1369 — Abū Muhammad Yahyā ibn Muhammad ibn Sā‘id narrated to us: Ahmad ibn Abd Allāh ibn Suwayd ibn Manjūf al-Sadūsī narrated to us: Abū Dāwūd al-Tayālisī narrated to us: Hammād ibn Salama narrated to us, from Alī ibn Zayd, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said: Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—said:

“I concurred with my Lord, Mighty and Majestic, in four matters. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, if only we were to pray facing the Station.’ Allah, Mighty and Majestic, then revealed: ‘Take the Station of Abraham as a place of prayer’ [al-Baqara 2:125].

“I also said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, if only you would have your wives observe the veil, for both the righteous and the wicked enter upon them.’ Allah, Mighty and Majestic, then revealed: ‘When you ask them for something, ask them from behind a veil’ [al-Ahzāb 33:53].

“I said to the Prophet’s wives—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—‘You must desist, or Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will surely replace you with wives better ⦗1897⦘ than you.’ Allah, Mighty and Majestic, then revealed: ‘Perhaps, if he divorces you, his Lord will replace you with wives better than you’ [al-Tahrīm 66:5]—to the end of the verse.

“Allah, Mighty and Majestic, also revealed: ‘We certainly created man from an extract of clay’ [al-Mu’minūn 23:12], and the revelation continued until it reached the verse, whereupon I said, ‘So blessed is Allah, the best of creators’—meaning that the words ‘So blessed is Allah, the best of creators’ [al-Mu’minūn 23:14] were then revealed.”