He asked, “And whom do you have in mind?” She replied, “If you wish, a virgin; and if you wish, a previously-married woman.” He said, “Who is the virgin and who is the previously-married woman?” She answered, “The virgin is ʿĀʾishah, the daughter of the most beloved of God’s creation to you. As for the previously-married woman, she is Sawdah bint Zamʿah; she has believed in you and followed you.” He said, “Mention them to me.”

She continued: “I went to Umm Rūmān and said, ‘O Umm Rūmān, what goodness and blessing Allah has brought you!’ She asked, ‘What is it?’ I replied, ‘The Messenger of Allah—God bless him and grant him peace—has spoken of ʿĀʾishah.’ She said, ‘Wait, for Abu Bakr is about to arrive.’

“When Abu Bakr came I told him, and he said, ‘Can she be lawful to him when she is his brother’s daughter?’ The Messenger of Allah—God bless him and grant him peace—said, ‘He is my brother and I am his, and his daughter is lawful for me.’

“Abu Bakr then rose. Umm Rūmān said to me, ‘Al-Muṭʿim ibn ʿAdī had already asked for her on behalf of his son, and, by Allah, Abu Bakr has never broken a promise.’ So Abu Bakr went to al-Muṭʿim and said, ‘What do you think about this girl?’ He turned to his wife and asked her, ‘What do you say?’ She faced Abu Bakr and said, ‘If we marry this youth to your daughter, you may induce him to abandon our way and enter yours.’ Abu Bakr then turned to al-Muṭʿim and asked, ‘And what do you say?’ He replied, ‘She is merely saying what you have heard.’

“Abu Bakr left, feeling that no obligation remained, and said to Khawlah, ‘Tell the Messenger of Allah—God bless him and grant him peace—to come.’ The Messenger of Allah—God bless him and grant him peace—came and concluded the marriage contract with her.

“After that I went to Sawdah bint Zamʿah. Her father, an elderly man who had stayed behind from the pilgrimage season, was present. I greeted him with the greeting of the pre-Islamic era and said, ‘May your morning be pleasant.’ He asked, ‘Who are you?’ I said, ‘Khawlah bint Ḥakīm.’ He welcomed me warmly and spoke as Allah willed. I said, ‘Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib is proposing for Sawdah bint Zamʿah.’ He said, ‘A noble and suitable match. What does your companion say?’ I replied, ‘She wishes for that.’ He said, ‘Tell him to come.’ The Messenger of Allah—God bless him and grant him peace—then came and concluded the marriage contract with her.

“ʿAbd ibn Zamʿah later returned and began throwing dust on his head. After he embraced Islam he said, ‘How foolish I was the day I scattered dust on my head because the Messenger of Allah—God bless him and grant him peace—married Sawdah!’

Its chain of transmission is sound (ḥasan).