About 11 Wives

The Hadith

The Hadith of Umm Zar' (Sahih al-Bukhari 5189) is narrated by ʿAishah (may Allah be pleased with her). She tells the Prophet ﷺ a long story she had heard: eleven women once sat together and pledged to describe their husbands honestly, hiding nothing - the good, the bad, the embarrassing, the praiseworthy.

What followed is considered one of the masterpieces of classical Arabic literature. Each woman crafted a single, vivid portrait of her marriage using metaphor, rhyme, and image - a rugged mountain, the night of Tihama, a leopard at home, abundant ashes, the sound of a lute. Some describe tranquility, generosity, and profound respect. Others describe arrogance, neglect, cruelty, and being kept hanging.

After hearing the entire story, the Prophet ﷺ turned to ʿAishah and said: "I am to you as Abu Zar' was to Umm Zar'."

What this site does

This site walks through all eleven descriptions, one at a time. For each wife you will find:

• The original quote in Arabic and English.
• The explanation - what every classical Arabic term means, and why each metaphor means what it means.
• The lessons - bulleted takeaways about marriage that the description teaches us today.

The Praises and Complaints pages then organise the eleven descriptions by theme, so each ideal-husband quality and each red-flag pattern can be studied on its own.

Source and attribution

Hadith text and reference are taken from sunnah.com (Sahih al-Bukhari 5189). The Arabic shown on each wife page is the classical text as preserved in the hadith collection.

Feedback, corrections, and suggestions are welcome at hi@hasankhan.us.