Section
If a man becomes Muslim while married to more than four women, and those wives either accept Islam together with him, do so during their waiting periods, or were already People of the Book, he must choose four of them and the remainder are dismissed. Should only four of them accept Islam with him before consummation or during the waiting period, those four alone are automatically confirmed as his wives.

If he embraces Islam while married to both a Book-believing mother and her daughter, and the two women likewise convert, then:
• When he has consummated the marriage with both, they both become permanently unlawful to him.
• When he has consummated with only one of them, the daughter alone is deemed his wife. According to another view he may choose between the two; according to a further view, if he chooses the daughter she alone is confirmed, whereas if he chooses the mother both women become perpetually forbidden; yet another opinion holds that the mother remains married to him.

If he has a slave-woman who accepts Islam with him or during her waiting period, the marriage is confirmed provided the slave woman is still lawful for him. If she refuses to convert and this occurs before consummation, separation takes effect at once.

If he has several slave wives who accept Islam with him or during their waiting periods, he must select one slave wife—on condition that she is lawful for him at the moment his Islam and theirs coincide; otherwise they are all released. If he has both a freewoman and slave wives who accept Islam with him (or within the waiting period), the freewoman alone is confirmed and the slave wives are dismissed. Should the freewoman persist in disbelief until her waiting period expires, he may then choose a slave wife, provided she has embraced Islam. If those slave wives are subsequently emancipated and then accept Islam during their waiting periods, they are treated as freewomen and he must select four of them.

A man exercises this option with phrases such as: “I choose you,” “I confirm our marriage,” “I keep you,” or “I retain you.” Pronouncing divorce counts as a valid choice, whereas zhihār (injurious comparison) and ilāʾ (an oath of abstention) do not, according to the soundest view.

The option of choice or of annulment may not be suspended on a condition. If he limits his choice to five wives the excess is nonetheless dismissed, but he is still obliged to name exactly four and to provide maintenance for all of them until he decides.

If he refuses to choose and is imprisoned for it, and then dies before making his selection, the waiting periods are as follows: a wife who is pregnant by him waits until she gives birth; a wife whose waiting period is reckoned by months, as well as a wife with whom the marriage was not consummated, wait four months and ten days; a menstruating wife waits whichever is longer—three menstrual cycles or four months and ten days. The shares of all the wives in his estate are held in abeyance until they reach a mutual agreement.