919 – Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “It is from the Sunnah that when a man marries a virgin while he already has a previously-married wife, he stays with the virgin for seven nights and then apportions (his time). If he marries a previously-married woman, he stays with her for three nights and then apportions.” Agreed upon; the wording is al-Bukhārī’s (1).

920 – Umm Salama (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that when the Prophet ﷺ married her, he stayed with her for three nights and said, “It is not that you are slighted in the sight of your people. If you wish, I will stay with you for seven nights; but if I stay seven with you, I must stay seven with my (other) wives.” Narrated by Muslim (2).

Vocabulary of the ḥadith:
• Ahlik: here the word ahl (household) refers to the Prophet ﷺ himself; the husband is the ahl of the wife and the wife the ahl of the husband—those who share one home.
• Hawān: humiliation, lowliness, or weakness; i.e., you have none of this with me. The phrase serves as a tactful preface to excuse limiting his stay with her to three nights, a highly commendable approach when discussing something uncommon; every situation warrants an introduction that suits it.
• Sabbaʿtu laki: with a stressed bāʾ, from tasbīʿ (making something sevenfold). Meaning: “If you wish, I will stay with you seven nights, then I will stay seven with my wives.” The Arabs coined verbs for the numbers one through ten; thus sabbaʿa means to do something seven times, thallatha to do it three times, and sabbaʿa al-ināʾ means he washed the vessel seven times.

Lessons derived from the two ḥadiths:
1 – Justice between co-wives is obligatory, and inclining toward one of them over the others is injustice; therefore it is—