[55]. A man who has more than one wife will inevitably prefer, in his own heart, one over another. However, men are reminded to be mindful of Allāh and to be moderate and treat their wives on an equal footing. It is mandatory for a man to be absolutely even-handed in securing each wife her given marital rights, or else he will do better taking on only one wife. If a man has more than one wife, he has to treat them equally, whether they are Muslims or from among the People of the Book [i.e., Jewish or Christian]. If he does not treat them equally, then he has disobeyed Allāh and he has to make it up to the one whom he wronged. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “Whoever has two wives and leans towards (i.e. favours) one of them (over the other), will come on the Day of Resurrection with half of his body leaning.” What is meant by this “leaning” is favouring in terms of actions; a man will not be taken to task for the inclination of his heart if he treats (his wives) equally in practical terms.