Sunan Ibn Majah
Sunan Ibn Majah 2063
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ تَمِيمِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، قَالَ قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي وَسِعَ سَمْعُهُ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ . إِنِّي لأَسْمَعُ كَلاَمَ خَوْلَةَ بِنْتِ ثَعْلَبَةَ وَيَخْفَى عَلَىَّ بَعْضُهُ وَهِيَ تَشْتَكِي زَوْجَهَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَهِيَ تَقُولُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَكَلَ شَبَابِي وَنَثَرْتُ لَهُ بَطْنِي حَتَّى إِذَا كَبِرَتْ سِنِّي وَانْقَطَعَ وَلَدِي ظَاهَرَ مِنِّي اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَشْكُو إِلَيْكَ . فَمَا بَرِحَتْ حَتَّى نَزَلَ جِبْرَائِيلُ بِهَؤُلاَءِ الآيَاتِ {قَدْ سَمِعَ اللَّهُ قَوْلَ الَّتِي تُجَادِلُكَ فِي زَوْجِهَا وَتَشْتَكِي إِلَى اللَّهِ}.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Abi ʿUbaydah narrated to us: my father narrated to us, from al-Aʿmash, from Tamim ibn Salamah, from ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr, who said: ʿAishah said: ‘Blessed is the One whose hearing encompasses everything. I can hear some of what Khawlah bint Thaʿlabah says, while some of it is hidden from me, as she complains to the Messenger of Allah about her husband. She says, “Messenger of Allah, he has consumed my youth, and I bore him children. Now that I am advanced in age and my childbearing has ended, he has declared zihar against me. O Allah, I complain to You.”’ She did not cease until Gabriel came down with these verses: ‘Allah has indeed heard the words of the woman who disputes with you concerning her husband and complains to Allah.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase نَثَرْتُ لَهُ بَطْنِي is rendered as ‘I bore him children,’ a contextual interpretation of the euphemistic wording. ظَاهَرَ مِنِّي refers to a zihar declaration.
إِنِّي لأَسْمَعُ كَلاَمَ خَوْلَةَ بِنْتِ ثَعْلَبَةَ وَيَخْفَى عَلَىَّ بَعْضُهُ وَهِيَ تَشْتَكِي زَوْجَهَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَهِيَ تَقُولُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَكَلَ شَبَابِي وَنَثَرْتُ لَهُ بَطْنِي حَتَّى إِذَا كَبِرَتْ سِنِّي وَانْقَطَعَ وَلَدِي ظَاهَرَ مِنِّي اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَشْكُو إِلَيْكَ .
The phrase نَثَرْتُ لَهُ بَطْنِي literally means ‘I spread my belly for him’; in context it appears to refer to bearing children, but the source keeps the expression euphemistic.
Does ‘I bore him children’ convey the contextual sense clearly while preserving the passage’s meaning?