Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "And tell the believing women to lower their gazes" [Surah al-Nur: 31]. This verse has been abrogated, and from it has been excepted: "And the elderly women who have no hope of marriage" [Surah al-Nur: 60].
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13530
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said concerning the saying of Allah Almighty: "And the elderly women who have no hope of marriage" [Surah al-Nur: 60]: This refers to the woman on whom there is no blame if she sits in her house in a gown and head-covering and takes off her outer cloak, as long as she does not display her adornment in a way that Allah dislikes. That is the saying of Allah Almighty: "There is no blame on them if they put aside their outer garments, not displaying adornment" [Surah al-Nur: 60]. Then He said: "But to refrain is better for them" [Surah al-Nur: 60].
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13531
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to recite: "that they put aside some of their garments" [Surah al-Nur: 60], and he said: That is, the outer cloaks.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13532
Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "There is no blame on them if they put aside their garments" [Surah al-Nur: 60] means the outer cloaks.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13533
Asim al-Ahwal (may Allah have mercy on him) said: We used to visit Hafsah bint Sirin (may Allah have mercy on her), and she would have put on her outer cloak like this and veiled her face with it. We would say to her: May Allah have mercy on you! Allah Almighty says: "And the elderly women who have no hope of marriage, there is no blame on them if they put aside their garments, not displaying adornment" [Surah al-Nur: 60], and that is the outer cloak. She would say to us: What comes after that? We would say: "But to refrain is better for them" [Surah al-Nur: 60]. She would say: That means keeping the outer cloak on.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13534
Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We used to be very happy on Friday. I asked: Why? He said: There was an old woman among us who used to go to Buda'ah (the name of a place). She would bring chard from there, put it in a pot and grind some grains of barley into it. After praying, we would go to her and greet her, and she would serve the cooked food to us. We used to be very happy on Friday because of that, and we would neither take a midday nap nor eat lunch except after the Jumu'ah (prayer).
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13535
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to visit Sayyidah Umm Ayman (may Allah be pleased with her), and I was with him. She brought something to drink near to him (peace and blessings be upon him); either he was fasting or he did not want it, so he (peace and blessings be upon him) returned it, and she began to scold the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). After the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "Come with us to visit Sayyidah Umm Ayman (may Allah be pleased with her)." When they came to her, she began to weep. They both said: "Why do you weep? What is with Allah Almighty is better for His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)." She said: "I do not weep because I do not know this; rather, I weep because the revelation from the heavens has now stopped." After she said this, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) also began to weep.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب النكاح / 13536