left. The Prophet ﷺ therefore returned and entered, and I started to go in with him, but he let the curtain fall between me and himself. Thereupon Allah the Exalted revealed:
“O you who believe, do not enter the Prophet’s houses…” (al-Aḥzāb 33:53).

Al-Bukhārī records this account in several other places, and so do Muslim and al-Nasāʾī, through various chains traced back to Muʿtamir.¹

Al-Bukhārī also transmits it on his own authority through Ayyūb, from Abū Qilābah, from Anas, in similar wording.²

He further says: Abū Maʿmar narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Wārith narrated to us; ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Ṣuhayb, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said:
“The Prophet ﷺ consummated his marriage with Zaynab bint Jaḥsh, serving bread and meat. I was sent out to invite the people to the meal: a group would come, eat, and leave; then another group would come, eat, and leave. I kept inviting people until I could find no one else to invite, so I said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, I can find no one else to call.’ He replied, ‘Then remove the food.’
“Three men, however, remained in the house chatting. The Prophet ﷺ went out and proceeded to ʿĀʾishah’s chamber, saying, ‘Peace be upon you, people of the house, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.’ She answered, ‘And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah. How did you find your wife? May Allah bless you.’
“He then made the rounds of all his wives’ apartments, greeting them as he had greeted ʿĀʾishah, and they responded as she had. When he returned, the three men were still talking inside. The Prophet ﷺ was extremely modest, so he left again toward ʿĀʾishah’s room. I do not know whether I told him or whether someone else informed him that the men had departed. He came back, and when he had placed one foot on the threshold—one foot inside and the other outside—he let the screen drop between me and himself, and the verse of the veil was revealed.”
Al-Bukhārī relates this version exclusively.

He also narrates it independently through another chain—by way of Isḥāq (Ibn Manṣūr), from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Bakr al-Sahmī, from Ḥumayd, from Anas—with similar wording, except that it says “two men” instead of “three.” Allah knows best.⁷

Al-Bukhārī adds: Ibrāhīm ibn Ṭahmān narrated to us from al-Jaʿd Abū ʿUthmān, from Anas, reporting the same incident.⁸

Ibn Abī Ḥātim likewise says: My father related to us; Abū al-Muẓaffar related to us; Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān narrated to us, from al-Jaʿd Abū ʿUthmān al-Yashkurī, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ spent the night with one of his wives, and Umm Sulaym prepared a dish of ḥays, then …”⁹