What is meant by justice between wives?

The Shaykh : ... So what is justice? Perhaps I have been too long in this word, so I will conclude here. What is the justice that is obligatory in the Qur'an and the condition for a Muslim to marry more than one woman? It is what we can call material justice. By this I mean not emotional justice, but material justice: housing, clothing, and spending the night with them. If he has two wives, he spends the night with this one one night, and with the other one night.
If he spends two nights with the first and one night with the other, he has been unjust, so it is not permissible for him to marry more than one. If he houses one in a palace and the other in a hut, this is injustice, and the Lord of the Worlds does not allow such a man to marry two, housing the first in a palace, unless he houses the other in a similar palace. And if he cannot, he should house her in half a palace and give the other half to the other, and so on in Islam. In spending the night, food, drink, and clothing, these material matters are those by which a person can rule justly without being unjust. As for the emotional aspect, Allah does not burden us with justice in that, meaning that a person loves Aishah more than Fatimah, or Fatimah more than Aishah, there is no prohibition in that, because this heart is not controlled by anyone except the Knower of the Unseen. However, it is not befitting for his love of this one more than the other to lead him to injustice toward the other at the expense of the first. Rather, as we said, he is to be just. As for emotional love, this falls under the general statement of Allah the Exalted: And I feel in the atmosphere questions. But I will not read them.

The questioner : I would like to ask a question, my master?

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : You said: , if a person spends the night uncovered here and covered there, what is your opinion on this?

The Shaykh : Here he is able to spend the night as he spends it with the other, so he has fallen short and been unjust.

The questioner : ... ؟

The Shaykh : He is married to four, one died, and three remain. Can he marry a fourth? What is the ruling? He continues until certainty comes to him... Please.

The questioner : In the old era, in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), marriage was previously very easy, so he would marry one, two, three, and a fourth, is that not so?

The Shaykh : Yes, very easy.

The questioner : But now I imagine there is difficulty in achieving marriage with more than one, especially if they are all living together. So tell us, what are the reasons that make people give up marrying two, three, or four?

The Shaykh : I think the answer to your question came during my speech, may Allah reward you, because I said that the Europeans attack Muslims on some of the rulings of the Shari'ah, including marriage with two, three, and four, and I said that some Muslims among the lecturers and broadcasters made a condition for this marriage with two, three, and four, which is dire necessity. I invalidated this dire necessity. So this is among the reasons that deterred and prevented capable Muslims from marrying two, three, and four. There is a second reason that does not concern the capable, but concerns the middle class and the poor and needy among men. It is also a reason mentioned previously that caused people to stay away from it, which is the exaggeration in mahr (bridal gifts) and the exaggeration in imposing conditions for which Allah has sent no authority. We want a house with such specifications, we want a bed with such qualities, and so on. All these are obstacles in the way of facilitating marriage, even if it is with just one, so what about two? Yes.

The questioner : That is how society is today; they want a car and a house and a bed, and so on.

The Shaykh : If you heard, may Allah reward you, that is how society is. This word does not hold me accountable; we hear it often. But we must know that the word "society" is a conceptual term, not a material one, unless we notice the meaning that people overlook, which is: who forms the society? Who creates it? Is it not I and you and Zayd and Bakr and 'Umar? So why do we say "we" in such occasions when we see the society? And here we mention with Arabic politeness when we say "society," why do we blame the society? The society is not a person to be blamed; rather, it is its members who are blamed. If the society is corrupt, and if the society is righteous, the one who praises is also praising its members. And so it was said in the past, and attributed to Imam al-Shafi'i:
We blame our time, but the fault is in us? *** And our time has no fault but us.
The Shaykh: So now, when we say in this issue or others, "that is how society is," what is the duty of Muslims at that time? That they should not say with their tongues or with their state, "that is how society is, that is how women are coming out in tabarruj (display of adornment), what do we do? What do we do?" Fear Allah, fear Allah in yourselves, in your women, in your daughters ... .