He asked Ayesha about the words of Allah Most High, "If you fear that you will not deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry those women who seem good to you, two, three, or four. But if you fear you will not be equitable, then only one, or those your right hands possess. That is more likely that you will not be unjust" [Nisa 4:3].She replied, "My nephew, this refers to an orphan girl who is under the care of her guardian. He is attracted to her wealth and her beauty and wants to marry her while giving her less than the customary bridal gift. So they were forbidden to marry such girls unless they dealt justly with them and paid the bridal gift in full, and they were commanded to marry other women instead."
أنه سأل عائشة عن قوله تعالى: {وان خفتم الا تقسطوا في اليتمى فانكحوا ما طاب لكم من النسآء مثنى وثلث وربع فان خفتم الا تعدلوا فواحدة او ما ملكت ايمانكم ذلك ادنى الا تعولوا} [سورة النساء: ٣] قالت: يا ابن أختي قالت: اليتيمة تكون في حجر وليها، فيرغب في مالها وجمالها، يريد أن يتزوجها بأدنى من سنة صداقها. فنهوا أن ينكحوهن إلا أن يقسطوا لهن فيكملوا الصداق، وأمروا بنكاح من سواهن من النساء.
This was narrated by Bukhari in the Book of Marriage (5064), and Muslim in the Book of Tafsir (3018:6), both from the hadith of Yunus bin Yazid Ayli, from Zuhri, who said, "Urwa informed me." The wording given here is Bukhari's.The statement of Allah Most High, "and that you deal justly with orphans" [Nisa 4:127], relates to the completion of justice toward an orphan girl. If she was a woman of wealth and beauty, one should choose for her someone better than himself. But if she was plain-looking and had no wealth, and he married her, then he had more right to her. Something similar has been reported from Umar bin Khattab, but it is not sound.The meaning of the two verses is that in the pre-Islamic era, if people had in their care an orphan girl who possessed wealth and beauty, they would marry her without giving her a proper dower. But if she was plain-looking though possessed of wealth, they would neither marry her themselves nor let her marry anyone else, waiting until she died so they could inherit her wealth. Then Islam came and abolished this injustice done to the orphan girl. It commanded that if she possessed wealth and beauty and a man wished to marry her, he should marry her with a dower equal to what other women like her would receive. And if he had no desire to marry her, he should not prevent her from marrying out of a desire to inherit from her.