Sahih Ibn Hibban 4188

Translation

✧ When the Prophet of Allah ﷺ isolated himself from his wives, I entered the mosque and the people were striking pebbles and saying, 'The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has divorced his wives.' That was before the women were commanded to observe hijab. Umar said: 'I will certainly know about it today.' So I entered upon Aishah and said, 'O daughter of Abu Bakr, has your matter reached the point that you offend Allah and His Messenger?' She said, 'What is it to you, O son of al-Khattab? Look after your own family.' Then I entered upon Hafsah bt. Umar and said to her, 'O Hafsah, has your matter reached the point that you offend Allah and His Messenger? I know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ does not love you, and were it not for me, he would have divorced you.' She wept bitterly. I said, 'Where is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?' She said, 'He is in his storage room in the upper chamber.' So I went in, and there was Rabah, a servant of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, sitting on the threshold of the upper chamber, dangling his legs on a wooden notch—a trunk that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to climb up and descend on. I called, 'O Rabah, ask permission for me to see the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.' He looked at the room, then looked at me, but said nothing. I said, 'O Rabah, ask permission for me to see the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, for I think the Messenger of Allah ﷺ thought I came on behalf of Hafsah. By Allah, if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ commands me to strike her neck, I will strike her neck.' I raised my voice, and he gestured to me with his hand. So I entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was lying on a mat. He said: I sat down, and he had a waist-wrapper on, with nothing else, and the mat had left marks on his side. I looked around the storage room of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and saw a handful of barley, about a sa', and the like of it of qaraz in a corner of the room, and there was an untanned hide. Abu Hafs said: al-afiq is a hide whose hair has fallen off and has not been tanned. My eyes filled with tears, and he said, 'What makes you weep, O son of al-Khattab?' I said, 'O Prophet of Allah, why should I not weep? This mat has left marks on your side, and this is your storage room, and I see in it only what I see, while Caesar and Khosrau live amid fruits and rivers. You are the Messenger of Allah and His chosen one, and this is your storage room.' He said, 'O son of al-Khattab, are you not pleased that for us is the Hereafter and for them is this world?' I said, 'Yes.' I entered upon him and saw anger in his face. I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, what distresses you about the matter of women? If you have divorced them, then Allah and His angels, Jibril and Mikail, and I and Abu Bakr are with you. Seldom have I spoken—and I praise Allah—without hoping that Allah would confirm my words. And this verse, the verse of choice, was revealed: {Perhaps his Lord, if he divorces you, will give him in exchange wives better than you} and {If you two support one another against him, then Allah is his protector}—the verse. Aishah and Hafsah used to support one another against the rest of the Prophet's ﷺ wives. I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, have you divorced them?' He said, 'No.' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, shall I go down and tell them that you have not divorced them?' He said, 'Yes, if you wish.' I kept talking to him until the anger left his face, and until he smiled and laughed. He had one of the most beautiful mouths of the people. Then the Prophet of Allah ﷺ descended, and I descended, holding onto the trunk. He came down as though walking on the ground, without touching it with his hand. I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, you were in the room for twenty-nine days.' Then I stood at the door of the mosque and called out at the top of my voice: 'The Prophet ﷺ has not divorced his wives.' And this verse was revealed: {When there comes to them a matter of security or fear, they spread it abroad} up to {those among them who could investigate it would have known it}. I was the one who investigated that matter. And Allah revealed the verse of choice.

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