Umar bin Khattab reported,

When the Prophet of Allah ﷺ withdrew from his wives, Umar said, "I entered the mosque and found people striking pebbles on the ground saying, 'The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has divorced his wives.'" This was before they were commanded to observe the veil.Umar said, "I told myself I would find out the truth that very day."He continued, "I went in to see Ayesha and said, 'Bint Abu Bakr, has it come to this, that you cause distress to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?'"She replied, "What is between me and you, son of Khattab? Mind your own affairs."He said, "Then I went in to see Hafsah bint Umar and said to her, 'Hafsah, has it come to this, that you cause distress to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? By Allah, you know well that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ does not love you, and were it not for me, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would have divorced you.'"She wept bitterly. I asked her, "Where is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?"She said, "He is in his storeroom in the upper chamber."So I went in and there I found Rabah, the servant boy of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, sitting on the threshold of the upper chamber, dangling his legs over a notched piece of wood, a palm trunk by which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ climbed up and came down.I called out, "Rabah, ask permission for me to enter upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."Rabah looked toward the chamber, then looked at me, and said nothing. I said again, "Rabah, ask permission for me to enter upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." He looked toward the chamber, then looked at me, and said nothing.Then I raised my voice and said, "Rabah, ask permission for me to enter upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I think the Messenger of Allah ﷺ supposes I have come on account of Hafsah. By Allah, if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ orders me to strike off her neck, I will strike it off."I raised my voice, and he gestured to me to climb up.I entered upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was lying on a reed mat. I sat down. He drew his cloak around himself, and he had nothing else upon him. The mat had left marks on his side. I let my eyes wander over the storeroom of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and I saw a handful of barley, about a sa, and a similar amount of acacia leaves in a corner of the room, and a hide hanging up. My eyes filled with tears.He said, "What makes you weep, son of Khattab?"I said, "Prophet of Allah, why should I not weep, when this mat has left marks on your side, and this is your storeroom in which I see only what I see, while Caesar and Khosrow live amid fruits and rivers, yet you are the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and His chosen one, and this is your storeroom?"He said, "Son of Khattab, are you not pleased that the Hereafter is for us and this world is for them?"I said, "Indeed."I had entered upon him seeing anger on his face, so I said, "Messenger of Allah, what is troubling you concerning the women? If you have divorced them, then Allah is with you, and His angels, and Jibreel, and Mikail, and I, and Abu Bakr, and the believers are with you." Seldom did I speak, praising Allah, with any words but that I hoped Allah would confirm what I said.Then this verse was revealed, the verse of the choice, "It may be that his Lord, if he divorces you, will give him in your place wives better than you" [Tahrim 66:5], and "If you two support one another against him, then indeed Allah is his protector, and Jibreel, and the righteous of the believers, and the angels after that are his backers" [Tahrim 66:4].Ayesha bint Abu Bakr and Hafsah were the two who were supporting one another against the rest of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ.I said, "Messenger of Allah, have you divorced them?"He said, "No."I said, "Messenger of Allah, I entered the mosque and the Muslims were striking pebbles, saying, 'The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has divorced his wives.' Shall I go down and inform them that you have not divorced them?"He said, "Yes, if you wish."I kept speaking with him until the anger left his face, and he bared his teeth in a smile, and he had the most beautiful teeth among all people. Then the Prophet of Allah ﷺ climbed down, and I climbed down. I came down clinging to the palm trunk, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ descended as though he were walking on level ground without touching it with his hand.I said, "Messenger of Allah, you have only been in the chamber twenty-nine days."He said, "The month can be twenty-nine days."I stood at the door of the mosque and called out at the top of my voice, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has not divorced his wives."Then this verse was revealed, "And when there comes to them news of security or fear, they spread it about. If they had referred it to the Messenger and to those in authority among them, those of them who would have investigated it would have known of it" [Nisa 4:83]. So I was the one who had investigated that matter, and Allah revealed the verse of the choice.

حدثني زهير بن حرب حدثنا عمر بن يونس الحنفي حدثنا عكرمة بن عمار عن سماك أبي زميل حدثني عبد الله بن عباس حدثني

عمر بن الخطاب قال

لما اعتزل نبي الله ﷺ نساءه قال دخلت المسجد فإذا الناس ينكتون بالحصى ويقولون طلق رسول الله ﷺ نساءه وذلك قبل أن يؤمرن بالحجاب فقال عمر فقلت لأعلمن ذلك اليوم قال فدخلت على عائشة فقلت يا بنت أبي بكر أقد بلغ من شأنك أن تؤذي رسول الله ﷺ فقالت ما لي وما لك يا ابن الخطاب عليك بعيبتك قال فدخلت على حفصة بنت عمر فقلت لها يا حفصة أقد بلغ من شأنك أن تؤذي رسول الله ﷺ والله لقد علمت أن رسول الله ﷺ لا يحبك ولولا أنا لطلقك رسول الله ﷺ فبكت أشد البكاء فقلت لها أين رسول الله ﷺ قالت هو في خزانته في المشربة فدخلت فإذا أنا برباح غلام رسول الله ﷺ قاعدا على أسكفة المشربة مدل رجليه على نقير من خشب وهو جذع يرقى عليه رسول الله ﷺ وينحدر فناديت يا رباح استأذن لي عندك على رسول الله ﷺ فنظر رباح إلى الغرفة ثم نظر إلي فلم يقل شيئا ثم قلت يا رباح استأذن لي عندك على رسول الله ﷺ فنظر رباح إلى الغرفة ثم نظر إلي فلم يقل شيئا ثم رفعت صوتي فقلت يا رباح استأذن لي عندك على رسول الله ﷺ فإني أظن أن رسول الله ﷺ ظن أني جئت من أجل حفصة والله لئن أمرني رسول الله ﷺ بضرب عنقها لأضربن عنقها ورفعت صوتي فأومأ إلي أن ارقه فدخلت على رسول الله ﷺ وهو مضطجع على حصير فجلست فأدنى عليه إزاره وليس عليه غيره وإذا الحصير قد أثر في جنبه فنظرت ببصري في خزانة رسول الله ﷺ فإذا أنا بقبضة من شعير نحو الصاع ومثلها قرظا في ناحية الغرفة وإذا أفيق معلق قال فابتدرت عيناي قال ما يبكيك يا ابن الخطاب قلت يا نبي الله وما لي لا أبكي وهذا الحصير قد أثر في جنبك وهذه خزانتك لا أرى فيها إلا ما أرى وذاك قيصر وكسرى في الثمار والأنهار وأنت رسول الله ﷺ وصفوته وهذه خزانتك فقال يا ابن الخطاب ألا ترضى أن تكون لنا الآخرة ولهم الدنيا قلت بلى قال ودخلت عليه حين دخلت وأنا أرى في وجهه الغضب فقلت يا رسول الله ما يشق عليك من شأن النساء فإن كنت طلقتهن فإن الله معك وملائكته وجبريل وميكائيل وأنا وأبو بكر والمؤمنون معك وقلما تكلمت وأحمد الله بكلام إلا رجوت أن يكون الله يصدق قولي الذي أقول ونزلت هذه الآية آية التخيير {عسى ربه إن طلقكن أن يبدله أزواجا خيرا منكن} {وإن تظاهرا عليه فإن الله هو مولاه وجبريل وصالح المؤمنين والملائكة بعد ذلك ظهير} وكانت عائشة بنت أبي بكر وحفصة تظاهران على سائر نساء النبي ﷺ فقلت يا رسول الله أطلقتهن قال لا قلت يا رسول الله إني دخلت المسجد والمسلمون ينكتون بالحصى يقولون طلق رسول الله ﷺ نساءه أفأنزل فأخبرهم أنك لم تطلقهن قال نعم إن شئت فلم أزل أحدثه حتى تحسر الغضب عن وجهه وحتى كشر فضحك وكان من أحسن الناس ثغرا ثم نزل نبي الله ﷺ ونزلت فنزلت أتشبث بالجذع ونزل رسول الله ﷺ كأنما يمشي على الأرض ما يمسه بيده فقلت يا رسول الله إنما كنت في الغرفة تسعة وعشرين قال إن الشهر يكون تسعا وعشرين فقمت على باب المسجد فناديت بأعلى صوتي لم يطلق رسول الله ﷺ نساءه ونزلت هذه الآية {وإذا جاءهم أمر من الأمن أو الخوف أذاعوا به ولو ردوه إلى الرسول وإلى أولي الأمر منهم لعلمه الذين يستنبطونه منهم} فكنت أنا استنبطت ذلك الأمر وأنزل الله عز وجل آية التخيير