Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: For a long time, I wished to ask Sayyiduna Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) about those two women from among the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding whom Allah Almighty said: "If you both turn in repentance to Allah, (it will be better for you) for your hearts have deviated." (Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:) Until Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went for Hajj and I also went with him for Hajj. On the way, at a certain place, he moved aside (to relieve himself), then he began to perform ablution. I also moved aside with a vessel for him. He relieved himself, then came to me, and I poured water over his hands and he performed ablution. I said: O Commander of the Faithful! Who are those two women from among the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding whom Allah Almighty said: "If you both turn in repentance to Allah, (it will be better for you) for your hearts have deviated." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Ibn Abbas, I am surprised at you (that you did not ask about this earlier). Then he informed me: They were Aisha and Hafsa. After that, he narrated the whole incident. He said: We, the people of Quraysh, used to have authority over our wives. When we came to Madinah, we found people whose women had authority over them. Our women began to learn their ways from them. My residence was in the outskirts, in the neighborhood of Banu Umayyah bin Zayd. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: One day, I expressed anger towards my wife, and she replied back to me. I was very surprised at her replying back, so she said: Are you surprised that I reply to you? By Allah! The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also reply to him, and one of them remains aloof (or angry) with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from morning till evening. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I left from there and went to Hafsa. I said: Do you reply back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? She replied: Yes, and one of us remains aloof from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from morning till evening. So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Are you saying this? Whoever among you does this will be disgraced and will suffer loss. Are you not afraid that Allah Almighty will become angry with her due to the anger of His Messenger, and in that case, she will be destroyed? Do not reply back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and do not ask him for anything. Whatever you need, tell me, and do not be deceived by the fact that your neighbor is more beautiful and more beloved to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) than you. By this, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) meant Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I had an Ansari neighbor. We used to take turns to be in the service of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). One day he would go, and one day I would go. Sometimes he would bring news of revelation or other matters, and when I would go to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), I would also bring news and inform him. In those days, we were discussing that the people of Ghassan were preparing to fight us. One day, my companion went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then he came to me, knocked on my door, and called me. I came out to him, and he said: A great incident has occurred. I asked: What happened? Have the people of Ghassan come? He said: No, something greater and more serious has happened. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has divorced his wives. I said: Hafsa is ruined and has suffered loss. I had a feeling that this would happen. (Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:) When I had performed the morning prayer, I wrapped my cloak and (came towards Madinah). I went to Hafsa, and she was crying. I asked: Has the Messenger of Allah divorced you all? She replied: I do not know. He is there, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is staying in that upper room in seclusion. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I went to the black slave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: Ask permission for Umar to enter. The boy went inside, then came out and said: I mentioned you before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he did not say anything. (Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says:) I left from there and went to the mosque, where some people were sitting near the pulpit and weeping. I sat with them for a while, then my anxiety overcame me, so I went to the boy and said: Ask permission for Umar to enter. He went inside, then came out and said: I mentioned you before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he remained silent. (Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says:) I returned and sat near the pulpit. Then my anxiety overcame me, so I went to the boy and said: Ask permission for Umar to enter. He went inside, then came out and said: I mentioned you before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he remained silent. (Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says:) I turned back, and in the meantime, the boy called me and said: You may enter; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has given you permission. (Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says:) I entered and greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He was reclining on a mat, the marks of which were visible on his side. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Have you divorced your wives? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head and said: No. So I said: Allahu Akbar! (I said:) O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! You have observed that we, the people of Quraysh, used to have authority over our wives. When we came to Madinah, we found people whose women had authority over them. Our women began to learn their ways from their women. One day, I became angry with my wife, and she replied back to me. I expressed surprise at her, so she said: Are you surprised that I replied to you? By Allah! The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also reply to him, and one of them remains aloof (or angry) with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from morning till evening. So I said: Whoever among them does this will be disgraced and will suffer loss. Does she not fear that Allah Almighty will become angry with her due to the anger of His Messenger, and in that case, she will be destroyed? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! I went to Hafsa and said to her: Do not reply back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and do not ask him for anything. Whatever you need, tell me, and do not be deceived by the fact that your neighbor is more beautiful and more beloved to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) than you. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled again. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Should I stay? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Yes. So I sat down. I raised my head and looked around the house. By Allah! My eyes only fell on three skins. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Pray to Allah Almighty to grant your Ummah abundance, for Allah Almighty has granted abundance to the people of Persia and Rome, even though they do not worship Allah Almighty. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat up straight and said: O son of Khattab! Do you have any doubt? These are the people whose blessings have been given to them in advance in this worldly life. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), pray for my forgiveness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had taken an oath that he would not go to his wives for a month. He did this due to severe displeasure with them, until Allah Almighty admonished him regarding this. Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: When twenty-nine days had passed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me. He honored me first. I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! You had taken an oath that you would not come to us for a month, and you have come after twenty-nine days. I have counted them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sometimes a month is twenty-nine days. Then he said: O Aisha! I am going to mention a matter to you. I do not want you to be hasty in this matter until you consult your parents. Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse before me: "O Prophet! Say to your wives: If you desire the life of this world and its adornment, then come, I will provide for you and release you in a good manner. But if you desire Allah and His Messenger and the home of the Hereafter, then verily Allah has prepared a great reward for those who do good among you." Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) knew that, by Allah, my parents would never instruct me to separate from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: Should I consult my parents in this matter? Indeed, I choose Allah, His Messenger, and the home of the Hereafter.