Overall meaning:
Abu ʿAmr ibn Ḥafs pronounced an irrevocable divorce against his wife, Fāṭimah bint Qays. Because a woman so divorced is not entitled to maintenance from her husband, he nevertheless sent her some barley. She assumed that support remained obligatory for as long as she was in her ʿiddah (waiting period), thought the barley insufficient, and took offense. He therefore swore that she had no claim upon him.

She brought the matter to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who informed her that she had neither maintenance nor lodging, and instructed her to spend her ʿiddah in the house of Umm Sharik. When he ﷺ mentioned that the Companions visited that house frequently, he redirected her to complete her waiting period with Ibn Umm Maktūm, a blind man who would not see her if she removed her garments, and told her to inform him when the ʿiddah was over.

He may have intended her for Usāmah ibn Zayd and feared she would finish her ʿiddah and marry before he knew of it. Once the waiting period was complete, Muʿāwiyah and Abu Jahm both proposed, so she consulted the Prophet ﷺ. Because sincere counsel is obligatory—especially toward one who asks for it—he did not recommend either man: Abu Jahm was harsh toward women and ill-tempered, while Muʿāwiyah was poor and possessed no wealth. Instead he directed her to marry Usāmah. She hesitated because he was a mawlā (a freedman), but she obeyed the Prophet ﷺ, accepted Usāmah, became pleased with him, and Allah placed much good in the marriage.

Lessons derived from the hadith:

1. The phrase “he divorced her three times” does not mean that the three pronouncements were uttered at one sitting; that practice is forbidden, and the Prophet ﷺ said, “Is the Book of Allah being played with while I am among you?” Rather, as al-Nawawī noted, he had previously issued two divorces, and some versions in Muslim state that “he gave her the single pronouncement that remained.”
2. A woman irrevocably divorced (bāʾin) is entitled to neither maintenance nor housing during her ʿiddah unless she is pregnant.
3. It is permissible to hint at a proposal to a woman in a bāʾin ʿiddah, as indicated by his words, “When your waiting period ends, inform me.”
4. Mentioning an absent person with something he dislikes is allowed when done as sincere advice; in that case it is not the forbidden type of backbiting.
5. It is lawful to marry someone of unequal lineage when the woman and her guardians consent; Usāmah had been touched by slavery, whereas Fāṭimah was Qurashī.
6. Offering sincere counsel is obligatory for everyone, especially to one who seeks advice. Whoever asks your counsel has entrusted you, and fulfilling that trust is a duty.
7. A woman should veil herself from men and avoid their places and gatherings.
8. The order for her to observe her ʿiddah in the house of Ibn Umm Maktūm is no proof that a woman may look at a man; she was told to avoid men even in the house of this blind Companion, together with the divine command: “And tell the believing women to lower their gaze” (Q 24:31).