Why did Islam permit Muslim men to marry only four women, even though the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) married 13 women and had nine of them concurrently?
Allah is All-Wise and All-Knowing. His rulings have wisdom that no one knows except Him or those whom He informs. Knowledge of this wisdom increases faith, but lack of knowledge does not negate the obligation to submit to Allah's command.
Allah has legislated for a man to marry up to four women as a maximum, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, was specifically allowed more than that.
The wisdom behind polygyny includes: increasing the Muslim progeny, satisfying a man's desire to cope with a woman's periods of menstruation and post-natal bleeding (), and protecting a larger number of women, given that they outnumber men. As for the wisdom behind limiting the number to four for those other than the Prophet, it is not known.
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