Mukhtasar Muslim

Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him): Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came and sought permission to enter upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and saw that people were gathered at the door of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and no one had been granted permission to enter. The narrator said: Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was granted permission and he entered. Then Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came and sought permission, and he too was granted permission. They found the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sitting, surrounded by his wives, who were sitting quietly and sorrowfully. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) thought to himself: I will certainly say something to make the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laugh. So he said: O Messenger of Allah! If only you had seen the daughter of Kharijah (she was the wife of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him), when she asked me for expenses, I stood up and began to strangle her neck. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed and said: They are all around me as you see, and they are asking me for expenses. So Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and began to strangle Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), and Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did the same to Hafsa (may Allah be pleased with her), and both of them said to their daughters: Do you ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for something which he does not possess? And they replied: By Allah, we will never ask the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for anything which he does not have. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) separated from them for a month or twenty-nine days. Then this verse was revealed to him: "O Prophet! Say to your wives..." to "...a great reward." (Al-Ahzab: 28, 29). So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) first came to Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) and said to her: O Aisha! I am going to present something to you and I wish that you do not hasten in your decision until you consult your parents. She said: O Messenger of Allah! What is it? Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse to her. She said: O Messenger of Allah! Should I consult my parents regarding you? Rather, I choose Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And I ask you not to inform any of your wives about the answer I have given. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If any of them asks me, I will surely inform her, for Allah has not sent me as one who causes hardship or difficulty, but as one who teaches ease.

Masruq says: I have no fear if I give my wife the option once, or a hundred times, or a thousand times, when she has already chosen me. And I asked Umm al-Mu'mineen Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her), and she said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us the option, so did this become a divorce? (That is, it did not.)