his parents pressed him to marry, but he refused; so they appealed to ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (may Allah be pleased with him). ʿUthmān said to him, “What is the matter with you that you do not marry? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married, Abū Bakr married, ʿUmar married, and I am married as well.” He replied, “And who can attain deeds like yours?” ʿUthmān exclaimed, “Subḥān Allah, Subḥān Allah!” then turned his face away and covered it with his hand—the gesture of a man who has seen something he dislikes. (Thus the narrator describes ʿUthmān’s reaction, may Allah be pleased with him.)
When they continued to press him, he said, “All right, I will marry.” They therefore sought for him the daughter of Jarīr. He said, “I will not marry a woman until I have spoken with her.” They answered, “Certainly.” Abū al-Ḥasan explained, “meaning, with another person present.”
Fahd ibn ʿAwf related to me—from Bishr ibn al-Muḍaffar, from Salamah ibn ʿAlqamah, from Muḥammad concerning this report—that they brought the daughter of Jarīr to him, and he said to her, “I have no desire for women, yet my parents insist on marrying me off. With them, however, you will have all the food and clothing you wish.” She replied, “I am content.”
When she was brought to him, he rose in the night to pray, and she stood praying behind him until dawn. He began the day fasting, and she too was fasting. ʿAmr commented, “Had I considered breaking my fast, her presence would have restrained me.”
His parents then said to him, “We married you only because we want grandchildren, and we do not think this woman will bear children. Divorce her.” So he divorced her.
Thereafter another woman was proposed for him. He said, “I will not marry a woman until I have spoken with her.” They brought her to him, and he addressed her with the same words he had spoken to the daughter of Jarīr. In time she grew lax. One day he was lying down, appearing to be asleep, when a woman of her family said to her, “So-and-so, why do you not bear children? Are you incapable?” She replied, “Can a woman bear children without a husband?” When he heard this, he divorced her, and after that his parents left him to himself.