Thus it is possible that what is intended by the ‘waw’ in the report is choice, not combination, because it is sometimes used in that sense. Allah
سبحانه وتعالى the Exalted said: “Then marry whatever pleases you of women, two, three, and four.” (Surah An-Nisa
4:3) Allah
سبحانه وتعالى only intended two, or three, or four, and Allah
سبحانه وتعالى did not intend combination. It is also possible that this ruling is specific to one who comes to his wife in a state in which intercourse is forbidden, such as intercourse during menstruation, or in the state of zihar before the expiation. For whenever he does that, it becomes necessary for him to combine the three expiations, because he has committed forbidden intercourse in the month of Ramadan. What indicates this interpretation is what he narrated (in the following hadith):
Commentary #4