Hadith 686 Abdullah bin `Umar (Radhi Allahu Anhuma) reported: My father `Umar
him) said: When (his daughter) Hafsah
became a widow, I met `Uthman bin `Affan
and offered Hafsah for marriage to him. `Uthman said: "I shall think over the matter.'' I waited for a few days and then `Uthman met me and said: "It occurred to me that I should not marry at present.'' Then I met Abu Bakr
and said to him: "If you are willing, I shall marry my daughter Hafsah to you.'' Abu Bakr
remained silent and did not utter any word to me in reply. I grew more angry with him than with `Uthman. I had waited for only a few days when The Messenger of Allah
asked for her hand in marriage and I married her to him.
Thereafter, I met Abu Bakr
who said, "Perhaps you were angry with me when you offered Hafsah to me and I said nothing in reply.'' I said, "Yes, that is so.'' He said, "Nothing stopped me to respond to your offer except that I knew that the Messenger of Allah
had mentioned her and I could not disclose the secret of The Messenger of Allah
.
Had The Messenger of Allah
left her, I would have accepted her.'' [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Commentary: To keep a secret and not to disclose it to people is the theme of this chapter as reflected in this Hadith. The Hadith has also other points which invite our attention.
Firstly, a man can offer his daughter's hand to a righteous person.
Secondly, it is undesirable for parents to send a message to another party for the wedlock of their daughter when talks with someone else are already continuing in this regard.
Thirdly, if The Messenger of Allah
wanted to marry a woman but could not realize his intention for a reason or another, it was permissible for a Muslim to marry her because, juristically speaking, such a woman could not be counted as the Prophet's wife.
For an explanation of this Hadith by Dr Muhammad Salah view the video included in Hadith No. 685