Al-Lu'lu Wal-Marjan 945 — The Book of Divorce

Ibn 'Abbas Narrated from:

I had been eager to ask 'Umar bin Al-Khattāb رضي الله عنه about the two ladies from among the wives of the Prophet regarding whom Allâh تعالى said: 'If you two (wives of the Prophet namely 'Aisha and Hafsa رضي الله عنهما) turn in repentance to Allâh, (it will be better for you), your hearts are indeed so inclined (to oppose what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم likes)... (V.66:4) till 'Umar performed the Hajj and I, too, performed the Hajj along with him.(On the way) 'Umar went aside to answer the call of nature, and I also went aside alongwith him carrying a tumbler full of water, and when 'Umar had finished, I poured water over his hands and he performed the ablution. Then I said to him, "O chief of Believers! Who were the two ladies from among the wives of the Prophet regarding whom Allâh تعالى said: 'If you two (wives of the Prophet namely 'Aisha and Hafsa رضي الله عنهما) turn in repentance to Allâh, (it will be better for you), your hearts are indeed so inclined (to opposed what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم likes)...'" (V.66:4) He said, "I am astonished at your question, O Ibn 'Abbâs. They were 'Aisha and Hafsa."Then 'Umar went on narrating the incident and said, "I and an Ansâri neighbour of mine from Banî Umaiya bin Zaid, who used to live in 'Awali-Al-Madîna used to visit the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in turn. He used to go one day and I another day. When I went, I would bring him the news of what had happened that day regarding the Divine Inspiration and other things, and when he went, he used to do the same for me.We, the people of Quraish used to have the upper hand over our wives, but when we came to the Ansâr, we found that their women had the upper hand over their men, so our women also started learning the ways of the Ansârî women. I shouted at my wife and she retorted and I disliked that she should answer me back. She said to me, 'Why are you surprised at my answering you back? By Allâh, the wives of the Prophet ﷺ answer him back and some of them may leave (does not speak to) him throughout the day till the night.' That (talk) scared me and I said to her, 'Whoever amongst them has done so, will be ruined!'Then I proceeded after dressing myself, and entered upon Hafsa and said to her, 'Does anyone of you keep the Prophet ﷺ angry till night.' She said, 'Yes.' I said, 'You are a ruined and lost person! Don't you fear that Allâh may get angry for the anger of Allâh's Messenger ﷺ and thus you will be ruined? So do not ask more from the Prophet ﷺ and do not answer him back and do not give up talking to him. Ask me whatever you need and do not be tempted to imitate your neighbour (i.e. 'Âisha) in her manners for she is more charming than you and more beloved to the Prophet ﷺ.' "'Umar added, "At that time a talk was circulating among us that (the tribe of) Ghassân were preparing their horses to invade us. My Ansârî companion, on the day of his turn, went (to the town) and returned to us at night and knocked at my door violently and asked if I was there. I became horrified and came out to him. He said, 'Today a great thing has happened.' I asked, 'What is it? Have (the people of) Ghassan invaded?' He said, 'No, but (what has happened) is greater and more horrifying than that: Allāh's Messenger ﷺ has divorced his wives.' "'Umar added, "The Prophet ﷺ kept away from his wives and I said, 'Hafsa is ruined and a loser.' I had already thought that most probably this (divorce) would happen in the near future. So I dressed myself and offered Fajr prayer with the Prophet ﷺ and then the Prophet ﷺ entered an upper room and stayed there in seclusion. I entered upon Hafsa and saw her weeping. I asked, 'What makes you weep? Did I not warn you about that? Did the Prophet ﷺ divorce you all?' She said, 'I do not know. There he is retired alone in the upper room.'I came out and sat near the pulpit and saw a group of people sitting around it and some of them were weeping. I sat with them for a while but could not endure the situation, so I went to the upper room where the Prophet ﷺ was and said to a black slave of his, 'Will you get the permission (of the Prophet) for 'Umar (to enter)?' The slave went in, talked to the Prophet ﷺ about it and then returned saying, 'I have spoken to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned you but he kept quiet.'Then I returned and sat with the group of people sitting near the pulpit, but I could not bear the situation and once again I said to the slave, 'Will you get the permission for 'Umar?' He went in and returned saying, 'I mentioned you to him but he kept quiet.' So I returned again and sat with the group of people sitting near the pulpit, but I could not bear the situation, and so I went to the slave and said, 'Will you get the permission for 'Umar?' He went in and returned to me saying, 'I mentioned you to him but he kept quiet.'When I was leaving, behold! The slave called me, saying, 'The Prophet ﷺ has given you permission.' Then I entered upon Allāh's Messenger ﷺ and saw him lying on a bed made of stalks of date-palm leaves and there was no bedding between it and him. The stalks left marks on his side and he was leaning on a leather pillow stuffed with date-palm fibres. I greeted him and while still standing I said, 'O Allāh's Messenger! Have you divorced your wives?' He looked at me and said, 'No.' I said, 'Allāhu Akbar.'And then while standing, I said chatting, 'Will you please pay heed to what I say, O Allāh's Messenger? We, the people of Quraish used to have power over our women, but when we arrived at Al-Madīna we found that the men (here) were overpowered by their woman.' The Prophet ﷺ smiled and then I said to him, 'Will you please pay heed to what I say, O Allāh's Messenger? I entered upon Hafsa and said to her, 'Do not be tempted to imitate your companion ('Aisha), for she is more charming than you and more beloved to the Prophet ﷺ.' The Prophet ﷺ smiled for a second time. When I saw him smiling, I sat down.Then I looked around his house, and by Allāh, I could not see anything of value or importance in his house except three hides, so I said, 'O Allāh's Messenger! Invoke Allāh to make your followers rich, for the Persian and the Byzantines (Romans) have been made prosperous and they have been given (the pleasure of the world), although they do not worship Allāh.' Thereupon the Prophet ﷺ sat up as he was reclining, and said, 'Are you of such an opinion, O the son of Al-Khattāb? These are the people who have received the rewards for their good deeds in this world.' I said, 'O Allāh's Messenger! Ask Allāh to forgive me.'Then the Prophet ﷺ kept away from his wives for twenty-nine days because of the story which Hafsa had disclosed to 'Āisha. The Prophet ﷺ had said, 'I will not enter upon them (my wives) for one month' because of his anger towards them, when Allāh had admonished him. [1]So, when twenty-nine days had passed, the Prophet ﷺ first entered upon 'Āisha. 'Āisha said to him, 'O Allāh's Messenger! You had sworn that you would not enter upon us for one month, but now only twenty-nine days have passed, for I have been counting them one by one.' The Prophet ﷺ said, 'The (present) month is of twenty-nine days.' 'Āisha added, 'Then Allāh ﷻ revealed the Verses of the option [2]. And out of all his wives he asked me first, and I chose him.' Then he gave option to his other wives and they said what 'Āisha had said."( Sahîh Al-Bukhârî, Hadîth No. 119, Vol. 7)