Musnad Ahmad

Nazlah bin Tareef says that there was a man from his tribe who was called A’shi, his real name was Abdullah bin A’war. The woman in his marriage was named Mu’azah. Once, A’shi set out from a place called Hajr in the month of Rajab to bring grain for his family. In his absence, his wife became angry with him, ran away from home, and took refuge with a man from her tribe whose name was Mutarrif bin Bahsal... He gave her his protection. When A’shi returned, he did not find his wife at home. He found out that she had run away in anger and was now under the protection of Mutarrif bin Bahsal. Upon hearing this, A’shi went to Mutarrif and said, “O my cousin! Is my wife Mu’azah with you? Hand her over to me.” He replied, “She is not with me, and even if she were, I would not hand her over to you.” In fact, Mutarrif was more powerful than him. So A’shi left there and came to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and, reciting these verses, sought his protection:

“O leader of the people and giver to the Arabs! I have come to you with a complaint about a foul-mouthed woman. She is like a female wolf who deceives in the shadow of a mirage. In the month of Rajab, I went out in search of grain for her, but behind my back, she showed me the scene of quarrel and escape. She broke her promise, wagged her tail, and put me in great difficulty. And these women are an overwhelming evil, even for the one who always prevails.”

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) began to repeat his last sentence: “These women are an overwhelming evil, even for the one who always prevails over others.” After this, A’shi complained about his wife and told the Prophet (peace be upon him) the whole story, including that she was now with a man from their own tribe named Mutarrif bin Bahsal. Upon this, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) wrote a letter to Mutarrif, saying, “See, hand over this man’s wife Mu’azah to him.”

When the letter of the Prophet (peace be upon him) reached him and was read out to him, he said to the woman, “Mu’azah, this is a letter from the Prophet (peace be upon him) concerning you, so I am handing you over to him.” She said, “Take a promise from him for me,” and then he handed her over to him.

Upon this, A’shi recited these verses:

“By your life, Mu’azah, my love for you is not such that it could be changed by any color or altered by the passage of time, nor is the evil of that act which you committed, while you were deceived by misguided people, and they kept whispering to you behind my back.”