918 – On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said: “Whoever has two wives and inclines toward one of them to the exclusion of the other will come on the Day of Resurrection with one side of his body leaning.” It was narrated by Ahmad and the Four, and its chain of transmission is sound. (1)

Hadith grading:
The hadith is sound.

The compiler said: It was reported by Ahmad and the Four, and its isnad is sahih.

It was also recorded by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Nasa’i, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, al-Hakim, and al-Bayhaqi by various routes from Hammam ibn Yahya, from Qatadah, from al-Nadr ibn Anas, from Bashir ibn Nahik, from Abu Hurayrah, with this wording.

Al-Hakim said: “Sound according to the criteria of the Two Shaykhs,” and this was endorsed by al-Dhahabi, Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id, and Ibn Hajar. ‘Abd al-Haqq said: Its latent weakness is that Hammam alone transmitted it, but this flaw is not injurious; therefore the scholars have unanimously upheld its authenticity.

Glossary of the hadith:
• shiqquhu – his side, his half.
• mail – leaning; a departure from uprightness and balance.

Takeaways from the two hadiths:
1 – We have already noted that apportioning nights was not obligatory for the Prophet ﷺ with respect to his wives, as Allah says, “You may defer whomever of them you wish and shelter whomever you wish; and should you desire any of those you have set aside, you would not incur blame” (Al-Ahzab 33:51). Nevertheless, he ﷺ still distributed fairly among them in spending, overnight stays, and visiting each of them in turn.