For one year I wanted to ask ʿUmar about the two women who helped each other against the Prophet ﷺ but I was afraid of him. One day he dismounted his riding animal and went among the trees of Arak to answer the call of nature, and when he returned, I asked him and he said, "(They were) ʿAisha and Hafsa." Then he added, "We never used to give significance to ladies in the days of the Pre-lslamic period of ignorance, but when Islam came and Allah mentioned their rights, we used to give them their rights but did not allow them to interfere in our affairs. Once there was some dispute between me and my wife and she answered me back in a loud voice. I said to her, 'Strange! You can retort in this way?' She said, 'Yes. Do you say this to me while your daughter troubles Messenger of Allah ﷺ?' So I went to Hafsa and said to her, 'I warn you not to disobey Allah and His Apostle.' I first went to Hafsa and then to Um Salama and told her the same. She said to me, 'O ʿUmar! It surprises me that you interfere in our affairs so much that you would poke your nose even into the affairs of Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his wives.' So she rejected my advice. There was an Ansari man; whenever he was absent from Messenger of Allah ﷺ and I was present there, I used to convey to him what had happened (on that day), and when I was absent and he was present there, he used to convey to me what had happened as regards news from Messenger of Allah ﷺ . During that time all the rulers of the nearby lands had surrendered to Messenger of Allah ﷺ except the king of Ghassan in Sham, and we were afraid that he might attack us. All of a sudden the Ansari came and said, 'A great event has happened!' I asked him, 'What is it? Has the Ghassani (king) come?' He said, 'Greater than that! Messenger of Allah ﷺ has divorced his wives! I went to them and found all of them weeping in their dwellings, and the Prophet ﷺ had ascended to an upper room of his. At the door of the room there was a slave to whom I went and said, "Ask the permission for me to enter." He admitted me and I entered to see the Prophet ﷺ lying on a mat that had left its imprint on his side. Under his head there was a leather pillow stuffed with palm fires. Behold! There were some hides hanging there and some grass for tanning. Then I mentioned what I had said to Hafsa and Um Salama and what reply Um Salama had given me. Messenger of Allah ﷺ smiled and stayed there for twenty nine days and then came down." (See Hadith No. 648, Vol. 3 for details)  

عَنِ الْمَرْأَتَيْنِ اللَّتَيْنِ تَظَاهَرَتَا عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَجَعَلْتُ أَهَابُهُ فَنَزَلَ يَوْمًا مَنْزِلاً فَدَخَلَ الأَرَاكَ فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ سَأَلْتُهُ فَقَالَ عَائِشَةُ وَحَفْصَةُ ثُمَّ قَالَ كُنَّا فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ لاَ نَعُدُّ النِّسَاءَ شَيْئًا فَلَمَّا جَاءَ الإِسْلاَمُ وَذَكَرَهُنَّ اللَّهُ رَأَيْنَا لَهُنَّ بِذَلِكَ عَلَيْنَا حَقًّا مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ نُدْخِلَهُنَّ فِي شَىْءٍ مِنْ أُمُورِنَا وَكَانَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ امْرَأَتِي كَلاَمٌ فَأَغْلَظَتْ لِي فَقُلْتُ لَهَا وَإِنَّكِ لَهُنَاكِ قَالَتْ تَقُولُ هَذَا لِي وَابْنَتُكَ تُؤْذِي النَّبِيَّ ﷺ فَأَتَيْتُ حَفْصَةَ فَقُلْتُ لَهَا إِنِّي أُحَذِّرُكِ أَنْ تَعْصِي اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَتَقَدَّمْتُ إِلَيْهَا فِي أَذَاهُ فَأَتَيْتُ أُمَّ سَلَمَةَ فَقُلْتُ لَهَا فَقَالَتْ أَعْجَبُ مِنْكَ يَا عُمَرُ قَدْ دَخَلْتَ فِي أُمُورِنَا فَلَمْ يَبْقَ إِلاَّ أَنْ تَدْخُلَ بَيْنَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَأَزْوَاجِهِ فَرَدَّدَتْ وَكَانَ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ إِذَا غَابَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَشَهِدْتُهُ أَتَيْتُهُ بِمَا يَكُونُ وَإِذَا غِبْتُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَشَهِدَ أَتَانِي بِمَا يَكُونُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَكَانَ مَنْ حَوْلَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَدِ اسْتَقَامَ لَهُ فَلَمْ يَبْقَ إِلاَّ مَلِكُ غَسَّانَ بِالشَّأْمِ كُنَّا نَخَافُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَنَا فَمَا شَعَرْتُ إِلاَّ بِالأَنْصَارِيِّ وَهْوَ يَقُولُ إِنَّهُ قَدْ حَدَثَ أَمْرٌ قُلْتُ لَهُ وَمَا هُوَ أَجَاءَ الْغَسَّانِيُّ قَالَ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذَاكَ طَلَّقَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ نِسَاءَهُ فَجِئْتُ فَإِذَا الْبُكَاءُ مِنْ حُجَرِهَا كُلِّهَا وَإِذَا النَّبِيُّ ﷺ قَدْ صَعِدَ فِي مَشْرُبَةٍ لَهُ وَعَلَى باب الْمَشْرُبَةِ وَصِيفٌ فَأَتَيْتُهُ فَقُلْتُ اسْتَأْذِنْ لِي فَدَخَلْتُ فَإِذَا النَّبِيُّ ﷺ عَلَى حَصِيرٍ قَدْ أَثَّرَ فِي جَنْبِهِ وَتَحْتَ رَأْسِهِ مِرْفَقَةٌ مِنْ أَدَمٍ حَشْوُهَا لِيفٌ وَإِذَا أُهُبٌ مُعَلَّقَةٌ وَقَرَظٌ فَذَكَرْتُ الَّذِي قُلْتُ لِحَفْصَةَ وَأُمِّ سَلَمَةَ وَالَّذِي رَدَّتْ عَلَىَّ أُمُّ سَلَمَةَ فَضَحِكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَلَبِثَ تِسْعًا وَعِشْرِينَ لَيْلَةً ثُمَّ نَزَلَ