Encyclopedia of Prophetic Hadiths

I was the leader of or among the delegation of Banu al-Muntafiq that came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). When we arrived, we did not find him in his house. We found ‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, there. He said: She ordered that a dish called Khazīrah be prepared for us, and it was. He said: And a tray containing dates was presented to us. Then, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) came and asked: "Has anything been served to you or ordered for you?" He said: We replied: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: While we were sitting in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), a shepherd suddenly drove his herd of sheep to their fold. He had with him a newly-born lamb that was crying. He (the Prophet) asked him: "What did it bear, O so-and-so?" He replied: An ewe. He said: "Slaughter for us a sheep in place of it." Then, he said: "Do not think that we are slaughtering it for you. We have one hundred sheep and we do not want their number to increase. So, whenever an ewe is born, we slaughter a sheep in its place." He said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, I have a wife who has something (wrong) in her tongue, i.e., she is foul-mouthed. He said: "Then divorce her." I said: O Messenger of Allah, we have been together for a long time, and I have children from her. He said: "Then, command her," meaning: advise her. "If there is goodness in her, she will comply. And do not beat your wife as you beat your slave-girl." I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me about ablution. He said: "Perform ablution thoroughly, pass your fingers through each other, and sniff water well into your nose unless you are fasting."