حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ حُنَيْنٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ لَبِثْتُ سَنَةً وَأَنَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَسْأَلَ عُمَرَ عَنِ الْمَرْأَتَيْنِ اللَّتَيْنِ تَظَاهَرَتَا عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَجَعَلْتُ أَهَابُهُ، فَنَزَلَ يَوْمًا مَنْزِلاً فَدَخَلَ الأَرَاكَ، فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ سَأَلْتُهُ فَقَالَ عَائِشَةُ وَحَفْصَةُ ـ ثُمَّ قَالَ ـ كُنَّا فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ لاَ نَعُدُّ النِّسَاءَ شَيْئًا، فَلَمَّا جَاءَ الإِسْلاَمُ وَذَكَرَهُنَّ اللَّهُ، رَأَيْنَا لَهُنَّ بِذَلِكَ عَلَيْنَا حَقًّا، مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ نُدْخِلَهُنَّ فِي شَىْءٍ مِنْ أُمُورِنَا، وَكَانَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ امْرَأَتِي كَلاَمٌ فَأَغْلَظَتْ لِي فَقُلْتُ لَهَا وَإِنَّكِ لَهُنَاكِ‏.‏ قَالَتْ تَقُولُ هَذَا لِي وَابْنَتُكَ تُؤْذِي النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَأَتَيْتُ حَفْصَةَ فَقُلْتُ لَهَا إِنِّي أُحَذِّرُكِ أَنْ تَعْصِي اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ‏.‏ وَتَقَدَّمْتُ إِلَيْهَا فِي أَذَاهُ، فَأَتَيْتُ أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ فَقُلْتُ لَهَا‏.‏ فَقَالَتْ أَعْجَبُ مِنْكَ يَا عُمَرُ قَدْ دَخَلْتَ فِي أُمُورِنَا، فَلَمْ يَبْقَ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَدْخُلَ بَيْنَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَأَزْوَاجِهِ، فَرَدَّدَتْ، وَكَانَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ إِذَا غَابَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَشَهِدْتُهُ أَتَيْتُهُ بِمَا يَكُونُ، وَإِذَا غِبْتُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَشَهِدَ أَتَانِي بِمَا يَكُونُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَكَانَ مَنْ حَوْلَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَدِ اسْتَقَامَ لَهُ، فَلَمْ يَبْقَ إِلاَّ مَلِكُ غَسَّانَ بِالشَّأْمِ، كُنَّا نَخَافُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَنَا، فَمَا شَعَرْتُ إِلاَّ بِالأَنْصَارِيِّ وَهْوَ يَقُولُ إِنَّهُ قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ‏.‏ قُلْتُ لَهُ وَمَا هُوَ أَجَاءَ الْغَسَّانِيُّ قَالَ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذَاكَ، طَلَّقَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم نِسَاءَهُ‏.‏ فَجِئْتُ فَإِذَا الْبُكَاءُ مِنْ حُجَرِهَا كُلِّهَا، وَإِذَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَدْ صَعِدَ فِي مَشْرُبَةٍ لَهُ، وَعَلَى باب الْمَشْرُبَةِ وَصِيفٌ فَأَتَيْتُهُ فَقُلْتُ اسْتَأْذِنْ لِي‏.‏ فَدَخَلْتُ فَإِذَا النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى حَصِيرٍ قَدْ أَثَّرَ فِي جَنْبِهِ، وَتَحْتَ رَأْسِهِ مِرْفَقَةٌ مِنْ أَدَمٍ، حَشْوُهَا لِيفٌ، وَإِذَا أُهُبٌ مُعَلَّقَةٌ وَقَرَظٌ، فَذَكَرْتُ الَّذِي قُلْتُ لِحَفْصَةَ وَأُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، وَالَّذِي رَدَّتْ عَلَىَّ أُمُّ سَلَمَةَ، فَضَحِكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَلَبِثَ تِسْعًا وَعِشْرِينَ لَيْلَةً، ثُمَّ نَزَلَ‏.‏

For one year I wanted to ask `Umar about the two women who helped each other against the Prophet (ﷺ) but I was afraid of him. One day he dismounted his riding animal and went among the trees of Arak to answer the call of nature, and when he returned, I asked him and he said, "(They were) `Aisha and Hafsa." Then he added, "We never used to give significance to ladies in the days of the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, but when Islam came and Allah mentioned their rights, we used to give them their rights but did not allow them to interfere in our affairs. Once there was some dispute between me and my wife and she answered me back in a loud voice. I said to her, 'Strange! You can retort in this way?' She said, 'Yes. Do you say this to me while your daughter troubles Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)?' So I went to Hafsa and said to her, 'I warn you not to disobey Allah and His Apostle.' I first went to Hafsa and then to Um Salama and told her the same. She said to me, 'O `Umar! It surprises me that you interfere in our affairs so much that you would poke your nose even into the affairs of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and his wives.' So she rejected my advice. There was an Ansari man; whenever he was absent from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and I was present there, I used to convey to him what had happened (on that day), and when I was absent and he was present there, he used to convey to me what had happened as regards news from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) . During that time all the rulers of the nearby lands had surrendered to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) except the king of Ghassan in Sham, and we were afraid that he might attack us. All of a sudden the Ansari came and said, 'A great event has happened!' I asked him, 'What is it? Has the Ghassani (king) come?' He said, 'Greater than that! Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) has divorced his wives! I went to them and found all of them weeping in their dwellings, and the Prophet (ﷺ) had ascended to an upper room of his. At the door of the room there was a slave to whom I went and said, "Ask the permission for me to enter." He admitted me and I entered to see the Prophet (ﷺ) lying on a mat that had left its imprint on his side. Under his head there was a leather pillow stuffed with palm fires. Behold! There were some hides hanging there and some grass for tanning. Then I mentioned what I had said to Hafsa and Um Salama and what reply Um Salama had given me. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) smiled and stayed there for twenty nine days and then came down." (See Hadith No. 648, Vol. 3 for details)