Friday, the two Eid prayers, the prayer for rain, the eclipse sermons, and the like. The occasional sermons, by contrast, arose for a specific reason: whenever something occurred, the Prophet ﷺ would stand before the people, exhort them, and clarify matters for them. At times he would preach from the pulpit, at times while standing on the bare ground, at times mounted on his she-camel, and at other times leaning on one of his Companions—each manner dictated by the circumstances of the moment. Part of his practice ﷺ was to avoid all affectation: he would not pursue what was unavailable, nor reject what was readily at hand, so long as doing so did not entail neglecting the Sacred Law or exceeding its limits.

On one such occasion he ﷺ was preaching, and ʿAbd Allah ibn Zamʿah heard him. Among the things he said was: “One of you goes so far as to whip his wife the way a slave is whipped,” meaning that he strikes her as though there were no bond between them, as though she were a captive in chains. This is unfitting, for the bond between a man and his household is a special one that ought to rest upon love, harmony, and a total avoidance of indecency—whether in word or in deed.

To flog her like a slave and then, later the very same day, share her bed—how can you lie with her seeking affection, pleasure, and desire after having whipped her with a slave’s flogging? That is a contradiction. Hence the Prophet ﷺ reproved such conduct, for it is unbefitting of any rational person, let alone a believer—and the Prophet ﷺ spoke the truth, for such behavior is beneath even ordinary reason.

He then addressed another matter: laughing when someone passes wind. If a man breaks wind and it makes a sound, people laugh; so the Prophet ﷺ admonished them, saying, “Why would one of you laugh at something he himself does?”