I had long been eager to ask Umar bin Khattab about the two women from among the wives of the Prophet ﷺ concerning whom Allah Almighty said, "If you both turn to Allah in repentance, your hearts have indeed inclined" [Tahrim 66:4]. Then he made the pilgrimage and I made it with him. He turned aside with a water vessel to relieve himself, and I turned aside with him. When he returned, I poured water over his hands from it and he performed ablution.I said to him, "Commander of the Faithful, who are the two women from among the wives of the Prophet ﷺ about whom Allah Almighty said, 'If you both turn to Allah in repentance, your hearts have indeed inclined' [Tahrim 66:4]?"He said, "How astonishing of you, Ibn Abbas! They are Ayesha and Hafsa."Then Umar began the story and recounted it. He said, "A neighbor of mine from the Ansar and I lived among the Banu Umaya bin Zayd, who were in the upper part of Medina. We used to take turns going down to the Prophet ﷺ. He would go down one day and I another. When I went down, I would bring him news of what had happened that day concerning revelation or other matters, and when he went down, he would do the same.We men of Quraysh used to dominate our women, but when we came to the Ansar, we found a people whose women dominated them. Our women began to adopt the manners of the Ansari women. One day I shouted at my wife and she answered me back. I disapproved of her answering me back, but she said, 'Why do you disapprove of my answering you back? By Allah, the wives of the Prophet ﷺ answer him back, and one of them may avoid him from morning till night.'This alarmed me, and I said to her, 'Whoever among them does that has surely failed and lost.' Then I gathered my clothes and went down to visit Hafsa.I said to her, 'Hafsa, does any of you remain angry with the Prophet ﷺ from morning till night?'She said, 'Yes.'I said, 'You have failed and lost! Are you safe from Allah's anger because of His Messenger's anger ﷺ, so that you would be ruined? Do not press the Prophet ﷺ with demands, do not answer him back about anything, and do not avoid him. Ask me for whatever you need. Do not let it deceive you that your neighbor is more beautiful than you and more beloved to the Prophet ﷺ,' meaning Ayesha."Umar continued, "We had been talking about how the Ghassanids were shoeing their horses to attack us. My Ansari companion went down on his day of duty and returned to us in the evening. He knocked on my door violently and asked, 'Is he there?' I was alarmed and went out to him.He said, 'Something dreadful has happened today.'I said, 'What is it? Have the Ghassanids come?'He said, 'No, something greater and more terrible than that. The Prophet ﷺ has divorced his wives.'"Ubayd bin Hunayn heard Ibn Abbas relate from Umar that he said, "The Prophet ﷺ has separated from his wives.""I said, 'Hafsa has failed and lost! I had thought this was about to happen.' So I gathered my clothes and prayed the Fajr prayer with the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ then entered an upper room of his and secluded himself there.I went in to Hafsa and found her weeping. I said, 'What makes you weep? Did I not warn you about this? Has the Prophet ﷺ divorced you all?'She said, 'I do not know. There he is, secluded in the upper room.'I went out and came to the pulpit, and around it was a group of people, some of whom were weeping. I sat with them for a little while, then what I felt overcame me and I went to the upper room where the Prophet ﷺ was. I said to a black slave-boy of his, 'Ask permission for Umar.' The boy went in and spoke to the Prophet ﷺ, then returned and said, 'I spoke to the Prophet ﷺ and mentioned you to him, but he was silent.' So I went away and sat with the group near the pulpit.Then what I felt overcame me again. I came and said to the boy, 'Ask permission for Umar.' He went in, then returned and said, 'I mentioned you to him, but he was silent.' So I returned and sat with the group near the pulpit.Then what I felt overcame me yet again. I came to the boy and said, 'Ask permission for Umar.' He went in, then returned to me and said, 'I mentioned you to him, but he was silent.'When I had turned to leave, the boy called me and said, 'The Prophet ﷺ has given you permission.'I entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and found him lying on a mat of woven palm fiber with no bedding between him and it. The mat had left marks on his side. He was leaning on a leather pillow stuffed with palm fiber. I greeted him, then said while standing, 'Messenger of Allah, have you divorced your wives?'He raised his eyes to me and said, 'No.'I said, 'Allah is Most Great!' Then I said, still standing, seeking to put him at ease, 'Messenger of Allah, if you had only seen me. We men of Quraysh used to dominate our women, but when we came to Medina, we found a people whose women dominated them.'The Prophet ﷺ smiled. Then I said, 'Messenger of Allah, if you had only seen me. I went in to Hafsa and said to her, Do not let it deceive you that your neighbor is more beautiful than you and more beloved to the Prophet ﷺ,' meaning Ayesha. The Prophet ﷺ smiled again.When I saw him smile, I sat down. I raised my eyes and looked around his room, and by Allah, I saw nothing in his room worth noticing except for three hides. I said, 'Messenger of Allah, pray that Allah may grant abundance to your community, for the Persians and the Romans have been granted abundance and given the world, though they do not worship Allah.'The Prophet ﷺ, who had been reclining, sat up and said, 'Are you of this opinion, Ibn Khattab? Those are a people whose good things have been hastened to them in this worldly life.'I said, 'Messenger of Allah, ask forgiveness for me.'"The Prophet ﷺ separated from his wives because of that conversation, when Hafsa disclosed it to Ayesha, for twenty-nine nights. He had said, "I will not enter upon them for a month," because of his intense displeasure with them when Allah reproached him.When twenty-nine nights had passed, he went in to Ayesha and began with her. Ayesha said to him, "Messenger of Allah, you swore not to enter upon us for a month, but only twenty-nine nights have passed. I have been counting them."He said, "The month is twenty-nine nights." That month was indeed twenty-nine nights.Ayesha said, "Then Allah Almighty revealed the verse of choice. He began with me, the first of his wives, and I chose him. Then he gave the choice to all his wives, and they all said the same as Ayesha had said."
حدثنا أبو اليمان أخبرنا شعيب عن الزهري قال أخبرني عبيد الله بن عبد الله بن أبي ثور
لم أزل حريصا على أن أسأل عمر بن الخطاب عن المرأتين من أزواج النبي ﷺ اللتين قال الله تعالى {إن تتوبا إلى الله فقد صغت قلوبكما} حتى حج وحججت معه وعدل وعدلت معه بإداوة فتبرز ثم جاء فسكبت على يديه منها فتوضأ فقلت له يا أمير المؤمنين من المرأتان من أزواج النبي ﷺ اللتان قال الله تعالى {إن تتوبا إلى الله فقد صغت قلوبكما} قال واعجبا لك يا ابن عباس هما عائشة وحفصة ثم استقبل عمر الحديث يسوقه قال كنت أنا وجار لي من الأنصار في بني أمية بن زيد وهم من عوالي المدينة وكنا نتناوب النزول على النبي ﷺ فينزل يوما وأنزل يوما فإذا نزلت جئته بما حدث من خبر ذلك اليوم من الوحي أو غيره وإذا نزل فعل مثل ذلك وكنا معشر قريش نغلب النساء فلما قدمنا على الأنصار إذا قوم تغلبهم نساؤهم فطفق نساؤنا يأخذن من أدب نساء الأنصار فصخبت على امرأتي فراجعتني فأنكرت أن تراجعني قالت ولم تنكر أن أراجعك فوالله إن أزواج النبي ﷺ ليراجعنه وإن إحداهن لتهجره اليوم حتى الليل فأفزعني ذلك وقلت لها قد خاب من فعل ذلك منهن ثم جمعت علي ثيابي فنزلت فدخلت على حفصة فقلت لها أي حفصة أتغاضب إحداكن النبي ﷺ اليوم حتى الليل قالت نعم فقلت قد خبت وخسرت أفتأمنين أن يغضب الله لغضب رسوله ﷺ فتهلكي لا تستكثري النبي ﷺ ولا تراجعيه في شيء ولا تهجريه وسليني ما بدا لك ولا يغرنك أن كانت جارتك أوضأ منك وأحب إلى النبي ﷺ يريد عائشة قال عمر وكنا قد تحدثنا أن غسان تنعل الخيل لغزونا فنزل صاحبي الأنصاري يوم نوبته فرجع إلينا عشاء فضرب بابي ضربا شديدا وقال أثم هو ففزعت فخرجت إليه فقال قد حدث اليوم أمر عظيم قلت ما هو أجاء غسان قال لا بل أعظم من ذلك وأهول طلق النبي ﷺ نساءه وقال عبيد بن حنين سمع ابن عباس عن عمر فقال اعتزل النبي ﷺ أزواجه فقلت خابت حفصة وخسرت قد كنت أظن هذا يوشك أن يكون فجمعت علي ثيابي فصليت صلاة الفجر مع النبي ﷺ فدخل النبي ﷺ مشربة له فاعتزل فيها ودخلت على حفصة فإذا هي تبكي فقلت ما يبكيك ألم أكن حذرتك هذا أطلقكن النبي ﷺ قالت لا أدري ها هو ذا معتزل في المشربة فخرجت فجئت إلى المنبر فإذا حوله رهط يبكي بعضهم فجلست معهم قليلا ثم غلبني ما أجد فجئت المشربة التي فيها النبي ﷺ فقلت لغلام له أسود استأذن لعمر فدخل الغلام فكلم النبي ﷺ ثم رجع فقال كلمت النبي ﷺ وذكرتك له فصمت فانصرفت حتى جلست مع الرهط الذين عند المنبر ثم غلبني ما أجد فجئت فقلت للغلام استأذن لعمر فدخل ثم رجع فقال قد ذكرتك له فصمت فرجعت فجلست مع الرهط الذين عند المنبر ثم غلبني ما أجد فجئت الغلام فقلت استأذن لعمر فدخل ثم رجع إلي فقال قد ذكرتك له فصمت فلما وليت منصرفا قال إذا الغلام يدعوني فقال قد أذن لك النبي ﷺ فدخلت على رسول الله ﷺ فإذا هو مضطجع على رمال حصير ليس بينه وبينه فراش قد أثر الرمال بجنبه متكئا على وسادة من أدم حشوها ليف فسلمت عليه ثم قلت وأنا قائم يا رسول الله أطلقت نساءك فرفع إلي بصره فقال لا فقلت الله أكبر ثم قلت وأنا قائم أستأنس يا رسول الله لو رأيتني وكنا معشر قريش نغلب النساء فلما قدمنا المدينة إذا قوم تغلبهم نساؤهم فتبسم النبي ﷺ ثم قلت يا رسول الله لو رأيتني ودخلت على حفصة فقلت لها لا يغرنك أن كانت جارتك أوضأ منك وأحب إلى النبي ﷺ يريد عائشة فتبسم النبي ﷺ تبسمة أخرى فجلست حين رأيته تبسم فرفعت بصري في بيته فوالله ما رأيت في بيته شيئا يرد البصر غير أهبة ثلاثة فقلت يا رسول الله ادع الله فليوسع على أمتك فإن فارس والروم قد وسع عليهم وأعطوا الدنيا وهم لا يعبدون الله فجلس النبي ﷺ وكان متكئا فقال أوفي هذا أنت يا ابن الخطاب إن أولئك قوم عجلوا طيباتهم في الحياة الدنيا فقلت يا رسول الله استغفر لي فاعتزل النبي ﷺ نساءه من أجل ذلك الحديث حين أفشته حفصة إلى عائشة تسعا وعشرين ليلة وكان قال ما أنا بداخل عليهن شهرا من شدة موجدته عليهن حين عاتبه الله فلما مضت تسع وعشرون ليلة دخل على عائشة فبدأ بها فقالت له عائشة يا رسول الله إنك كنت قد أقسمت أن لا تدخل علينا شهرا وإنما أصبحت من تسع وعشرين ليلة أعدها عدا فقال الشهر تسع وعشرون ليلة فكان ذلك الشهر تسعا وعشرين ليلة قالت عائشة ثم أنزل الله تعالى آية التخير فبدأ بي أول امرأة من نسائه فاخترته ثم خير نساءه كلهن فقلن مثل ما قالت عائشة