Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: I had a great desire to ask Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) about those two pure wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding whom Allah Almighty said: "If you both repent, it will be better for you, for your hearts have deviated." But I did not have the courage, until once Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) set out for Hajj, and I was with him. On the way, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) started walking away from the people, so I followed him with a water vessel. He relieved himself, and when he returned, I poured water on his hands and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) began to perform ablution. During this time, I found the opportunity appropriate, so I asked: O Commander of the Faithful! Who were those two women among the pure wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about whom Allah said: "If you both repent, it will be better for you"? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: Ibn Abbas! It is surprising that you do not know this. They were Aisha and Hafsa. And he said: We, the people of Quraysh, used to have dominance over our women, but when we came to Madinah, we found that the women here had dominance over their men. Seeing them, our women also started learning these ways from them. At that time, my house was in Awali near Banu Umayyah bin Zaid. One day, for some reason, I expressed anger at my wife, and she replied back to me. I was greatly surprised. She said: You are surprised at my replying to you? By Allah! The pure wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also reply to him, and sometimes one of them does not speak to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for the entire day. Hearing this, I went straight to my daughter Hafsa and asked her: Do you argue with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? She admitted it. Then I asked: Does any one of you not speak to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for the whole day? She admitted this too. I said: Whoever among you does this is in great loss and ruin. Are you satisfied that, seeing your Prophet angry, Allah's wrath may descend upon one of you and she may perish? Beware! From now on, do not argue with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about anything, nor ask him for anything. Whatever you need, tell me. And do not be deceived by thinking that your friend Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) is more beloved and dear to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

I had an Ansari neighbor. We had set turns; one day he would go to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and one day I would. He would inform me of the news and revelation of his day, and I would inform him of mine. In those days, we used to talk among ourselves that the people of Banu Ghassan were preparing their horses to confront us. In this context, one night my neighbor came to my house at Isha and knocked loudly at the door, then started calling out to me. When I came out, he said: Today a very important event has occurred. I asked: Have Banu Ghassan attacked? He said: No! An even more important event has occurred: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has divorced his wives. Hearing this, I said: Hafsa is ruined! I knew this would happen. Anyway, after offering the Fajr prayer, I put on my clothes and went straight to Hafsa. She was crying. I asked her: Has the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) divorced you? She said: I do not know. He is staying alone in that upper room. I went there and found a black slave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: Seek permission for me to enter. He went and after a while returned, saying: I mentioned you to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he remained silent. I went and sat near the pulpit and found many people sitting there, weeping. I sat there for a while, but then restlessness overcame me, so I went again to the slave and said: Seek permission for me. He went and soon returned, saying: I mentioned you to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), but he remained silent. After this happened three times, as I was about to leave, the slave called out to me: Come, you have been granted permission. I entered and greeted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). I saw that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting, leaning on a mat, whose marks were visible on his blessed side. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Have you divorced your wives? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head and said: "No." I proclaimed Allahu Akbar and said: O Messenger of Allah! Look, we Quraysh used to have dominance over our women, but when we reached Madinah, we encountered people whose women had dominance over them. Our women also started learning their ways. One day, I was angry with my wife over something, and she replied back to me. I was surprised, and she said: Are you surprised at my replying to you? The wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also reply to him and do not speak to him for the whole day. I said: Whoever does this is in loss and ruin. Are they satisfied that if Allah's wrath descends upon them due to the Prophet's displeasure, they will not be destroyed? Hearing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled. I further said: O Messenger of Allah! After that, I went to Hafsa and said: Do not be deceived by thinking that your friend is more beloved and dear to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Hearing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) smiled again. Then I said: O Messenger of Allah! May I be frank? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted me, so I raised my head and began to look around the blessed house of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). By Allah! I did not see anything there that would attract repeated glances, except for three raw hides. Seeing this, I said: O Messenger of Allah! Pray to Allah to grant your Ummah abundance and ease. Persia and Rome, who do not worship Allah, have been given great prosperity. Hearing this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat up straight and said: O son of Khattab! Are you still in doubt? All things have been given to those people in this world. I said: O Messenger of Allah! Pray for my forgiveness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had actually sworn that he would not go to his wives for a month, because he was very angry and grieved with them, until Allah Almighty revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding this matter.