Eleven women sat together and pledged to one another that they would not conceal anything about their husbands.The first said, "My husband is the meat of a lean camel atop a rugged mountain, neither easy to climb up to nor plump enough to be worth carrying down."The second said, "My husband, I cannot speak of his faults, for I fear I would not be able to stop. If I mentioned him, I would have to mention all his visible and hidden defects."The third said, "My husband is a tall fool. If I speak, I am divorced; if I stay silent, I am left hanging."The fourth said, "My husband is like the night of Tihamah, neither hot nor cold, neither frightening nor wearying."The fifth said, "My husband, when he enters he is a leopard, and when he goes out he is a lion, and he does not ask about what he leaves behind."The sixth said, "My husband, when he eats he devours everything, when he drinks he drains the cup, when he lies down he wraps himself up alone, and he does not extend his hand to discover my distress."The seventh said, "My husband is impotent or feeble, dim-witted, every disease is in him. He may crack your head, or break your bones, or do both."The eighth said, "My husband, his touch is the touch of a rabbit, and his fragrance is the fragrance of zarnab."The ninth said, "My husband has a high-built house, his sword-belt is long, his hearth ash is abundant, and his house is near the gathering-place."The tenth said, "My husband is Malik, and what is Malik? Malik is better than all that I could say. He has many camels that spend most of their time kneeling at home and rarely go out to pasture. When they hear the sound of the lute, they know they are about to be slaughtered."The eleventh said, "My husband is Abu Zar, and what is Abu Zar? He hung jewelry from my ears, filled out my arms with fat, and pleased me so that I became proud of myself. He found me with a family that owned only a few sheep in a difficult land, and he placed me in a household with neighing horses, grinding mills, threshing animals, and winnowing grain. With him I speak and am not rebuked, I sleep until morning, and I drink until I am fully satisfied.Abu Zar's mother, and what is Abu Zar's mother? Her storage bags are bulging and her house is spacious.Abu Zar's son, and what is Abu Zar's son? His sleeping place is as narrow as a drawn sword, and the leg of a young goat satisfies him.Abu Zar's daughter, and what is Abu Zar's daughter? She obeys her father, obeys her mother, fills out her garment, and provokes the envy of her co-wife.Abu Zar's maidservant, and what is Abu Zar's maidservant? She does not spread our private talk, she does not waste our provisions, and she does not let our house become filthy with debris.She continued, "Abu Zar went out one day when the milk-skins were being churned. He met a woman who had two sons like leopards playing beneath her waist with two pomegranates. He divorced me and married her. After him I married a noble man who rode a swift horse, took up a Khatti spear, and brought home to me at evening many head of cattle, giving me a pair of every kind of livestock. He said, 'Eat, Umm Zar, and provide for your family.' Yet if I gathered together everything he gave me, it would not amount to the smallest of Abu Zar's vessels."Ayesha said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "I was to you as Abu Zar was to Umm Zar."Abu Abdullah said, Saeed bin Salama narrated from Hisham, "and she does not let our house become filthy with debris."Abu Abdullah said, some have related it as "fa-atqammah" with a meem, and this is more accurate.
حدثنا سليمان بن عبد الرحمن وعلي بن حجر قالا أخبرنا عيسى بن يونس حدثنا هشام بن عروة عن عبد الله بن عروة عن عروة
جلس إحدى عشرة امرأة فتعاهدن وتعاقدن أن لا يكتمن من أخبار أزواجهن شيئا قالت الأولى زوجي لحم جمل غث على رأس جبل لا سهل فيرتقى ولا سمين فينتقل قالت الثانية زوجي لا أبث خبره إني أخاف أن لا أذره إن أذكره أذكر عجره وبجره قالت الثالثة زوجي العشنق إن أنطق أطلق وإن أسكت أعلق قالت الرابعة زوجي كليل تهامة لا حر ولا قر ولا مخافة ولا سآمة قالت الخامسة زوجي إن دخل فهد وإن خرج أسد ولا يسأل عما عهد قالت السادسة زوجي إن أكل لف وإن شرب اشتف وإن اضطجع التف ولا يولج الكف ليعلم البث قالت السابعة زوجي غياياء أو عياياء طباقاء كل داء له داء شجك أو فلك أو جمع كلا لك قالت الثامنة زوجي المس مس أرنب والريح ريح زرنب قالت التاسعة زوجي رفيع العماد طويل النجاد عظيم الرماد قريب البيت من الناد قالت العاشرة زوجي مالك وما مالك مالك خير من ذلك له إبل كثيرات المبارك قليلات المسارح وإذا سمعن صوت المزهر أيقن أنهن هوالك قالت الحادية عشرة زوجي أبو زرع وما أبو زرع أناس من حلي أذني وملأ من شحم عضدي وبجحني فبجحت إلي نفسي وجدني في أهل غنيمة بشق فجعلني في أهل صهيل وأطيط ودائس ومنق فعنده أقول فلا أقبح وأرقد فأتصبح وأشرب فأتقنح أم أبي زرع فما أم أبي زرع عكومها رداح وبيتها فساح ابن أبي زرع فما ابن أبي زرع مضجعه كمسل شطبة ويشبعه ذراع الجفرة بنت أبي زرع فما بنت أبي زرع طوع أبيها وطوع أمها وملء كسائها وغيظ جارتها جارية أبي زرع فما جارية أبي زرع لا تبث حديثنا تبثيثا ولا تنقث ميرتنا تنقيثا ولا تملأ بيتنا تعشيشا قالت خرج أبو زرع والأوطاب تمخض فلقي امرأة معها ولدان لها كالفهدين يلعبان من تحت خصرها برمانتين فطلقني ونكحها فنكحت بعده رجلا سريا ركب شريا وأخذ خطيا وأراح علي نعما ثريا وأعطاني من كل رائحة زوجا وقال كلي أم زرع وميري أهلك قالت فلو جمعت كل شيء أعطانيه ما بلغ أصغر آنية أبي زرع قالت عائشة قال رسول الله ﷺ كنت لك كأبي زرع لأم زرع قال أبو عبد الله قال سعيد بن سلمة عن هشام ولا تعشش بيتنا تعشيشا قال أبو عبد الله وقال بعضهم فأتقمح بالميم وهذا أصح