.” 

    
    Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5230; Muslim, 2449 

    Ibn 
    at-Teen said: 

    The 
    most correct way to interpret this story is that the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) forbade ‘Ali to be married at the same time to 
    his daughter and the daughter of Abu Jahl, because he gave as the reason for 
    that the fact that this would hurt him, and hurting him is haraam according 
    to consensus. 

    It 
    would have been permissible for him if he had not been married to Faatimah; 
    but being married to them at the same time, which would have been hurtful to 
    the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) because Faatimah 
    would have been hurt by it, meant that it was not permissible. 

    Quoted 
    from him in Fath al-Baari, 9/328 

    
    An-Nawawi said: Because that would have led to hurting Faatimah, in that 
    case it would have hurt the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) too, and the one who hurts him is doomed. For that reason he forbade 
    him to do that, out of compassion towards ‘Ali and towards Faatimah.

    End 
    quote from Sharh Saheeh Muslim, 16/3 

    Ibn 
    al-Qayyim said: By mentioning his other son-in-law (Abu’l-‘Aas ibn 
    ar-Rabee‘), and praising him for having spoken the truth and fulfilled his 
    promise, he hinted to ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and encouraged 
    him to follow his example. This gives the impression that he had made him a 
    promise that he would not disturb her or hurt her, so he encouraged him to 
    fulfil that promise, as his other son-in-law had fulfilled a promise he 
    made. 

    End 
    quote from Zaad al-Ma‘aad, 5/118 

    What 
    is mentioned above does not apply to any woman other than Faatimah (may 
    Allah be pleased with her). 

    -2-

    The 
    fear that this would put Faatimah to trial with regard to her religious 
    commitment 

    It was 
    narrated by al-Bukhaari (3110): “I fear lest she be put to trial with regard 
    to her religious commitment.” 

    
    According to Muslim (2449): “Faatimah is part of me, and I fear lest she be 
    put to trial with regard to her religious commitment.” 

    
    Jealousy is something natural in women, and the Prophet (blessings and peace 
    of Allah be upon him) feared that jealousy might push her to do something 
    that would not be befitting to her status, as she is the leader of the women 
    of the worlds. 

    
    Moreover, she had lost her mother and then her sisters one after another, so 
    she had no one to comfort her and help to make things easier for her, or 
    listen to her concerns if she became jealous. 

    
    Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said: This incident occurred after the conquest of 
    Makkah, at which time none of the daughters of the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) was still alive except her; after losing her 
    mother, she had lost her sisters, and giving her cause to become jealous 
    would have exacerbated her grief.

    End 
    quote from Fath al-Baari, 7/86 

    -3-

    
    Objection to joining the daughter of the Messenger of Allah and the daughter 
    of the enemy of Allah together as wives of one man. 

    As the 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “By 
    Allah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah and the daughter of the enemy 
    of Allah will not be joined together as wives of one man.” 

    
    An-Nawawi said: It was said that what is meant here is not the prohibition 
    on them being joined together; rather what is meant is: I know by the grace 
    of Allah that they will not be joined together. 

    It may 
    also be understood as meaning that it was haraam to join them together… So 
    one of the things that are haraam with regard to marriage is being married 
    to both a daughter of the Prophet of Allah and a daughter of the enemy of 
    Allah at the same time.

    End 
    quote from Sharh Saheeh Muslim, 8/199 

    Ibn 
    al-Qayyim said: By disallowing ‘Ali to join together Faatimah (may Allah be 
    pleased with her) and the daughter of Abu Jahl as co-wives there is great 
    wisdom: because a woman will follow her husband and be at the same level as 
    him in Paradise, but she may deserve to be of a high level by virtue of her 
    own merits in addition to those of her husband. This is applicable in the 
    case of Faatimah and ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with them both). 

    But 
    Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, would not allow the daughter of Abu 
    Jahl to be of the same status as Faatimah (may Allah be pleased with her), 
    whether on her own merits or those of her husband, when there was such a 
    great difference between them. For her to become a co-wife of the leader of 
    the women of the worlds would not be something appropriate, either in terms 
    of sharee‘ah or in terms of the divine decree. 

    The 
    Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) indicated that when he said: “By Allah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah and the daughter of 
    the enemy of Allah will not be joined together in one place.” This may refer 
    to the Hereafter too.

    End 
    quote from Zaad al-Ma‘aad, 5/119 

    -4-

    Out of 
    respect for Faatimah and so as to highlight her great status. 

    Ibn 
    Hibbaan said: If ‘Ali has done this deed, it would have been permissible, 
    but the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) disliked it out 
    of respect for Faatimah, not because this deed was haraam.

    End 
    quote from Saheeh Ibn Hibbaan, 15/407 

    
    Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said: The context indicates that it was permissible for 
    ‘Ali, but the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) disallowed 
    it out of care for Faatimah’s feelings, and ‘Ali accepted it out of 
    obedience to the instructions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah 
    be upon him). Thus it seems to me that it is not far-fetched to suggest that 
    one of the unique characteristics of the Prophet (blessings and peace of 
    Allah be upon him) was that his sons-in-law were not to marry other wives 
    when they were married to his daughters. Or it may be that this is something 
    that applied only to Faatimah (may Allah be pleased with her).

    End 
    quote from Fath al-Baari, 9/329 

    In 
    conclusion: 

    These 
    reasons, as a whole or individually, explain why the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) did not let ‘Ali go ahead with this marriage. 

    This 
    story does not give the slightest support to those who try to use it to 
    restrict plural marriage. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him) dealt with this when he said, in the same story, “and I am not making 
    any permissible thing forbidden, or any forbidden thing permitted.”

    
    Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3110; Muslim, 2449 

    And 
    Allah knows best.