“Once, ibn abu al-‘Awja’ asked Hisham ibn al-Hakam, ’Is not Allah wise?’ Hisham ibn al-Hakam replied, ’Yes, He is. He is the most firm of the judges.’ He (ibn abu al-’Awja’) then asked, ’Tell me about the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, “Marry whomever of women you like, two, three or four and if you fear of failure to maintain justice then marry only one.” (4:3) Is not it obligatory?’ He replied, ‘Yes, it is.’ He then asked, ‘Tell me about the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, “You can never maintain justice among women no matter how strongly you desire, so do not incline completely to a particular side.” (4:128) What kind of a wise person makes such statements?’ Hisham ibn al-Hakam did not have an answer for it so he traveled to al-Madinah to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.). He (the Imam) asked, ’O Hisham, this is not the season of Hajj or ‘Umrah.’ Hisham replied, ‘Yes, I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, I have come for what is very important for me. Ibn abu al-‘Awja’ asked me a question and I did not have any answer to it.’ He (the Imam) asked, ‘What is the question?’ He explained the story and abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), said, ‘The words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, “Marry whomever of women you like, two, three or four and if you fear of failure to maintain justice then marry only one,” (4:3) are about maintenance and expenses and the words of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, “You can never maintain justice among women no matter how strongly you desire, so do not incline completely to a particular side to leave her in suspense,” (4:128) are about love.’ He (the narrator) has said that when Hisham ibn al-Hakam came back with this answer he (ibn abu al-‘Awja’) said, ‘By Allah, this is not from you.’”