Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 1491
وَعَن عِكْرِمَة قَالَ: قِيلَ لِابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: مَاتَتْ فُلَانَةُ بَعْضُ أَزْوَاجِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَخَرَّ سَاجِدًا فَقِيلَ لَهُ تَسْجُدُ فِي هَذِهِ السَّاعَةِ؟ فَقَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ آيَةً فَاسْجُدُوا» وَأَيُّ آيَةٍ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ أَزْوَاجِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ؟ رَوَاهُ أَبُو دَاوُدَ وَالتِّرْمِذِيّ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ikrima said: Ibn Abbas was told that a certain wife of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, had died, and he fell prostrate. He was asked: Do you prostrate at such a time? He replied: The Messenger of God said: When you see a sign, prostrate. And what sign is greater than the passing of the Prophet wives?
Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi transmitted it.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَأَيُّ آيَةٍ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذَهَابِ أَزْوَاجِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ؟
The wording uses a plural noun, wives, although the preceding sentence refers to the death of a certain wife.
Should wives be understood literally as plural here, or is the phrase a general reference to the passing of a wife?