Nasai

When the noble wives of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) proved to be one hundred percent successful in the aforementioned test of choice, then, to express their greatness and status, you (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) were prohibited from divorcing any of them or marrying any woman other than them. However, since the purpose was not to impose a restriction upon you, but rather to manifest the greatness of the noble wives, after some time it was explicitly clarified that there is no restriction upon you regarding the matter of marriage and divorce: you may keep whomever you wish, divorce whomever you wish, and marry whomever you wish. Yet, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not make use of this option; rather, he kept those same wives and honored and elevated them. (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)

Hadith Commentary:
The narration of Mu’addib has been reported by Ibn Marduyah, the narration of Muhammad bin Bishr has been reported by Imam Ahmad rahimahullah, and the narration of ‘Abdah has been termed mursal by Imam Muslim and Ibn Majah.

There were certain specific communal interests in the divine knowledge due to which Allah the Exalted granted this permission to His Noble Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Allah, the Exalted, granted the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) permission to marry three types of women. Among these, the third category consisted of those women who themselves offered themselves in marriage to him. If a woman who offers herself (in marriage) is pleasing to you, then there will be no dowry (mahr) for her, nor will the permission of a guardian (wali) or the presence of witnesses be required. The very act of the woman offering herself will be considered as the marriage contract. Regarding such women, Aisha (radi Allahu anha) commented in the aforementioned hadith. In one narration, she said: I used to feel jealous of those women who would offer themselves to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). I would say: What is this matter that a woman offers herself to someone? But the Noble Qur’an commented: “This concession is only for you, not for other Muslims.” () (Sahih al-Bukhari, Tafsir, Hadith: 4788)

(2)
There is a difference of opinion regarding the ruling of a woman offering herself (in marriage): is this a special privilege (khasais) of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), or is this ruling general? Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has indicated towards this difference in the chapter heading by using the word “hal” (is it so?). In any case, for other Muslims, the ruling is that they must fulfill the other conditions of marriage, i.e., the permission of the guardian (wali), the presence of witnesses, and the determination of the dowry (mahr), after which the marriage will be valid. And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
1.
In the explanation of ﴿تُرْجِي مَن تَشَاءُ﴾, three opinions are mentioned.
➊.
You may keep with you whichever wife you wish, and you may divorce whichever you wish.
➋.
You may separate whichever wife you wish without divorce, and assign her turn to another wife.
➌.
Regarding the woman who offers herself (in marriage), you have the choice to accept her or to reject her.
The wording of the verse supports all three possibilities.

2.
According to this hadith, Aisha radi Allahu anha has stated the last meaning, that the background of the verse concerns women who offer themselves (in marriage), and this permission was exclusive to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: if any believing woman wished to give herself in marriage without a dowry (mahr), this was permissible only for him, and not for other Muslims.
Another possibility has also been narrated from Aisha radi Allahu anha, that the mentioned verse is related to assigning turns among the wives, as is made clear by the following hadith.

Hadith Commentary:

Benefits and Issues:
The women who wished to offer themselves as a gift to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, according to Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah, were three:
Khawlah bint Hakim radi Allahu anha,
Fatimah bint Shurayh radi Allahu anha, and
Ya’la bint al-Haleem radi Allahu anha. However, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam never accepted the offer of any of them.

The scholars have given various interpretations of "turji" and "tu'wi":
➊ According to the majority, it was not obligatory upon the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to maintain a fixed turn; he could call to himself whomever he wished and leave whomever he wished.
➋ He could divorce whomever he wished and keep in his marriage whomever he wished.
➌ This verse pertains to those women who offered themselves as a gift, that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had the choice to accept their offer or to reject it. According to the view of Aisha radi Allahu anha, it relates only to the third statement. However, by consensus, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam observed the rule of turns and did not act upon this concession.

Explanation:
1:
That is, the women who were declared forbidden in the previous hadith were later made lawful for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
This inference was drawn by Aisha radi Allahu anha or others from this statement of Allah,
﴿تُرْجِي مَن تَشَاء مِنْهُنَّ وَتُؤْوِي إِلَيْكَ مَن تَشَاء﴾ (Al-Ahzab: 51) (O our beloved and intimate Prophet!) You are also given the choice that among these women, you may leave aside whomever you wish (i.e., not marry her or, among your existing wives, defer the turn of whomever you wish), and you may give a place to whomever you wish,
(even if it is not her turn).

(1) "Used to present themselves." Allah Ta'ala made it permissible for you that if any believing emigrant woman presented herself to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) for marriage, you could marry her without her guardians (awliya). This is because, firstly, for emigrant women, their guardians were disbelievers whose guardianship was nullified; secondly, in the absence of blood relatives as guardians, you, being the supreme authority (hakim a‘la), were their legal guardian. Therefore, in the case of a woman's proposal, your marrying her fulfilled all the conditions. However, you did not marry any woman who presented herself, so that no wicked person could make accusations. Even though this was, from every aspect—Shari‘ah, law, and ethics—permissible for you.

(2) "Can present herself." This statement was made by Aisha (radi Allahu anha) in accordance with her own circumstances. Otherwise, if an emigrant, helpless young woman, who had been cut off from her family, presented herself to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) for marriage—saying that if you have need, marry me, otherwise marry me to someone else—there is not the slightest impropriety in this, because you were the supreme authority (hakim a‘la), and it was your duty to provide support to such helpless young women.

(3) "This verse was revealed." It has been deduced from this verse that it was not obligatory for the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) to assign turns for his wives. But how admirable are your lofty morals, that despite such latitude, you not only assigned turns but also treated all of them with complete equality in every respect. May my soul, my spirit, my father, and my mother be sacrificed for him (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). See: (Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Nikah, Hadith: 2135, and Irwa’ al-Ghalil: 7/75)

Benefits and Issues:

➊
In Islamic society, it is not considered appropriate for a woman to request marriage directly from a man; rather, the correct method is that the proposal should be made through the woman's guardian. The unique distinction of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in this regard seemed strange to Aisha (radi Allahu anha), that women themselves would come and say, "O Messenger of Allah, marry us."

➋
The Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was the guardian of all members of the Ummah; in fact, the right of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was even greater than that of the guardians themselves. Allah the Exalted says:
﴿اَلنَّبِيُّ اَوْلیٰ بِالْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ مِنَ أَنْفُسِهِمْ﴾ (Al-Ahzab: 6)
"The Prophet has a greater right over the believers than their own selves."

➌
For the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), there was a special concession from Allah that he was not obligated to observe the turn-taking (division of nights) among the noble wives (azwaj mutahharat, radi Allahu anhun). Despite this, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) presented the highest example of justice among his wives, to the extent that even in the last days of his life, when the severity of illness was such that it was difficult to walk from the house of one Mother of the Believers to another, he still continued to visit them in turn. Eventually, the Mothers of the Believers themselves requested that he rest wherever he wished. Then the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), supported by two men, went to the house of Aisha (radi Allahu anha), and it was there that he passed away. And he was buried in her blessed chamber. (Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Maghazi, Chapter: The Illness and Death of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), Hadith: 4442)