He married a woman and found her to have grey hair, so he divorced her. He said, "A reed mat in the house is better than a woman who cannot bear children. By Allah, I do not approach you out of desire, but I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, 'Marry the loving and fertile, for I will boast of your numbers before the nations on the Day of Resurrection.'"
أنه تزوج امرأة فأصابها شمطاء فطلقها. وقال: حصير في بيت خير من امرأة لا تلد. والله ما أقربكن شهوة، ولكني سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول: تزوجوا الودود الولود، فإني مكاثر بكم الأمم يوم القيامة.
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Khatib narrated it in Tarikh Baghdad (6782) in the biography of "Fadl bin Ahmad bin Mansur bin Dhayyal Zubaydi," from Hasan bin Abu Talib, who said, Abu Muhammad Ubaydullah bin Ahmad bin Maruf the judge told us, he said, Fadl bin Ahmad bin Mansur Zubaydi told us, dictating from memory, he said, Ziyad bin Ayub told us, he said, Ismail bin Ulaya told us, from Ayub, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, and he mentioned it. Its isnad is sahih.On this subject there are also daif hadiths, among them what the author of Musnad Firdaws narrated by way of Muhammad bin Harith, from Muhammad bin Abdul-Rahman Bilmani, from his father, from Ibn Umar, who said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Perform hajj and you will become self-sufficient, travel and you will attain health, marry and you will increase in number, for I take pride in you before the nations." He mentioned it in Talkhis (3/115-116) and said, "The two Muhammads are both daif." His words "shamtaa" derive from shamat, which is the whiteness of hair on the head mixing with its blackness, indicating her advanced age and her inability to bear children.On this subject there is also what was narrated from Abdullah bin Amr, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Marry the mothers of children, for I take pride in them on the Day of Resurrection." Imam Ahmad narrated it (6598) from Hasan, who said, Ibn Lahia told us, Huyayy bin Abdullah told me, from Abu Abdul-Rahman Hubuli, from Abdullah bin Amr, and he mentioned it. In it is Ibn Lahia, about whom there is well-known discussion, and his teacher Huyayy bin Abdullah, who is Mughafiri. Bukhari said of him, "There is something questionable about him," and Ahmad said, "His hadiths are objectionable ones." Nasai, Aqeeli, and others also spoke critically of him. Haythami faulted the hadith on this basis in Majma (4/258) and said, "Huyayy bin Abdullah Mughafiri has been deemed reliable, though there is weakness in him," without pointing out the presence of Ibn Lahia in the isnad, which is a shortcoming on his part in the sourcing.Likewise, what was narrated from Ayesha is not correct, that she said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Marriage is from my sunnah, and whoever does not act according to my sunnah is not of me. Marry, for I multiply through you before the nations. Whoever has the means should marry, and whoever cannot find the means should fast, for fasting is a shield for him." Ibn Majah narrated it (1846) from Ahmad bin Azhar, who said, Adam told us, he said, Isa bin Maymun told us, from Qasim, from Ayesha, and she mentioned it. Isa bin Maymun is daif. Bukhari said, "His hadith is objectionable," and Abu Hatim said, "His hadith is not correct." Hafiz faulted it on this basis in Talkhis (3/116).Likewise, what was narrated from Abu Hurairah is not correct, that he said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Marry, for I multiply through you." Ibn Majah narrated it (1863) from Yaqub bin Humayd bin Kasib, who said, Abdullah bin Harith Makhzumi told us, from Talha, from Ataa, from Abu Hurairah, and he mentioned it. Its isnad is extremely daif, for Talha is Ibn Amr bin Uthman Hadrami Makki, who is daif by the agreement of the scholars.In summary, the hadith is sahih even though these supporting narrations are not established as sound.