Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I remained hesitant for a whole year to ask Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) about a certain verse. His awe was so overwhelming that I could not muster the courage to ask him. Finally, when he went for Hajj, I accompanied him. On the return journey, when we were on the way, he went among the trees of the Pilu (Salvadora) for relieving himself. I stood waiting for him. When he finished and came back, I walked with him. At that moment, I said,“O Commander of the Faithful, who were those two women among the Mothers of the Believers who had agreed upon a plan against the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?”He replied,“They were Hafsa and Aisha.”I said,“By Allah, I have intended to ask you this question for a year, but due to your awe, I could not dare to ask.”Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“Do not do so. If you think I have any knowledge about a matter, then ask me about it. If I have any knowledge, I will surely inform you.”He narrated that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,“By Allah, in the days of ignorance, we did not consider women to be anything until Allah revealed about them what He revealed and assigned for them the rights He assigned.”(Sayyiduna Umar) narrated: One day I was thinking, and my wife said to me, ‘It would be better if you did such and such in this matter.’ I said, ‘What concern do you have with this? This matter relates to me. Who are you to interfere in it?’ My wife said, ‘Son of Khattab, I am amazed at your behavior. You cannot tolerate being answered back, yet your daughter (Sayyida Hafsa) even answers the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). One day, she even made the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) upset.’ Hearing this, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up, put on his cloak, and went to the house of Sayyida Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her) and said, ‘Daughter, do you answer the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) back, to the extent that one day you kept the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) upset for the whole day?’ Sayyida Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her) replied, ‘Yes, by Allah, sometimes we do answer the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) back.’ Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, ‘Know that I warn you of Allah’s punishment and the anger of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Daughter, do not be deceived by that woman who has gained the love of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).’ He was referring to Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). He said, ‘Then I left there and went to Sayyida Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her), because she was also my relative. I spoke to her as well. She said, ‘Son of Khattab, it is surprising that you interfere in every matter, and now you want to interfere in the matters between the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his wives as well?’ By Allah, she rebuked me so much that my anger cooled down, and I left her house.

I had an Ansari friend. When I was not present in the gathering of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he would come and inform me of all that had happened, and when he was not present, I would inform him. At that time, we were afraid of the king of Ghassan, as we had received news that he intended to attack Madinah. Thus, we were always in fear. One day, suddenly, my Ansari friend knocked at the door and said, ‘Open up!’ I said, ‘It seems the Ghassanids have come.’ He said, ‘Rather, an even more important matter has occurred: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has separated himself from his wives.’ I said, ‘May the noses of Hafsa and Aisha (may Allah be pleased with them both) be dusted!’ So I put on my garment and went out. When I arrived, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was in his upper room, which was reached by a ladder. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had an Abyssinian slave (Bilal bin Rabah) at the foot of the ladder. I said, ‘Ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to grant permission for Umar bin Khattab to enter.’ Then I reached the service of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and narrated my entire story. When I reached the part about Umm Salama’s conversation, he smiled.

At that time, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sitting on a mat made of date-palm leaves. There was nothing between his blessed body and the mat. Under his head was a leather pillow stuffed with palm fibers. At his feet was a heap of acacia leaves, and at his head hung a water-skin. I saw the marks of the mat on his side and began to weep. He said, ‘Why are you weeping?’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, Caesar and Chosroes enjoy every comfort of the world, and you are the Messenger of Allah (yet live in such straitened circumstances).’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Are you not pleased that for them is the world and for us is the Hereafter?’