“Except for idhkhir.”
Muslim added: Al-Walid said, “I asked al-Awza‘i, ‘What did he mean by his words, “Write it down for me, Messenger of Allah”?’ He replied, ‘This was the sermon that he heard from the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace.’”
- “No woman among them asks me without my informing her. Allah has not sent me to cause hardship or to seek hardship; rather, He has sent me as a teacher who makes things easy.”
It was reported by Muslim (4/187–188), al-Bayhaqi (7/38), and Ahmad (3/328), through Abu al-Zubayr, from Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah, who said:
Abu Bakr came seeking permission to enter upon the Messenger of Allah … the hadith. It includes the following:
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sitting with his wives around him, asking him for maintenance. Then Allah’s saying was revealed: “O Prophet, say to your wives … a tremendous reward for those of you who do good.” He then said:
“O ‘A’ishah, I wish to put a matter before you, but I would prefer that you not be hasty about it until you have consulted your parents.”
She said, “What is it, Messenger of Allah?” So he recited the verse to her. She said, “Regarding you, Messenger of Allah, should I consult my parents? Rather, I choose Allah, His Messenger, and the Abode of the Hereafter. But I ask you not to tell any of your wives what I have said.” He said: … and he went on to relate the hadith.
Abu al-Zubayr practised tadlis, and at present I have not found an explicit statement from him that he directly heard this account.
However, it has supporting evidence in general in the lengthy hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas, which contains a similar account and concludes:
Ma‘mar said: Ayyub informed me that ‘A’ishah said, “Do not tell your wives that I chose you.” The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, then said: