“Al-Miswar ibn Makhramah reported, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say upon the pulpit, “Verily, the sons of Hisham ibn al-Mughirah have sought my permission to marry their daughters to Ali ibn Abi Talib. I do not give permission, again I do not give permission, and again I do not give permission unless Ali ibn Abi Talib intends to divorce my daughter and marry their daughters. Verily, she is only a part of me. I am upset by what upsets her, and I am harmed by what harms her.” [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5230, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2449. Grade: Muttafaqun Alayhi (authenticity agreed upon) according to Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Al-Nawawi said, “The Prophet prohibited that because of his perfect compassion for Ali and for Fatimah, and secondly because he feared she would be tested with jealousy.” End translation. [Sharḥ al-Nawawī ‘alá Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2449]

In terms of this Hadith, then it is not a proof against polygamy or disliking it. The Prophet (ﷺ) explained one of the reasons why he did not want Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to marry the daughter of Abu Jahl.

He (ﷺ) said:

وَاللَّهِ لاَ تَجْتَمِعُ بِنْتُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَبِنْتُ عَدُوِّ اللَّهِ مَكَانًا وَاحِدًا أَبَدًا

By Allah, the daughter of Allah’s Messenger and the daughter of the enemy of Allah can never be combined at one place [Muslim no. 2449]

Some scholars mentioned that this is specific to the Prophet (ﷺ) and Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her).

Shaikh Ibn ul-‘Uthyameen (may Allah have mercy upon him) mentioned in his commentary of the Hadith, “as-Safaaqasi said the most correct meaning which this story is carried to mean is that it is haram for Ali to combine between the Prophet’s daughter and the daughter of Abu Jahl because the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned the reasoning that it harms him. Harming the Prophet (ﷺ) is haram according to consensus. The meaning of his statement, ‘I do not make haram what is halal’ is that the daughter of Abu Jahl is halal for Ali if he did not marry Fatima. As for combining between them, then it necessitates harming him (ﷺ) because it harms Fatima. It is also not far fetched that this is from the unique qualities of the Prophet (خصائص) that his daughters are not married alongside other women. Or that is is specific to Fatima and there comes an addition in a narration from other than Abu Dharr mentioning something like this” End translation. [Sharh Saheeh al-Bukhari (6/452)]

This was also mentioned by Hafidh Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy upon him) in Fath ul-Bari (9/240).

It was also the opinion of Shaikh Bin Baz (may Allah have mercy upon him) that it was specific for Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) as found here.

Some scholars said it was because Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) agreed to the condition not to marry anyone alongside Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her).

Hafidh Ibn Jawzi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said, “It is possible that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stipulated when Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) married Fatima that he does not marry another woman alongside her. A condition in the likes of this affair is valid. So therefore the Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘I do not permit’ [when Ali wanted to marry the daughter of Abu Jahl]. This argument is more probable than the first opinion” End translation. [Kashf al-Mushkil (4/200)]

Yet others held the view that it was specific to the lifetime of the Prophet (ﷺ) as mentioned by ‘Allamah Muhib ud-deen al-Tabari from Abdullah bin Dawood (may Allah have mercy upon him) [See: Dhakaa’ir ul-Uqbah (pg. 51)]

Otherwise, Allah permitted marrying more than one wife in the Quran and the Prophet (ﷺ) had more than one wife.

And Allah knows best.

Translated by

Faisal bin Abdul Qaadir bin Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan